While you may let those paper Halloween bats hang around the house for a while, seeing live bats makes getting rid of bats a more urgent matter. According to the CDC, bats with rabies are found across the continental United States. Additionally, the CDC emphasizes that most people who die of rabies contracted this disease from exposure to an infected bat. Instead of risking your safety and sanity, make sure you know how to get rid of bats and which bat pest control expert near you can handle the bat removal for you. To help, the following shares some tips about bat pest control, specifically recommendations for deterrents and preventative strategies.
12 Tips for Getting Rid of Bats and Preventing Bat Infestations
Bats are legally protected often by both federal and state laws because of their ecological importance. In fact, certain species may have even greater protections in place than others. Consequently, bat removal from any home or commercial building needs to be handled with care to ensure compliance and avoidance of penalties, fines and, in some circumstances, even criminal charges. Due to the regulations around getting rid of bats, homeowners are wise to employ preventative strategies and contact professional pest control specialists for support as well as any bat infestation solutions. Here are 12 tips to help you protect your home against bats.
- Commit to self-monitoring. With bats and any other unwanted critters, monitoring your home and property aids in preventing pests from invading. Regularly checking for any signs of bats in the house or potential entry points enables homeowners to quickly address any pest problems and take action to limit pest accessibility to specific areas of the property.
- Ask for an inspection. While homeowner evaluations of the property are beneficial, requesting a professional pest control assessment offers additional benefits. With their greater knowledge and expertise around pest prevention as well as the legal protections in place for bats in your area, they will be best suited to recommending and executing deterrent strategies as well as removal services if needed.
- Enlist sealing and exclusion services. One of the best ways to avoid having to get rid of bats is to seal off any entry points into the home. If you’ve seen signs of bats near the attic or simply want to eliminate the chances of a bat infestation, set aside a free afternoon to seal small openings in foundations or around doorways or schedule professional exclusion services.
- Assess your outdoor lighting features. Bright lights near potential roosting areas, like attics, can help keep bats away. However, lights also attract food sources for bats including insects. Therefore, be mindful of lights around doorways or other locations that may inadvertently provide entry if left open during any food searches.
- Install one-way exits or bat valves. It can be challenging to tell if you have bats in the attic, especially if you don’t use that area. As a preventative measure and a bat pest control solution, installing one-way exit doors helps in getting rid of bats if they do find a way into your home. While these constructions do open to the outside, they only allow bats to go out of a particular structure, not come into it.
- Contact a local roofing team. During routine property monitoring, spotting cracks or small openings on the ground level is easier than seeing those issues around the home’s upper floors. However, roofing experts will be able to safely and more thoroughly assess any problem spots in eaves or around existing attic ventilation. As a bonus, any problem area repairs not only help prevent bat and other pest infestations but also help support the longevity and integrity of your roof.
- Schedule that chimney assessment appointment. Since bats can squeeze through surprisingly small crevices to enter your home, the larger opening of a chimney may be an even more obvious choice. In addition to supporting the safety of your fireplace use, regular chimney inspections, maintenance and cleaning help ensure that potential bat access is limited by chimney caps or other guards.
- Cover fruit trees. Different bat species have varied diets. However, many bats enjoy fruit and seeds, as well as the insects that feed on them. Consequently, covering produce-bearing trees may make your property less appealing and protect the fruit from a variety of critters including bats, birds and more.
- Employ other pest control measures to minimize food sources. Insects are a preferred food choice for many bats. Using pest-repelling plants, spices and smells around the house, in the garden and throughout the property offers many benefits, including getting rid of bats by reducing their potential food sources. Your gardens, flowers and evening on the patio may also experience further protection from annoying ants or mosquitoes with these natural deterrents.
- Provide them with their own home or a garden. Don’t want bats in your house but want to enjoy how they may benefit your gardens or landscape features? Give them their own places away from your areas. Bat Conservation International provides some guidance about designing bat gardens and bat houses.
- Try using sound. Some bat deterrent devices use sound to get rid of nearby bats. Using this option, high frequency levels which humans won’t be able to hear may help discourage bats from being in a particular area.
- Enjoy some tree trimming. Reduce the leaves in the gutters and potential roosting spots for bats by making sure that trees are trimmed back and away from the house. Be especially attentive to any decaying trees as the additional crevices and bug population may increase their appeal for bats looking to reproduce.
For bat removal or other wildlife control, Eliminate ‘Em provides the necessary preventative maintenance and control services to protect you and your home. Engaging with bats can have both health and legal ramifications, so let our skilled professionals handle this job in a safe, appropriate and efficient manner. For help, contact us to communicate your pest control needs or inquire about a free service estimate!
