Do you wake up every so often with a bat flying through your basement? Your Probably wondering how in the heck are these bats showing up in my basement. Chances are you have a bat problem and it is coming from your attic or chimney. Yes the attic in fact is the housing unit for your Michigan bats. Depending on the temperature outside will often depict on when you get a bat in your basement.
Bats move up and down your walls depending on the temperature of your attic. As it get colder or hotter the bats will seek a sheltered area that fits the comfort. Older homes or balloon framing homes are generally the most problematic with bats in the basement. Most older homes do not have fire blocking in between homes, therefore the bats have free rein to network up and down your wall.
Bats in the basement during the winter months is often when you see them the most. During the summer bats will hang or roost in higher sheltered areas in order to freely leave their roost of feeding. During the winter there’s no food source for the bas to eat so they go into hibernation. The temperature in Michigan changes so frequently causing discomfort for the bats so they seek warmer sheltered areas all the way down your wall and end up into your basement.
Newer homes in Michigan will often have an attic chase that runs from the attic to the basement to allow for plumbing, heating, electrical, etc. Bats know no difference between an attic and a basement. They are just seeking sheltered areas to hibernate for the long cold winter months. Some chases to the basement will run through the chimney stack or along side it. make sure the chimney’s are capped and screened in order to keep the bats out. In years passed we have found bats in the furnace filter, register vents, and cold air return vents.
Bats do not usually enter lower than 7-8 feet from the exterior of home. Bats enter high up and then move down a wall. So therefore the bat probably didn’t come right into your basement from the exterior of the home. Exception to this rule is if you have a walk out basement with openings. Bats will enter the walk out basement through open doors, cracks in the wood, and around framing.
How to Get Rid of Bats From the Basement?
Once the bat is in the basement it is nearly impossible to find them. Sometimes you will get lucky and find the bat roosting on an open wall, in this case refer to bat in the house in order to get rid of the bat. If you have windows or a walk out basement door, open these to allow fresh air flow and the bat should leave within 10-15 minutes. If you don’t have any of these options your best bet is to wait until the bat returns to flight, capture it and release it outside. There are no traps or repellents to get rid of get bats in the basement.
Bat eviction in Michigan especially is a time sensitive matter. Bats will only leave their roost at certain times of the year. Bats are most active during late summer and early fall. Bat removal and control can be done any time of the year except for maternity season. Generally these months are between May and August, but every year is different. It’s important to make sure all juvenile bats are fully developed so they can freely leave their roost with out being trapped.
The best time to actually evict bats is in the early spring, between March and April, or late summer. If the colony of bats does not leave the roost then it’s best to wait until the second or third week in August. Sometimes professional bat removal companies can identify the type of colony you have upon a home bat inspection. During our bat inspection if we locate the colony of bats and determine if you have a bachelor male colony of bats, then the bat proofing and exclusion can be done.
Do you live in Michigan and need Bat eviction? We can evict your bats no matter the size of the colony. Bat proofing and exclusion work can be done year round, however the bats usually will not leave their roost until early spring. We service the entire state of Michigan For bat evictions upon appointment.
The simple answer is no, you cannot poison bats. There are no baits or chemicals that will get rid of bats. In Michigan and most states bats are protected animals. Bats are great for our environment and help control the mosquito population and the spread of west nile disease. We recommend you consider a live bat exclusion when getting rid of bats.
Years ago chemicals would be sprayed into attics and homes forcing bats to fly out. Unfortunately this caused many problems as well as health risk. The fumes and vapors would seep into the living quarters. This caused respiratory problems and forced families to leave the home. Once the vapors wore off the bats would return back into the home and attic. We once had a customer pay their local exterminator every 2 months and had them spray in the attic to get rid of the bats. This cost the home owner hundreds of dollars each visit, but was not solving the bat problem permanently.
Poison kills Bats
Bat poison might seem like a good plan to get rid of bats. It works for insects and mice, so why not bats? Well, for starters, bat poison and using pesticides against bats is illegal. Breaking the law to solve your bat problems is probably not a good idea. Aside from that, it can create a higher chance that they will get into your living space and come in contact with your family, which increases the danger to your family when it comes to having bats in the house. All in all, poison doesn’t seem to be a good answer to bat removal.
