Bats are beneficial to people but can damage homes.
Bats are the only mammals that can fly and are the source of much myth and mystery. Despite urban legends, these animals are not dangerous to humans and less than 1 percent carry rabies. Bats only bite when provoked, and there have only been 40 documented cases since 1960 of people contracting rabies from bats. These animals are vital to the ecosystem and eat many pests. However, when they occupy an attic or home they can wreak havoc. There are several natural, nontoxic ways to get rid of bats. Bats tending to their offspring are unlikely to leave. If this is the case, contact a wildlife rehabilitation or removal expert.
Nets
If a single bat has inadvertently ended up in your house, try to catch it with a net. Close off all the doors in your house so it can't escape to another room and open the door that leads outside. Give the bat an hour or two to leave on its own. If this doesn't work, put on thick gloves and wear long sleeves to avoid bites. Use a net to gently catch the bat and take it outside.
Physical Barriers
The safest way to get rid of a bat colony is to physically bar them. Find the bats' entry areas in your house by observing them when they leave to hunt at night. Then tack a thick netted flap outside the entryways. This will allow them to leave but prevent them from re-entering.
This approach will only work if there are no offspring; they don't hunt for themselves, so they won't leave at night. Only set up physical barriers between August and March. These are the months when the young are least likely to be in your home. If babies are left to die in your home it can create a health problem in addition to being cruel.
Repellents
Spray dog or cat repellents near the holes the bats are using to enter your house. These are nontoxic but will repel bats unless they have set up a colony of babies. Spray the repellent around the top level of your house as well as in areas in which the bats seem to congregate. This will persuade them to find other nesting spots.
Aluminum Foil
Because bats are nocturnal, they are unlikely to take up residence in an area where light is being reflected toward them. Hang strips of aluminum foil in areas where bats are nesting. If you're trying to deter bats rather than getting them to leave, hang the strips of foil on the outside of your home near possible points of entry.
What Doesn't Work
Some websites and old wives' tales suggest methods for getting rid of bats that won't work. Moth balls may deter bats on the outside of the home. When bats are living in a home however, they won't work and moth balls are a carcinogenic. Keeping large quantities of moth balls in your attic can be dangerous. Poisons are also likely to be ineffective. Bat colonies can have as many as 100 members and poison is unlikely to kill them all. However, even if the poison does kill all bats, eliminating dozens of bat carcasses from your home is extremely hazardous.
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