How to Get Rid of Bats: DIY Guide & Contractor Cost

Find out how to efficiently get rid of bats by reading our DIY tips or by browsing the cost of hiring a contractor for the job.

Bats are usually portrayed negatively in the society. If you have watched a scary Hollywood movie, you have probably seen bats being portrayed as creepy features and blood-sucking vampires. However, the fact is that bats are actually vital to the ecosystem and are beneficial in insect control. But, either way, bats are not the kind of pests you would want to spot in your home. Buts carry rabies, and if you are exposed to bat guano (bat droppings), you are likely to get infected with diseases such as histoplasmosis.

Bats can give anyone a fright and people generally have an inherent fear of these creatures. As such, an infestation of bats in your home can be a scary ordeal. They will find their way to your home as they look for warm, dry places to stay during the winter. This is the reason why you are likely to find them in attics, chimneys and the walls.

Even a small number of bats in your home should be a reason enough to make you worry. This is because there is a likelihood that the few bats roosting in your home can actually multiply and soon become an uncontrollable infestation. Naturally, the male bats tend to stay outside. So, if you are seeing bats in your attic, they would be female ones, and there is a high chance of them producing babies if it’s that season of the year.

Bats are unique animals. They are the only mammals that can actually do fly. They are capable of flying great heights and long distances. In their natural habitat, bats live in colonies, and you will find them in forests, caves, and trees. They will settle at a designated place after ascertaining the availability of their source of food in that area. As humans continue to destroy their natural habitats, bats are slowly finding their way to homesteads and increasingly becoming household pests.

Appearance

Bats exist in many species; almost 1200 species of bats have been identified so far. As a result, their sizes are significantly different depending on species and location. Nevertheless, the average length of most bat’s species ranges from 5.5 cm to about 19cm; from tip to tail. Their wings spread at about 15 to 38cm. When it comes to weight, a majority of the bats in the U.S weigh abou 3.5 to 60 grams.

Just like their varying body size, bats are also different in color appearance depending on species. They can be found in black, brown, gray, red and tan color appearance. They have pronounced wings which usually stretch across elongated finger bones and arms. The wings are hairless, made of leathery skin.

Bats generally have pointed ears that look like of a rodent. They also have short snouts, and their torsos are covered with fur. When roosting, bats usually hold or grip their to their roost using their hind legs and hang upside down.

Breeding

Bats have one breeding season in a year, and they breed in the spring when the temperatures are warm. The female bats give birth after twelve weeks. Even though bats have only one breeding season, the female bat can have more than one littler during the breeding season.

Diet

Bats majorly feed on insects. In fact, a study shows that 70% of bats feed on insects and small bugs. The other 30% feed on different types of fruits. They will feed on mosquitoes, bees, beetles, moths, wasps and many other types of insects. They are known to hunt in packs during the night and usually sleep during the day.

Dangers of Having a Bat Infestation in Your Home

While bats are beneficial to our ecosystem, they come with health concerns especially when they infest our homes. When they reside in your homes, bats can become troublesome and give you sleepless nights. Bats get inside our homes to seek for warmth and shelter. Their presence in your home can turn out to be the worst nightmare especially if they happen to multiply. They can become a nuisance and a health concern in your home.

Here are dangers of having a bat infestation in your home.

Rabies Exposure

One of the serious risks of having bats in your home is that they can easily transmit rabies to humans and pets through biting. Statistics show that, next to raccoons, bats are known to be the second largest to harbor rabies and can easily infect humans and pets. A further study shows that bat’s bite causes 70% of human deaths resulting from rabies infection.

Rabies is a viral infection that is dangerous, fatal and can easily lead to death if not treated quickly after infection. In essence, you can’t tell a rabid bat by just looking at it which makes it even more dangerous for you to hang around these creatures. More so, the rabies virus is not only transmitted to humans or pets through a bite only, but you can be exposed to this infection through contact with a bat’s guano, urine, fur, and blood.

The hopeful news is that bat’s bite is extremely rare, but you should not risk the exposure if you have bats living in your room. In fact, a bat will only bite when it feels trapped, threatened or when sick.

