Bats

[HunterdonPaul]

Oh boy. I recently replied to a "mice" post in which I urged for some cats. They take care of mice really well. Well I can't believe it but it seems we have bats. I have not actually seen them but I know there aren't any mice around the attic. We have been hearing some scratching towards morning time. Only then. Last night my 4 year old was scared of whatever she was hearing. Mom got up - I was fast asleep. I thought I heard them a couple of times. So here is my questions -

[1] How do I actually know there are bats in the attic (I'm thinking that is the problem)?

[2] What in the world do you do to get rid of them?

Happy Halloween for me (eek!),
Paul

 

[DarinRay]

Well I guess what you would want to do is either go up in the attic or just watch outside your home at dusk or dawn and see if you have any coming or going.

Then if you find that you do have bats all you do is ignore them and they will go away eventually. They are a big bonus to have around if you can stand the sight of them or family don't mind them. I actually just put up a bat house for them and am thinking about bigger and better next year.

 

[RanchMan]

<font color=blue>a tennis racket makes quick work of them. </font color=blue>

/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Ha! and Ouch! /w3tcompact/icons/sad.gif

 

[MossRoad]

A friend of mine uses that method and the score is 30 love /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

 

[looch]

I have hundreds living in my barn. The last owners refinished the exterior with metal siding. Now the bats live in between the new siding and the old wood. There is no practical way for me to seal it off. It's a real problem - I'd like to start raising some animals but I can't store hay in my bat infested barn. The bat house doesn't work as long as they still have access to somewhere "better." I've come to the conclusion that there is no real way to ever rid yourself of them besides denying them access. I'm actually considering tearing down my barn (it's a little decrepit anyway) and starting fresh.

If one more person tells me they're beneficial and that I should be happy to have them, I will freak out.

 

[hazmat]

<font color=blue>A friend of mine uses that method and the score is 30 love </font color=blue>

My dad stunned one once with a broom. Then he scooped it up and drowned it in a fishbowl. My brother & I thought it was cool, my sisters were freaked out.

I'd try the let them escape & seal up the attic approach first. Then go bat hunting if you have to. Be sure to wear your tennis skirt/w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif

 

[DocHeb]

<font color=blue>However, they also carry diseases that can be transferred to humans via their saliva or feces. </font color=blue>

Just a minor, 100% fatal disease - rabies. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

My "scratching things" in the attic ended up being flying squirrels. Rat traps with peanut butter caught one. Once I knew what they were, I used a live trap and got two more, then sealed up the hole.

 

[Stonewall]

Bats like it quiet. I put a radio up in an attic once and after about a week they had found a better place to "hang out"

 

[ronjhall]

Chris
Squirrels can be another problem. Hope you are moving them buggers a long way from your place. /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif Check out this <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.tractorbynet.com/cgi-bin/compact/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=rural&Number=43992&page=&view=&sb=&o=&vc=1>THREAD</A>
Hope you have that new TC40D protected from them. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
Oh yeah. Congrats on the new tractor. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[MossRoad]

<font color=blue>Rabies.</font color=blue>

You got that right. Now, I wouldn't freak out with a bat, however, the health department around here recomends that if a bat flies in your kids bedroom your kid might have been exposed to rabies through its saliva and your child should get the "shots". However, I don't think there has ever been a documented case of human rabies from bats around here, maybe one.

My friend with the tennis racket also got one with a broom and another one with a shovel. He said it made a cartoonish twang noise and died instantly.

When I was a kid we use to get the occasional bat down our chimney and it would fly around our house and we would chase it with brooms until it got tired. Then my dad would grab it with a leather glove and take it outside and let it go.

 

[Steven]

How about putting one or two of those ultrasonic pest control device in the attic made by LENTEK. <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.lentek.com/products/ElectronicPestControl/>http://www.lentek.com/products/ElectronicPestControl/</A>

 

[HunterdonPaul]

Do these electronic pest control devices actually work? It seems a little too easy.

Paul

 

[bmac]

Every non-commercial review I've read said they don't. Don't waste your money.

 

[BAC]

I had bats a few years ago. They had squeezed between the brick and the J channel under the eves on my house. The best way to get rid of them and not create a mess is to find where they are getting in and then make a funnel or cone out of 1/4" screen or wire mesh. Fit this over the hole and they will crawl out the wire funnel but not be able to see to get back in. The mesh is invisible to their radar. It worked for me and many other people I know. Give it a try it works.

 

[Steven]

I used to get chipmunks in my vacation home in New Hampshire when no one was there. you could tell they were in there because things would be knocked over or off of the mantle and on top of dressers. put two of those lentek model pc01 and for two years now have not had any critters in the house. so for what I needed them for they work, and there are plenty of chipmuncks around the house outside when i go there. they just don't go inside any more.