How to Keep Bats Out of the Attic

Keep Bats Away From Your Home Using These Helpful Tips

Bats can be beneficial and even likable creatures to have around — but not when they make their home in your attic. All too often, people fear and misunderstand these flying mammals, which can improve outdoor spaces by eating large volumes of insects. In fact, some can eat 1,000 or more per hour.  

Having the winged critter nearby might be helpful, but bats aren’t creatures you want to invite indoors as waste materials that collect on surfaces can spread diseases and cause damage.  

Professionals can help you create a plan to prevent bats from getting into your home. Catseye Pest Control also has a comprehensive solution to remove them in addition to keeping them out of the attic and other interior spaces.

Reasons to Keep Bats Out of the Attic

Bat droppings, commonly referred to as guano, serve as an ideal environment for the growth of the fungus responsible for Histoplasmosis, a respiratory disease spread through airborne spores.  

For some people, breathing in these microscopic spores doesn’t cause any problems. However, others may develop a fever and/or cough. Still others can develop severe infections and compromised immune systems. 

Bats also potentially carry rabies. In fact, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies bats as the number one cause of rabies-related deaths among Americans. 

Aside from the potential illnesses that bats can cause, accumulations of bat guano and urine may cause unpleasant odors. Even worse, those droppings can compromise sheet rock, ceilings, insulation, and building structures.  

Bats also tend to scratch their way into insulation in search of warmth, and they can chew on wires and walls, resulting in cosmetic and structural damage.

Signs Bats May Be in the Attic

Sights, smells, and sounds are likely the biggest signs that warn homeowners or business owners of the presence of bats. For example, piles of droppings found near the entrance of the attic or urine stains on insulation.  

It is also possible to notice strong smells, particularly those caused by the ammonia in bat urine. Noises like squeaking and scratching can also be a telltale sign.  

Bat Species that Might Move into Your Attic

Curious about the bat species that live in our region? A variety of bat species live in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Some common species found in the area include the following: 

• Big brown bats usually live in caves but also enjoy warm, dry areas like attics, crawlspaces, and chimneys. They have fur in varying shades of brown and feature black markings on their faces, wings, and ears. The impressive wingspan averages 13 to 16 inches. 
• Little brown bats are often found in attics, under floorboards, and in soffits. They are tiny — with bodies roughly the size of an adult’s thumb. Little brown bats typically have brown fur and dark spots on their upper bodies and have a wingspan that stretches approximately 11 inches. 
• Eastern small-footed bats are an endangered species, which means they must be carefully removed by a reputable pest and nuisance wildlife management company — like Catseye. These bats have tiny back feet that measure seven to eight millimeters in length. They have a characteristic black mask, black ears, and black wings. 
• Indiana bats are common throughout the East and are known for roosting in colonies. They have dark gray or brown fur that looks similar to brown bats. Their small bodies measure between two and four inches long but the wingspan ranges from nine to 11 inches. 

Tips to Keep Bats Out of Your Attic

One of the best ways to keep bats out of the attic is to identify the areas being used as entrances. Points of entry can include damaged areas of a roofline, gable vents, or gaps in siding. 

Bats like to nest in dark spots that allow them to come and go easily for their nightly feedings. Because the critter is flexible and small, most species can enter homes through openings that are as small as the diameter of a dime. 

Not only can bats fit through open vents, but they can also enter through tiny cracks and crevices to roost inside your home where it’s dry and warm. These tips can provide added peace of mind and help to keep the attic bat-free:  

• Cover vents: Don’t completely seal vents; instead, use screening to allow proper ventilation while keeping bats and other pests out. 
• Cap the chimneys: Your chimney provides an easy entry point for bats. Cover it with screening or install stainless steel chimney caps with quarter-inch wire mesh to keep bats out.  

• Check windows and doors: Ensure that there aren’t any holes, gaps, or improperly fitted screens — all of which can allow bats entry into your home. Although it is rare for a bat to enter a structure through an open window or door. 
• Seal points of entry: Seal holes around the exterior of the home and around doors and windows with weatherproofing strips, silicone, caulk, or foam insulation to provide a barrier to keep bats out. 
• Change your outdoor lighting: Switch from incandescent outdoor light bulbs to yellow bulbs or bulbs that repel bugs, which are bats’ primary food source. 

Call Catseye for Professional Removal & Exclusion Services

Bats are nocturnal and exit their homes just before nightfall to locate insects to feed upon. If you think there are bats in the attic of your home, try walking around the exterior at night to watch for bats to locate exit points.  

These openings will need to be properly sealed to prevent further intrusions — after making sure the bats are safely removed, of course.  

Catseye’s comprehensive bat removal program does more than just evict these creatures. Our expert technicians conduct multiple visits to remove them permanently and humanely. 

Our exclusion team will seal up potential points of entry to the home and install a one-way door. The door is designed to allow bats to leave the home but prevents them from reentering. 

Once the bats are no longer occupying the home, the one-way door is removed, and the hole is sealed. Then we clean up the bat droppings and urine and disinfect the area. 

Contact us today to learn more about our nuisance wildlife removal and pest control services or to schedule a free inspection. 

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