Sadly, if a bat bites you or your pet, the bite is likely to go unnoticed, and you might actually think it’s just a scratch. This is because, bats have very small and fine teeth and when it bites you, it will only puncture your skin slightly. This can mislead you to think that it’s nothing until when it’s too late, and the infection has already spread. And so, as much as bats an essential part of our ecosystem, their contact with humans and domesticated animals can obviously lead to devastating effects.

It is easier to tell a rabid animal with other ground-dwelling animals such as skunks, coyotes, and others because it’s easier to see the signs. However, it is completely impossible to tell if a bat has rabies unless it’s tested in a laboratory. If you find out that you have bats living in your home, it’s usually recommended that you have it captured by professional wildlife services who will take it for testing. In case the rabies result comes back positive, every occupant of the home should be seen by a doctor to get a post-exposure rabies vaccine.

Guano (bat’s droppings)

If you have bats living in your attic or chimney, it’s possible for them to increase to a colony quickly. The problem with having a large number of bats living in your home is that they can fill your space with droppings commonly known as guano. Unknown to most people is the respiratory infection known as histoplasmosis which comes about when you breathe in the fungal spores found in a bat’s droppings.

This disease is a fact that should not be dismissed away. Bats mostly get infected with histoplasmosis, and the fungus (Histoplasma capsulatum) is usually present in their feces. When the droppings land in the soil, or in your attic, the fungus will continue to grow.

When the droppings dry up, they easily become airborne and can be inhaled by anyone who comes close to them. A simple act of cleaning the attic where the droppings have been dropped, or stepping on bat’s guano can make the spores to be airborne, and as a result, inhale the infected guano. Once you accidentally or unknowingly breath in the air, you are likely to get infected with histoplasmosis and if this infection spreads past your lungs to the rest of your body, the situation becomes fatal.

If you have bats in your home, they will leave guano in areas where they roost especially in the attic. Due to the danger of bat’s guano, it’s important to contact professional wildlife services to handle the droppings if you spot them in your home.

Another risk factor with guano or bat’s urine is that it can easily contaminate your water in your home. If the bats roost near your water source especially those homes with an outdoor water collection, there is a risk of contamination which can lead to health risks.

Therefore, if you discover that bats are roosting within your water supply sources in your home, you should avoid using that particular water source and contact professional wildlife services. Also, avoid getting in contact with stagnant water that’s lying near a place where the bats roost as this can also expose you to diseases.

The dangers of bat’s urine and droppings are not only restricted to diseases and infection. A bat’s urine droppings can cause the flooring to degrade. If the droppings and urine land on a wooden floor, they can make the floor to become brittle and eventually start splitting and warping.

Additionally, bat’s urine can make a pool on the floor which can lead to fatal slips and fall hazards. If you are walking in an area where the bats roost, you should pay attention to the floor to potentially avoid slipping and falling.

Parasites

Bats, just like other outdoors mammals host and carry parasites such as fleas, lice, and ticks. As a result, if they infest your home, they are likely to bring with them these parasites which can quickly lay eggs and spread all your the place.

Parasites can spread fatal diseases to your household including pets and domesticated animals. For example, ticks are carriers of Lyme diseases which is fatal to humans. Fleas, on the other hand, can hibernate for even two years and eventually become an infestation in your home later.

Unsightly Rub Marks

When existing their roosting place, bats tend to create ugly rub marks on the area. Bats have body oils which also contain some hair, and so any place they come in contact with, it will get the marks and the hair too. The rub marks are usually dark which can contrast a light colored siding or wood.

Interrupted Sleep

As mentioned earlier in this guide, bats are known to be nocturnal by nature meaning they will be most active at night. You can imagine the squeaking and flutter in the dead of the night which will evidently disturb your sleep and keep you awake especially if you have a huge colony living in your attic.

It gets worse if the bat’s exit and the entry point is somewhere within your earshot. You are likely to experience uncomfortable noises during the night and early mornings as they leave and come back to their roost. Normally, bats live in colonies of hundreds or even more, and so when they are leaving and coming back, there is bound to be disturbing noises which can be intolerable at night.

Damage Insulation

One of the places in your home where you are likely to find bats is in the attic. As we all know, the attic is one of the first places we insulate. If bats roost in the attic, their droppings can damage the insulation by creating openings which allow heat to escape.

