How to Humanely Remove a Bat from Your Home
The discovery of a bat flying around the inside of your home can be downright scary. For most homeowners that unpleasant experience is the first sign that a bat colony is living inside their attic and walls. When it comes to humane bat control you need the right plan and the best place to start is with a thorough inspection of your home and property by a bat removal specialist.
Skedaddle typically receives two different types of calls from homeowners – that are very much related. The first type of call is for a bat discovered in the living space of the home, perhaps flying around in circles inside a bedroom. These calls require a speedy response to ensure that the bat can be located, and safely removed by hand from the living space. The second type of call is from the homeowner who has perhaps previously experienced bats inside the living space, and now suspects they have a colony living somewhere inside the house.
While the removal of a lone bat from the home and the removal of a colony living inside the walls and attic require different strategies and techniques, they both start with a thorough assessment by a bat removal specialist. Skedaddle has over 30 years of experience humanely removing bats and providing homeowners with peace of mind with a lifetime guarantee.
Understanding and Assessing The Situation
Whether you have been surprised by a bat flying around your home, or suspect your attic might be hosting a colony, you need trusted help to make sense of what to do next. Hiding under the bed until the bat leaves might seem like the best option at the time, but the sooner your home is assessed, the sooner we can remove the bat from your living space, including the colony it came from. Our trained and experienced technicians understand bat biology and behaviour, and use that knowledge to develop customized removal plans.
The first thing to know about a bat discovered in your living space is that it got there from the walls or attic of your home. That’s right, a bat inside the living space is the most obvious sign of a colony of bats living elsewhere in the structure. Our homes offer consistent temperatures and protection from the elements that attract bats inside to raise their young in summer and hibernate for winter. Bats rarely fly into homes through open windows or doors, most often the presence of a bat in your living space is a sign of a bigger bat problem.
Removing a Bat from the Living Space
A bat in the living room or a bedroom of your house is a lost bat. It does not know how it got there or how to get out. Most bats that emerge into the living space do so during the summer when soaring temperatures cause them to move further down the walls in search of cooler conditions. When they do, bats will occasionally become lost and emerge into the living space.
The most effective way to safely remove a bat in the living space is to gently place them in a container after they have landed, and immediately release them back outside. Great care should be taken when handling bats as the
y are a known rabies carrier. Should you come into contact with a bat inside your home it is advisable to immediately contact your local public health unit or doctor for advice on how to proceed.
Skedaddle’s wildlife technicians are trained in how to safely and humanely remove bats from the living space of your home. With the bat removed, our focus turns to how we can prevent future intrusions. To address the bigger problem of where the bats are living and how they are getting access, our technicians will perform a thorough inspection of the interior and exterior of your home. Our goal is to identify all bat entry points, evaluate the damage, and create a customized plan for their removal.
Assessing a Home for Bat Entries
To remove a bat colony you need to know how they are accessing the house in the first place. Since bats can enter your home through any hole as small as a dime, our technicians will complete an extremely thorough and detailed assessment to locate all possible entry points. Bat entry points can be identified by the droppings and staining they leave behind as they come and go. The evidence is not always obvious to the untrained eye, that’s why experience and training are important when it comes to bat removal. Once they have completed the assessment, they will explain their findings, and provide you with a written quote that details each step of the exclusion process.
Here are some of the things we’ll be evaluating as part of our initial visit:
- Are there any bats currently in the living space?
- What entry points are the bats using?
- What is the extent of the damage they have done?
- The time of year.
- Are there any babies present?
Seasonal Challenges
Bats are complex creatures that can only be removed by professionals who understand their unique biology and behaviour. There are two primary challenges that can delay the removal of bats and need to be fully understood to prevent complications. One is bat baby season, which occurs during June and July. Removing mother bats during this time risks separating them from their babies and can lead to the needless death of baby bats inside walls and attics. The second challenge is the arrival of fall and the start of a long hibernation that lasts until late spring and is marked by a period of prolonged inactivity where bats do not exit the roost for insects.
Understanding the mating and hibernation patterns of bats, as well as the best times of year for their removal is critical to long-term success. Failure to observe or understand the bat lifecycle can prolong the problem and disappointment for homeowners. Skedaddle technicians take these important details into account during our first visit and are sure to discuss with you how these behavioural patterns will impact the removal process timeline. When you hire Skedaddle you can trust that your bat removal will be performed with the highest level of care so that you can be sure that you and your family are protected.
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