Have you ever been woke up to find a bat flying through your home or 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. The temperature outside will often help determine when or if you get a bat in your basement.
Bats move up and down your walls depending on the temperature of your attic. As it gets colder or hotter the bats will move to a sheltered area that fits the comfort they are looking for. Older homes or balloon framing homes are generally the most problematic with bats getting into the attic and moving to the basement. Most older homes do not have fire blocking in between wall spaces, therefore the bats have free reign to network up and down your walls. During the winter months is often when you will see bats finding their way into homes. During the summer bats will hang or roost in higher sheltered areas in order to freely leave their roost for feeding at dusk/dawn. During the winter there’s no food source for the bats to eat so they go into a light hibernation. The temperature in Michigan changes so frequently causing discomfort for the bats so they seek warmer sheltered areas and this sometimes means they end up in your home.
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 do not know the difference between an attic and a basement. They are just seeking a warm, sheltered area to hibernate for the cold winter months. Making sure your chimney is capped and screened properly will help in keeping bats out. It is not unusual to find 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 the home. Bats enter high up and then move down a wall in most cases. The exception to this rule is if you have a walk out basement with doors and windows. 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 call professionals for help. There are no traps or repellents to get rid of get bats in the basement.
Bat eviction in Michigan can be a time sensitive matter due to the fluctuating temperatures. 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. If the colony of bats does not leave the roost then it’s best to wait until the second or third week in August. A professional bat removal companies can identify the type of colony you have when doing a home bat inspection. During a bat inspection if we can determine that you have a bachelor (male) colony of bats, then the bat proofing and exclusion can be done at that time. If it is determined that you have a maternity colony with mothers and their pups, we will have to wait until the pups are all flying before doing the exclusion.
Do you live in Michigan and needa bat exclusion? 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 exclusions 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 federally 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 including health risks to those in the home. 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.
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. Calling the professionals, like us at Michigan’s Bat Expert is the best way to solve your bat issues.
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 bats 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 noises like scratching above your ceiling or in your walls contact Michigan’s Bat Expert. We get rid of all animals in the attic including, squirrels, mice, rats, birds, bats, and raccoons. We service a wide range of areas in Michigan. Call today and see how we can help you.
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 have does 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 exclusion company and have been getting rid of bat problems from Michigan home owners for over 30 years. Our expertise comes from successfully completing over 15,000 bat exclusions!
The size of the colony you have does 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?
Bats in your house: If you have a 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 of time the bats will become tired and land somewhere in your home to try and roost. 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. If the bat wont land this will make your bat removal a bit more challenging. You can try using a net to catch it in, then take it outside in release it. Please do not use tennis racquet’s, brooms, or any other object that will harm the bat.
If you find 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. Consider contacting Michigan’s Bat Expert if you have a bat in your house or basement. Call for more information on how we can help with your bat problems. 248-800-4126
Keeping bats out of the attic is as simple as bat 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’s a good idea to fix any other holes or weak areas of trim.
Contact Michigan’s Bat Expert to have your home bat proofed and keep bats out! 248-361-1528.
The term “trapping a bat” is an outdated method of getting 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 and are not scared, you can wait until the bat lands and place a container over the bat then slide a thick piece of paper or cardboard inbetween the wall and the container, trapping the bat inside. Then you can release it outside of your home.
Need help trapping a bat in your home? Call Michigan’s Bat Expert for more information at 248-800-4126.
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 after their feeding time. To keep the bats from hanging on your home, try using some aluminum foil or shiny metal flashing and put it up in the areas where you have seen them hanging. This will help stop them from hanging in those spots. If you find they just wont go away, you may have a bigger problem. Michigan’s Bat Expert is here to help! Call 248-800-4126 for more information.
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 30 years. Often we can identify your entry points from ground level, but will alaways want to take a look inside your attic area as well. The best way to identify a bat entry point into the attic is by looking for their guano (droppings). Typically a bat uses 1 or 2 entry points into the attic over and over again. Always look for construction gaps in 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 to get 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 care of your bat problem quickly. If you have bats getting into your attic, call Michigan’s Bat Expert 248-800-4126
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.
