Have A Bat Emergency?!

Bats are very social nocturnal creatures and they get a bad wrap, here’s what to do in most frequent bat emergencies.

A single bat gets inside your home 

Not all bat encounters in your house may be alike. For some homeowners, the encounter may be a one-off with a confused young bat in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Young bats caught inside are known to circle a room several times searching for ways to get back outside. The most effective solution to remove a bat in this situation is to simply allow it to find its own way out. Chasing a bat or using any household objects as swatters only causes bats to panic which can significantly prolong the removal process. Best instance would be:

  • Seal off area where the bat is located best as possible.
  •  Do not handle the bat if it lands to rest.
  • Open windows and exterior doors to encourage the bat or bats to exit on their own – that way, they will stay calmer and work out a solution at their own pace.
  • If in a suitable location you can try and use household items to scoop the bat into a container, and then release it outdoors (if doing this please wear gloves and refrain from making direct contact with the bat.

If your bat problem extends beyond a single chance encounter, your solution may require a bit more work. Bats will congregate somewhere dark and undisturbed with access to the outside – attics, roofs, and crawl spaces are some of the most likely hiding places.

If you believe you have a bat colony roosting in your house it may be a simple problem to solve such as cutting off the entry point so they may just be forced to find elsewhere to roost but please email us at info@treesociety.org before you take any action and we will do our best to advise you on next steps to take.

Cleaning up

While bats themselves can often carry diseases like rabies, the most dangerous risks from having bats in your home come from their droppings, which can host a wide variety of dangerous diseases and parasites. Bat guano can contain Histoplasmosis, which can cause serious respiratory infections in humans, and bats themselves can harmful parasites.

It’s critical to maintain proper hygiene standards when cleaning and disposing of any bat droppings. Having said that bat guano makes excellent compost that can be used as a natural fungicide and controls nematodes in the soil. In addition, bat guano makes an acceptable compost activator, speeding up the decomposition process.

Living communally with bats 

Bats found roosting in your home aren’t malicious, and they certainly don’t mean you any harm – in fact, because of their role as insect-eaters and mosquito snatchers, bats are actually highly beneficial to the ecosystem and we would have some serious plant pollination problems without them. That’s why it may be a good idea to offer bats an alternative roosting spot nearby – that way, they won’t be as tempted by the security of your attic.

Bat boxes and bat houses are as easy to set up as a birdhouse, but are designed to offer ideal roosting space for bats and their pups. Consider installing a bat house on a tree or a flat surface facing south or southeast (with around 6 to 8 hours of sun) at least 10 feet off the ground. Click here for a bat box design. 

For a comfortable and personlized rainforest experience