How Do Bats Get In?

Gaps: How Bats Get In?

Unlike squirrels and raccoons, bats don’t force their way into our homes.

So how do they get in?

They get in through small openings that come to exist on our homes through age, damage, design, or poor workmanship. Or, more than likely, a combination of these factors.

Bat sign For example, this picture shows a small gap between brick and vinyl soffit; it’s not very wide, but as you can see from the smudge marks bats are squeezing by it all the time. Bats were using this gap to get to a roosting spot.

The small stature of Ohio’s bats (all of which are classified as microbats) is one of their biggest assets when it comes to finding shelter.

Little openings that don’t look like much to most people often lead to nooks and crannies (or big attics) that have climates bats thrive in.

If they find the right conditions, they’ll be back year after year.

Siding Issue to Blame for Bats

An example of one way bats happen is to look at this job where bats were getting behind the vinyly siding at a home.

bat vent At this house, bats are getting behind the vinyl siding because of the gap that exists where the siding meets the gable vent.

The gap there exists because of poor workmanship. It appears that whoever installed the siding cut a corner and did not not install j channel under the bottom overhang of the vent. The siding installer probably thought it was no big deal. Surely, bats were not considered.

Bats living between two exterior layers of the home are not as much of an issue as bats in the attics, but they were sill causing problems.

The problem created is bulging siding as a result of bat poop (guano) build up behind the siding.

The more they poop, the more builds up and the bulge is formed. Additionally, the already ill-fitting siding just gets worse.

Take a look at the situation in this video:

Solving this issue will require Ryan to come up with fix to keep the bats from being able to get behind the siding.

Bat Proofing = Sealing the Gaps

In theory, solving a bat problem is straightforward two-step process:

Make sure all the bats are out of a structure
Seal up the structure up so the bats can’t get back in

As September continues, solving bat problems by kicking them out and sealing up structures is in high gear.

Making sure all the bats are out of a house is a process of putting barriers over entrances that let them out, but prevent them from getting back in.

For bat-proofing, the bats’ main entrances and points of use need modification so that the bats can’t enter or use that spot again.

But, once the bats get kicked out they are going to want to get back in. They’ll explore the structure searching for other ways in. This means the whole structure needs addressed: all the potential points of bat entry/bat use have to be included in the plan.

So, the extent of the job depends upon how many potential areas of use need modified.

The modifications to the structure typically include:

Siding, soffit, flashing, and fascia repair– Bats often get into attics through roofing/siding elements that are old, damaged, or installed improperly. Sometimes the best way to bat-proof is to replace the piece that is letting the bats in.

Screening– Sometimes bats access vents that are necessary. Properly installed screens with fine mesh prevent bats from getting into openings that have to stay.

Caulking/Sealing– Often times, a good portion of bat-proofing is devoted to filling in small gaps that exist in building pieces without replacing them entirely. This is accomplished through sealing the existing gaps with filler material and a high quality caulk.