Bat poison is not an effective solution for bat control. It is much better and more highly recommended to humanely release them back to the outdoors and then seal up your home to keep them out for good. If you ever considered buying bat poison to get rid of bats, you can now understand why there are better ways to do things. Even if you don’t poison them only because it’s illegal, at least you are doing the right thing by releasing the bats back into the wild.
Are you hearing scratching, noises, flapping, running in the attic? Well it could be a mouse, squirrel, or flying squirrel. Or in most cases it is a bat roosting under the insulation. Bats have two sets of claws and use them to drag themselves underneath your insulation to find warm areas to roost. Below are some noises you may hear which will help you identify the noises you are hearing.
Squirrels in the attic: When you hear jumping around, rolling of nuts, and fast running you are hearing squirrels. Also when squirrels are preparing their nest you will hear constant digging and clawing at your ceiling.
Mice in the attic: Mice tend to use your insulation for nesting. If you look in your attic and see half dollar size holes through out your insulation, typically you will find a nest of mice. Mice is more of a light scratching and a quiet running.
Birds in the attic: Birds will claw at your ceiling and sometimes fall into a wall cavity. Wings flapping loudly and clawing is what you will hear the most. Sometimes you will hear chirping from younger birds.
Raccoons in the attic: Sound like someone broke into your attic? That’s raccoons running across your attic. Raccoons will tear up your insulation to create bedding. In doing so they damage your insulation. They scratch and thump on your drywall.
Bats in the attic: Bats sound a lot like mice scratching. You will generally hear mice late at night and real early in the morning. Sometimes you will hear a lite flapping from their wings if the bats are trying to move through insulation. You may even hear some chirping noises in your attic or wall.
If your having a problem with attic pest scratching above your sealing or in your wall, contact The Michigan’s Bat Expert. We get rid of all animals in the attic including, squirrels, mice, rats, birds, bats, and raccoons. We service but not limited to the following areas for animals scratching in the attic.
Bat removal is not as easy as setting a trap and relocating the colony. It is important to be meticulous when doing bat removal because the bats can fit through tiny little openings. Because of that there is a lot of labor, materials, and patience involved. Price will vary home to home depending on the number of repairs required and the toughness of the job. The number of bats you will not determine the price, because all bat exclusions are done the same way no matter if your colony is small or large. We can give you an estimate range over the phone and a precise estimate will have to be given once we inspect your home. The price could go up if you need to have additional services done like attic restoration. Please give us a call for further information a pricing your bat problem: 248-800-4126.
Want know how to get rid of bats? This answer depends on your bat problem. Do you have bats in the attic or bats in your home or basement? Well you have come to the right place for answers on bat removal or bat control. We are a specialized bat eviction company and have been getting rid of bat problems from Michigan homes and attics for over 20 years. Our expertise comes from successfully completing over 9,000 bat exclusions. The size of the colony of bats you have will not change how we get rid of the bats from your attic, however it may affect what we do after the bats are excluded. To prevent of spread of diseases and airborne bacteria or fungi, attic restoration is a solution to clean up the bat guano from your attic. Below we will help identify some of your bat removal scenarios.
Bats In Your House or Basement?
Bat in your houseIf you have bat flying through your home or basement, don’t panic. The bats in your house are not trying to harm you, they just want to get out. After flying for a long period, eventually the bats will tire it’s self out and land somewhere in your home. This is good because once the bat lands it makes the bat removal process much easier. The best thing do is place a can or box over the bat and take it outside and let it go. We have placed a diagram of the bat removal process from your home on the page bat in your house. If the bat wont land this may make your bat removal a little bit harder. Try using a net to catch it in, then take it outside in release it. Please do not use tennis racquet’s, broom, or any other object that will harm the bat. The bat is not trying to harm you so there really is no reason to harm it.
If you find out that you just can’t get the bat out of your house, or don’t have the courage to do so then call a professional. Try to keep an eye where the bat is landing, or flying because it will make the job to get rid of the bat much easier. Consider contacting The bat Specialists of Michigan if you have a bat in your house or basement.
Finally, if you have a bat in the house you may ask yourself why are they getting into my home? 99% of the time the bats end up into your living quarters because they are living in your attic or walls. You may continue to have bats in your house if you don’t take care of the bats in the attic. When the temperature changes and the juvenile bats learn flight then often times they will lose their way into your home. Below we will help you understand how to get rid of bats from the attic.