Clearing out contaminated insulation be costly and you will have to replace the flooring and the support beams in your attic which adds to the expenses. One of the biggest expenses for most homeowners is the heating and cooling system. Bats roosting in your attic can interfere with its operations leading to costly damages. If you spot bats in your home, you should deal with their removal promptly to save yourself costly expenses in advance.

Unbearable Smells

If you have several bats living in your home, the smell of their droppings and urine can be unpleasant if not to mention, nauseating. Even worse, if the bats find their way into the walls and get trapped inside, they may die. What can be worse smelling than the smell of a decomposing bat on your walls? On top of the horrible smell of a dead bat, there will also be the smell of guano.

The bottom line is, no one would want to live with such unpleasant smells in their home. If you have bats in your home, this could be the scenario especially when they start to multiply. It’s best to have them removed as soon as you discover even a single bat in your home.

External Damages

Bats normally make their way to a home through the openings in the roof, vents, chimneys, and soffits. As a result, they can cause damages to these places when exiting and coming back. The damages can affect the structural integrity of your home which could end up costing you a lot of money on repairs. They can also chew on your walls leaving ugly openings on them. Also, bats can leave ugly stains with their urine on the exterior and interior of your home.

So there you have it. All the above points enlisting the dangers of having bats roosting in your home should prompt you to act immediately on their removal. If bats are roosting in your home, as you can, it can see it be a huge problem. You should seek help on removal to avoid exposing your household to health hazards and other damages.

How do Bats Get Inside Your Home?

Bats are increasingly becoming household pests nowadays. It might not be surprising if one day at the dawn of the day you hear some squeaking and chirping noises in your attic or chimney. While the bat in your home may not cause harm on an encounter, the presence of bats in your home may be the beginning of other serious issue discussed earlier in this guide.

The most obvious question in your mind when you find bats in your home perhaps will be “how did they get inside?” in most cases, the chances are that you live in an area where you could be seeing bats around you especially in a rural setting or countryside. Luckily for you, there are obvious places in your home that are likely to be the entry and possible exit points for bats.

Bats are small creatures, and they can find their way inside your house through small cracks. They can fit in tiny cracks even as small as 3/8th of an inch.

If your home has missing shingles or tiles, this becomes a perfect entry point for bats into your home.

If there are gaps between bricks in your walls, then that space right there becomes a perfect passageway inside your home.

Openings in the attic. As mentioned earlier in the guide, the attic is one of the most favorite places for bats. In fact, if you suspect that you have bats in your home, the first place to check should actually be in the attic. These small creatures are attracted to dark and elevated places. Therefore, if bats find an opening in the attic, that will the most perfect entry point into your home.

Bats are likely to flock to places in your one that have less traffic and are hardly occupied or accessed. Such places with less traffic include the grain silos, a less used garage, storage shed, an abandoned building within your home, etc.

Areas in your home that could be having huge pillars or big and thick wooden beams tend to attract bats and can become perfect spots for roosting.

Bats get inside your home through the chimney. In fact, the chimney, just like the attic is one of the places where bats love to roost because of the warm environment. Bats use the gaps left at the place where the chimney meets the roof. They could also get inside the chimney through the hole at the top of the chimney or any other open places or decayed areas.

Even though most chimneys nowadays come with a chimney cap to block pests such as bats from getting inside, the caps can still get damaged by storms, tree limbs, and other external factors. This leaves a perfect entry and exit point into your home.

Another most possible entry point for bats into your home is through the fascia board. As mentioned above, bats love dark places, and so the fascia board becomes one of the ideal spots as an entry point. Remember, bats can fit in a small space to gain entry.

The other place where bats can gain entry into your home, believe it or not, is actually through your front door and an open window. Even though this is not one the most obvious way for bats to get inside your home, it’s still a possible entry point. This happens if you have porch lights on which tend to attract insects and bugs. As a result, but will stay around, near the porch lights to feed on the bugs at dusk.

Now that you know the places and spots where bats can use to gain access to your home, it’s time to deal with these unwelcome guests and remove them from your premises.

Signs That You Have Bats in Your Home

Finding a bat in your home can be a horrifying experience and not fun at all. Most people will open the door or the window to let out the scary creature. But, that does not solve the problem. Sighting one bat might actually be an indication of other bats in the house. Therefore, just because you let out one bat, it does not necessarily mean that you have solved the bat situation in your home.

