Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Recently, I noticed droppings on my outdoor patio table. The exterminator said it was bat droppings from a bat that stays in my outdoor umbrella. How do I get rid of the bat? I can't use my deck otherwise. I've never had any bat problems for the last 18 years.
By Wanda from Whitehouse Station, NJ
Bats are great to have around for insect control. If I were you, I'd let the bat stay. If you don't want it living under your umbrella, take the umbrella down when the bat is NOT roosting. Put it away for a few days. Place a bat box (www.watershedactivities.com/
Bats are a blessing. If that little one leaves, you will not enjoy your patio with all the biting bugs. You might hang a bat house about 15 foot up, facing south. See if critter would like it better than your umbrella. They harm nothing. One bat eats more bugs than any zapper kills, very quietly. In summer when doors and windows are open in the night, i have one that visits me and my dogs in the bedroom every night.
I don't want to advise you to fork over for an exterminator, since the cost is prohibitive. You might instead try your local wildlife office. I located ours by calling our local City Hall. If you have an Information and Referral service in your area (we have 211 I&R,) you can also ask them. Please be specific that you want the wildlife office.
As someone who works in zoology, I want to set some bat myths strait. Bats don't mind light in fact they will fly at light simply to eat the bugs that swarm there. If you think it may bite you or get you sick. Most bats wont ever get close enough to a human to do either. And if they do get close there merely eating Mosquitoes and other insects that were about to land on you.
As long as the bat is outside there's no property damage and a lot of people now a days are building bat boxes to attract bats to there house for the beneficial aspects. Insect eating bats devour millions of insects a year. from mosquitoes and moths. To Crickets and spiders! And well spiders may be a lot more of a risk. Even Bees and Wasps may get eaten Fruit eaters pollinate flowers and disperse the seeds. Most eucalyptus trees exist from a bat.
Having bats outside may also be keeping bugs from getting inside. why spend money and energy getting rid of a bat only to spend more tie and energy spraying for beetles and bees and other things. If you want the bat out of the mbrells put some bat boxes far enough from your home like 300 meters or the edge of your property and you'll get he benefits of less insects, While still never needing to see the bat or his droppings again.
Or just get rid of his home the umbrella. Hopefully hell get the point and find somewhere else. If you want him gone for good with no chance of come backs you can call a wildlife trapper who will gradually relocate him to somewhere else. Do not try to remove him yourself.
Im sorry I do not agree that bats are harmless. Their guano is harmful to wood and other materials and can literally break it down to crumble and it also carries diseases and they have oily dirty bodies that leave ugly stains on wood siding. Their urine smell is horrible - its like sitting in a urinal. Their droppings stain outdoor furniture and is very hard to clean off and who wants to sit in bat poop! My sister in law was bitten by one as she was weeding her flowers and had to undergo a painful series of shots.
I am terrified of bats so much so that I would probably have a heart attack if one flew close to me. I live right in front of a wooded area and so far I have not seen any bats in my back yard, but the building next door has a huge and really bright spot light on all night. We can actually see the bats flying towards the light to eat bugs. I can not swim in my pool, sit out back after dark or go out anywhere at night because Im so scared that the bats will come in my yard.
I thought bats hate lights? Are they attracted to the water in my pool? And will light from my Tiki torches keep them away? What can I do to keep them from flying into my yard? Please help me so I can go back out at night without having a heart attack or nervous breakdown.There is really no way to guarantee bats will not fly into your yard. Bats live in many areas that are wild woodlands, prairies, etc., however, people are moving into the areas where bats have lived for thousands of years. Bats do not intend to harm people, they are fantastic bug (mosquitos!) hunters and are beneficial.
To answer your questions:
*Bats are not attracted to light but are attracted to the bugs that swarm around night lights.
*Bats are not specifically attracted to your pool but do drink from pools where they find them.
*Your tiki torches will not drive them away but may attract bats if bugs swarm around the lights.
*Essentially, there is nothing you can do to keep them from flying into your yard.
You can try several methods to keep them from living in your yard. A very easy online search for "how to stop bats in yard" produces many answers. You can try a search yourself or this very helpful site to start. Keep in mind that bats are only looking for food and do not purposely target you or your house. This site has many suggestions so read through to gain bat information and methods to avoid them:
www.wikihow.com/
Have you considered therapy for your phobia? I realize it may be out of your budget right now, but I feel bad that you feel the need to barricade yourself indoors as soon as the sun goes down. I hope that at least one day in the future you'll be able to get help for the mental aspect of this problem.
Bats are quite uninterested in you, and are very beneficial. I think that they would do a good job of keeping the insects down, which is a great plus. I have heard that bats are preyed upon by owls, so perhaps one of those plastic owls that can be purchased to keep birds out of the yard will work with bats.
What about a sonic repeller? I seen some on goggle. It scrambles their ability to fly I think.
Every morning my white garden chairs and all the pathways are covered with bat droppings. I appreciate they eat mosquitoes, but this is too high a price to pay! It takes hours to clean and the next morning its disgusting again.
By Judy
You're right that bats are beneficial - contact your local cooperative extension office for excellent, area specific advice on relocating a bat colony.
Be advised bats are protected in nearly every US state, and country world-wide because they are so beneficial (they rank right up there with honeybees on the protection priority list) so you will need to follow qualified expert guidelines.