Getting Rid of bats from the attic
Get rid of bats from the atticThere are important things you must consider before you get rid of the bats from your attic. First you must identify the type of colony you are dealing with. Is this a bachelor male colony or a maternal colony. Only professional technicians can identify what type of colony you have. If a maternal colony is located and identified then it is very important to wait for the pups to take flight. Juvenile bats will usually start flight towards the middle to end of August in Michigan. If the time is right, the next thing to look for is the bat entry point. Entry points are usually identified by brown or black streaking outside of an opening. These stains are from the oils and dirt on their fur. You may also see bat droppings outside of the hole or vent. Thirdly you must identify other potential bat entry points. Bats are persistent and will try to get back into their roost sometimes up to five years. This explains why we give our home owners a five year warranty on our bat removal jobs.
When getting rid of bats from attics we like to use a one way door method. This one way door method is approved by the Bat Conservation International. It is assumed you have already identified the opening so it should make it easy to install the one way door. There is no need to create any new openings to get rid of the bats, just use the hole the bats are using. The most important thing in getting rid of bats from the attic is paying attention to detail. Be very meticulous when seal the exterior of the home to prevent the return of the bats. You must seal all openings a 1/2″ or larger. All vents need to be screened as well; gables, ridge and soffit vents. Many homeowners have tried these methods but find themselves frustrated because the can’t get rid of the bats. You may want to consider contacting The Michigan’s Bat Expert to handle your bat problem.
If you need help getting rid of bats from you attic our home you may contact The Michigan’s Bat Expert at 248-361-1528.
Keeping bats out of the attic is as simple as wildlife proofing your home. You can do this by caulking around windows, trim, soffits and eaves. Always make sure your vents are screened from the outside to prevent bats from roosting. These vents include; gable, soffit, and ridge. Once you seal all openings on the exterior of your home, it is a good idea to maintain your home by doing all of the necessary repairs.
Contact the Michigan’s Bat Expert to have your home bat proofed to keep bats out and other unwanted wild pest at 248-361-1528.
he term trapping a bat is an outdated method to get rid of bats from your attic. Trapping bats only harms them and often times kills them. It’s important to allow bats to freely leave their roost without trapping them. If you have a bat flying through your home then the method is easy to trap a bat. Wait until the bat lands and place a container of the bat and slide a thick piece of paper in between the wall and the container. Take the bat outside and release it.
Need help trapping a bat or using the best alternative methods to bat trapping. Call The Michigan’s Bat Expert for more information at 248-361-1528.
Bats will tend to roost at night in sheltered areas like under a porch or in a shutter. Bats are not nesting they are resting. You probably wont see the bat or bats hanging during the day. The bats will seek areas like this to rest during their feeding time. You might see the bats hanging around two or three in the morning. To keep the bats from hanging try using some aluminum foil or shiny metal flashing and put it up in the areas where the bats are hanging. This will help keep them from hanging however it wont completely keep them from hanging around your house. Maybe you can at least keep them off of your front door step.
Trying to identify a bat problem isn’t always the easiest thing to do. We are professionals and have been doing bat removal work for over 20 years. Often we can identify your entry points into the attic from ground level. The best way to identify a bat entry point into the attic is by looking for their guano (droppings) and black or brown staining. The staining comes from the oils Bat entry points and dirt on their fur. Typically a bat uses 1 or 2 entry points into the attic over and over again. Always look for construction gaps into the attic along fascia boards and soffits. Within in the last 5 years or so, newer style ridge vents installed wrong will create gateways for bats into the attic. The best way to keep bats out is by bat proofing your home, and if the bats have gained entry into your attic you will want to exclude them as soon as possible. We specialize in live bat exclusions and can take of your bat problem within a few days. If you have bats getting into your attic, call the Michigan’s Bat Expert.
Some Useful Links
NWCOA
National Wildlife Control Operators Association
MADCA
Michigan Animal Damage Control Association
Bat Conservation International
Bat Conservation International is conducting and supporting science-based conservation efforts around the world. Working with many partners and colleagues, these innovative programs combine research, education and direct conservation to ensure bats will be helping to maintain healthy environments and human economies far into the future.