Remember, bats carry diseases that are fatal to humans as discussed in the guide. Besides being spooked by the sighting of a bat, you should actually be more worried about an infestation right under your roof.

But, discovering a bat infestation is even harder since these critters tend to sleep throughout the day, get out when it’s dark and come back at dusk. Then, the question might be, how do you know if you have bats in your home? The answer lies in the next points we will outline below. Keep reading this guide to learn more about the signs to watch out for to know if you have a bat infestation situation in your home.

Bat Guano

If you have bats in your home, you will start seeing their droppings especially near the entry point or place where they are roosting. Bats are known to have some kind of a habit, and they tend to roost together in the same place. When they roost, you will start seeing guano dropping in a particular place all the time.

You are likely to find guano droppings on decks, porches, windowsills, on walls and directly below the entry point that the bats are using to gain access inside your home. You will find a rough circle their droppings right under the area where they like to hang upside down accompanied by their urine.

Bats droppings look like those of a mouse only that they are bit larger. Together with urine, guano has a musty odor that you cant fail to smell. If you see a pile of droppings-guano, and black urine spots on the mentioned areas in your around your home, it’s possible that you already a couple of bats living in your home.

You Encounter a Bat in Your House

This is actually one of the most obvious signs that you have bats in your home. There could be a rare moment where random bat flies from the outside into your home from elsewhere. However, if you spot a lone bat inside your home, the chances are that the bat squeezed itself into a wall cavity or through a hole in your attic and accidentally found itself in your living room or other common areas.

If you spot a bat in your home, the chances are that there are more roosting somewhere in your home and inspection should be done promptly.

Fluttering and Scratching Sounds in The Walls

Bats are generally quiet even when in their roost. If they are living inside a wall void, you will probably hear some light fluttering sounds when they are trying to fly through the wall voids. Sometimes you can hear some slight scratching sound on the walls. The scratching sound is probably coming from their tiny claws on their wings as they try to maneuver their way through the tight space between the wall voids.

When bats are coming back to their roost at dusk or when they are waking up to go outside, they will make small squeaking noises. Sometimes you can actually hear the bats communicating especially if they have young ones in their roost. But, bats can be quite you are likely to hear them when you slam a door or make some loud noise.

Spot Bats Flying Around Your House

This might be similar to seeing a bat inside your home only that this case the bats are flying around or near your home. In some incidences, when bats keep flying around your house, there are high chances that they might find their way inside your home.

However, this might not be a sign that bats are already living in your home. But, if you have noticed other signs that may indicate bat activity in your home, then spotting them around your home may be a clear confirmation.

Black or Brown Stains On Walls, Floors and Around Holes

A bat’s body is usually covered with a layer of grease. When exiting or entering your home, they will leave some black or brown stains on their greasy bodies on those particular spots. If you see areas on the walls, roof, or around the holes covered with black or brown smears, then it’s possible that you already have bats in your home.

A Pungent Smell Coming from Your Attic or Walls

If you notice that you have strange or pungent odors around your home; more so in the attic or walls, you could be having some wildlife living in your home. If other signs around your home indicate the presence of bats in your home, then odors might confirm your suspicions. An inspection should be carried to find out their roosting place.

Dead Bats Around Your Home

A dead bat in your property might not be an obvious sign that you have bats in your home. However, it’s not actually a good sign. If you spot a dead rat in your home, it’s an indication that there are bats within the area. You should start an inspection to see if there are others within your property and to ascertain whether they have already gained access to your home.

Just like in the other points outlined above, if other signs signify the presence of bats in your home, then a dead bat might an indicator that you already have an infestation.

Ammonia-Like Smells

Guano droppings have a toxic odor that is very much similar to ammonia. If you start smelling ammonia odors in your home suddenly, then it’s possible that there is a pile of guano in the attic or somewhere in your home.

How to Get Rid of Bats in Your Home

A bat situation is never good news in your home. Even though bats have an essential role in our ecosystem, their presence in our home can have devastating effects. Bats carry a host of diseases that are fatal to humans, pets, and domesticated animals. If you have a bat infestation, you should take stringent measures as soon as possible to ensure that you get rid of the growing infestation.

