Bats in the Attic. Bad Idea to Let Nature Thrive Up There?

[Grassisgreener]

We bought a house in August and we're pretty sure we have bats in a hard-to-access attic that we've never actually set foot in.  They don't really bother us, and I kind of like the idea of my son accidentally stumbling on a bat colony one day and becoming a crime fighter.  Is it a bad idea to just let the bats live in peace?  If not, should I simply call a professional?

[Frankies Girl]

I'd want them out - rabies is a definite possibility around bats.
http://www.cdc.gov/features/bats/

I had a friend that built some bat habitats out on his half acre lot, but they were a little ways away from the house. I wouldn't want them in the house itself.

[Wesmon]

Have you looked on the attic floor at all the bat poo, worms, and insects?  It's great having bats because they help with mosquitoes but get a bat house that they live in outside of your house.

[Greg]

Agree with Frankies Girl and Wesmon.

Besides, there's only one BatmanŽ.

[Stache In Training]

Yeah, I'd want rid of them because of the guano and mess they can make.  You might not step foot in it, but the smell can linger.

FYI, easy way to get rid of bats, is to hang pie tins from the ceiling.  It messes with their sonar and they hate it, so they leave.  Then you can put up a bat house as already suggested, for the benefits bats provide.

[Rural]

Second the idea of finding a way to discourage. If you try to exterminate, you're likely to run afoul of wildlife regs, besides which bats are extremely beneficial, necessary even if we don't all want to die of mosquito- borne illnesses, and they are struggling right now thanks to white- nose syndrome.

http://www.whitenosesyndrome.org/

If you have guano up there, you're going to want to look into cleanup once you've convinced the bats to go elsewhere (and close/screen the access points so they don't come back). If you don't have guano, by the way, you don't have bats.

[GuitarStv]

Absolutely get them out of the attic!  Bats are great transmitters of disease including rabies, but that's only a concern if they manage to find a crack that lets them into your house from the attic (trust me, most attics aren't sealed all that well . . . there's a distinct possibility of this.  More importantly, they poop where they sleep and bat poop can be very dangerous because it has a tendency to harbour all kinds of bad diseases and fungus (histoplasmosis is one of the more common ones).

Don't get me wrong, bats are great little critters with a lot of environmental benefit.  You just don't want 'em in your house.

[Exflyboy]

If (in the unlikey) event you get bitten by a bat see your Dr immediately!

By the time the rabies infection has travelled up to your brain its almost 100% fatal... The "Boston Protocal" has saved about 5% of advanced rabies patients but the cost is so high I think I would rather die anyway..:)

Disclaimer.. I am an engineer not a medical Dr.. :)

Frank

[Cromacster]

If you can find where they are coming and going from in your house, they make one way bat gates.  It will let them out but they won't be able to get back in.

Or you could do what my dad did.  Wait for nighttime when most of them are out and about, and foam seal the entrance......this only becomes a problem if said entrance is near your front door and you end up with a swarm of bats outside your front door every night for about a week.

[Deano]

Or you could do what my dad did.  Wait for nighttime when most of them are out and about, and foam seal the entrance......this only becomes a problem if said entrance is near your front door and you end up with a swarm of bats outside your front door every night for about a week.

Bad idea-only 1/3 of a bat colony feeds at the same time-the rest hang out in the colony (literally). When they can't get out at all you get 2/3 of a colony dying and rotting in your attic-or busting their way out into your home.

[TrulyStashin]

I agree with these posts, however I'll relate my experience............

I've lived in my ranch house for 10 years now.  Every summer, a momma bat shows up in the attic and it becomes a maternity ward for the season.  Note, it has always been just one momma and a few babies, so NOT an entire colony.  In the fall, they all leave.

One of my fall chores is to go up and clean out the guano (with respirator).  The first few years that I lived in my house I diligently searched for their access point(s) and screened in every spot I thought they might be using.  But, bats can squeeze through a hole the size of a quarter.  I've never successfully kept them out.

Yes, I need to fix this.  No, I do not consider it a screaming emergency.  Maybe this year...............