Prime Time for Bat Removal
The eviction notices have been served…it’s time to get out.
Bat removal from structures is in high gear right now. That’s because this year’s baby bats are able to fly and hunt insects on their own. They are leaving the roost nightly just like their mothers.
That means it is both legal and ethical for us to start evicting bats and sealing structures so they can no longer get back in.
This post starts with a recent bat inspection to show a very typical bat entry scenario. The post then discusses bat removal and bat proofing in general.
Bats Only Need Small Openings
Unlike squirrels and raccoons, bats don’t force their way into our homes.
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.
This recent video shows where bats were getting into a soffit of a home. It is a very good example of what we find at many bat jobs.
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 (soffits or big attics) that have climates bats thrive in.
If they find the right conditions, they’ll be back year after year.
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
Bats leave a structure every night to eat. So getting them out is no problem. The trick is stopping their getting back in. This is accomplished by modifying their entrance with a bat cone. 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.
A bat cone is a tube placed at the bats’ exit that allows them to get out but not back in at that point. It is an excluder device-a one-way door. For bats, the tubes don’t allow them to land and scoot inside. The tubes use their anatomy against them.
The picture and short clip above show a bat cone in action.
Below, this older video shows a bat cone/tube in action as well. Because it projects out from the house and into the air & is a very smooth surface, once they exit they cannot get back in this way.
Once they are outside, they’ll want back in. The cone will protect the main entrance but they’ll look for other ways in.
That is why, before the cone/tube is placed at the main entrance, all secondary entry points need sealed as well.
The amount of bat proofing needed around the structure determines how extensive the job is and whether successfully keeping them out is accomplished.
The bats will find any gaps the bat proofers overlooked.
Bat Proofing & Removal | Akron, Canton, Kent
For all of your bat-related needs in the Stark, Summit, Portage County area, please give Frontline Animal Removal a call.
From inspecting to removal to bat proofing, we have the experience needed to get the bats out and keep them out.
Right now is a great time to let the bats find another place to roost!