You can pay (hideously expensive) a professional to move the bats on, the extension agent will be able to point you in the right direction. I have heard of some universities relocating the colony free of charge so that they can study the colony, again, the agent will be able to advise if this is available in your area.
As beneficial as bats are, because you are seeing bat guano every morning it is rather important that you A-move this messy colony on ASAP because B-bats do carry rabies and finding guano all over your patio furniture - a place you and your family presumably frequent - indicates a flight pattern that brings the bats too close to you and yours.
Instead of killing beneficial creatures, consider covering up your chairs.
If you can find their 'nesting' holes at night, when they are out plug those holes. You don't want to seal them in, just keep them out. Best to consult an expert though.
I have a bat living in the 2nd floor bathroom exhaust vent over the tub that goes from the shower vent to the outside wall, 5ft. A bat bit through the plastic cover for the vent on the outside wall and is living in the tube. How do I get him out? I looked in the attic and saw no more bats, although I did not get very close.
If I make noise outside the vent on the ground during the day he will pop his his head out and look at me. I need to paint that side of the house and he seems to be very happy there. I've waited til dusk and he will appear. It seems to be very protective of his area.By ae
Surely someone in your area is responsible for removing wild animals from homes and yards. Give these people a call. Sometimes the city has someone hired; sometimes it is the SPCA.
My dad built several bat houses and he loved to sit on the deck in the evenings and watch them swarm out by the thousands! Here's the problem. He built them only about 15-20 feet from the house and right over the deep well. They both suddenly fell seriously ill and my dad died. It may or may not have had anything to do with the bats, but no one wants to be around the property and especially drink the water. And the backyard stinks! How can we get rid of the bats or is there anyway to move the houses?
By Michelle
You can't move the bats, they already are used to having a home close by yours. You could call someone to come and get them but there is no way you could do it alone.
We have a huge garage, the bats just keep comming out of a certain part of it at night, it seems nonstop. We can't use that part of the garage because of them. I know all the benifits of having them around, and I totally agree. They come out of multiple cracks, I really don't want them harmed, just living in the nearby woods with lots of trees with woodpecker holes, nearby wet area. Any suggestions? Thanks.
By Pam Lalonde
Rural? If it won't disturb your neighbors, play a loud radio in the most affected area 24 hours a day for as long as it takes but not when they have young. Few days to better than a week.
If bats get into your home, they can be quite a nuisance and possibly be difficult to get rid of. This is a page about keeping bats out of my house.
Bats can be a nuisance to have in or close you your home. This is a page about bat living above our front door.
Although bats are very beneficial in helping to keep the insect population in control, having them move into your attic is not a good thing. This is a page about getting rid of bats in the attic.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I need to know how to get rid of bats under an umbrella.
By cristinbasalyga@hotmail.com
I was wondering how do I get rid of bats living on my trees. I look out my window and there's like cocoons everywhere all over my trees, and there's bats living in them. I want to get rid of them, they are everywhere. How would I go about getting them off my trees and away from my house?
Ashley From MA
Bats don't like the light, so either decorate your trees with outdoor "Fairy" lights or string unwanted CD's to the branches. These reflect any light and might deter them. They also dislike the smell of cedar.
I hope this helps, good luck.
Monique x
(Somerset.UK) (05/18/2005)
By Monique
Call your local state park and ask if they can help you locate someone who can solve your problem.
(05/18/2005)
By it's.only.me
Although I have no ideas about how to get rid of bats, I have a question: why would you want to? They normally don't bother people, and they're wonderful for keeping mosquitoes and other night time nibblers away. We had one that lived on our front porch for a year or more, and now that he's gone I miss having him fly over our heads once it started getting dark. Call me crazy, but I'm seriously considering some bat houses to attract more to my yard.
Terry from Chilli, OH (05/19/2005)
By terry
I read an article recently that bats eat 10,000 mosquitoes an hour. Sound like a good mosquito controller to me.
Susan from ThriftyFun (05/23/2005)
By ThriftyFun
The best site I've found on Bat control is here:
Bottom line: you need to find out where they get in and give them a one-way door out. Then (in about a week to make sure they are gone) use a sealant (caulk) to close their entrance for good.
The web site said that electronic devices don't work (too bad for me) and killing them may leave nasty, decaying carcasses and poison potential for the family pets. So, if you can build a one-way exit, the bats will find another place. Additionally, if you build them another place to live, in conjunction with evicting them from your attics, you'll serve them and yourself at the same time. (06/28/2005)
By Mark M.
We found out about this accidentally through a friend. This works 100% first you get the bats out of where ever they are. Ours were living in an vent under the roof overhang, then, while they are gone, hang a mobile which you've made out of small double sided mirrors. This mobile should be big enough to cover the area they or getting into. We did this and no more bats got in there. It must mess with their radar and then they can't "see" to get in their "hang-out". We had friends that discovered this in a porch area that always had a couple of bats and they hung up a mirrored mobile and no more bats. I thought it was worth trying and it worked. (08/05/2005)
By J. Warren from Greenville, SC
Here is a link that might help.
www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/bathouse
Because bats are beneficial in keeping insects away, mosquitoes especially, it might be best to follow some of the advice in bat proofing your house, but building them a bat house away from your dwelling. That way you won't have them flying around your house, but will still get the benefit of their eating the insects.
Susan from ThriftyFun (08/06/2005)
By ThriftyFun