Getting rid of bats from your home can be a challenging and difficult task for homeowners. Bats can easily spread diseases such as rabies, and their droppings can infect you with a respiratory infection. For this reasons, you need to be extra careful and handle their removal with professionalism.

But before you think of calling exterminators or wildlife removal services, you can try the following DIY methods to see if you will manage to get rid of the bats from your home.

Getting Rid of Bats Outside Your Home

If you have spotted bats outside your home, you can successfully prevent them from getting inside your house. But for this to happen, you have to act promptly to prevent any possible exterior damages such staining from happening.

Here are some of the methods that you can use to eliminate birds from your property.

Use Mothballs

Mothballs repel majority of ground animals and bats are not an exception. Mothballs are actually one of the best solutions towards getting rid of bats in your property. They will not only scare away the bats but also prevent them from re-entering your property.

You can purchase mothballs from pest control stores or Amazon. For example, a pack of 4Enoz original moth balls– 4oz costs less than 10 bucks. Once you purchase the mothballs, tie them in a cheesecloth or a fine hardware cloth. You can then hang the cloth in the areas around your home where bats are nesting.

The smell of the mothballs will scare the bats away, and they will not roost in that area. However, you need to keep placing the mothballs frequently because bats often return to their previous nesting places. This way, you will permanently keep the bats away for a long time.

Use Phenol

This is another repellent method that is quite effective. Bats find its odor annoying and unbearable. If it’s sprayed on a place where the bats are residing, phenol repels the bats away and makes them leave.

Normally, it’s advised that you use the white phenol as it most effective. You can pour it in a water spray bottle and spritz it on the area where bats reside. Keep spraying phenol regularly to ensure that the odor gets strong to permanently keep the bats away.

Use Mylar Balloons

This is a creative way of keeping bats away from your property. Hang the Mylar balloons at the area where they reside when the bats are away at night or have left their roost to look for food. The balloons are usually filled with helium thus they will stay in motion and scare the bats away.

For this method to be more effective, use shiny Mylar balloons. In addition, make sure they are always filled with helium. Once the balloons manage to scare away the bats, it’s unlikely that they will come back to your property.

Aluminum Foil

Another efficient method of keeping bats away from your property is hanging aluminum foil near the area where the bats reside. The good thing with aluminum foil is that it’s cheap and readily available. The foil will reflect light, and this will, in turn, irritate bats and scare them away.

Use Dog and Cat Repellents

You can use aerosol cat and dog repellent and spray it where the bats reside. You can purchase aerosol repellent from pest control shops at an average cost of $3.98. The repellent aerosol spray does not harm the bats. If you spray regularly, the bats will eventually leave and find somewhere else to reside. However, do not spray the aerosol repellent when the bats are present at their roost; instead, wait until when they leave during the night and spray before they come back.

How to Get Rid of Bats in The Attic

The attic is one of the most attractive places for bats especially the females who are not only looking for a warm place but also a place to take care of their young ones. Once you discover that you have bats roosting in the attic, you should try and locate the entry points.

If you come across any small opening even less than an inch you should seal as bats fit in even in the smallest holes. Find out the openings that the bats are using to leave and re-enter your house. You can try walking around your house at sunset when the bats are leaving their roost to see which openings they use.

Once you find their entry points ad openings, seal holes and gaps using caulk. However, as you seal the entry points, make sure you remain with one primary entry. This one will be sealed later when you have managed to get rid of the bats.

In this process, you will use exclusion method to remove the bats from the attic. After sealing the entry points, install exclusion devices that allow bats to get out in only one direction. You can purchase exclusion devices from pest control shops or even from Amazon. An example of this device is Batcone Bat exclusion device.

Once you are certain that all the bats have gone, you can proceed to seal the remaining entry point. After this, you can clean up the attic to get rid of bat’s urine and guano. We will discuss the process of clean up bat’s guano and urine later in this guide.

eIf you are certain that you are dealing with a single bat, the removal will be much easier than when handling a colony. To remove a single bat from the attic, wear a thick pair of gloves and long pants. You can use a broom to knock the bat onto the floor. Once on the floor, a bat cannot easily take off immediately. Use a fish net to cover the bat and relocate it.

If you are sure that the bat did not come into contact with anyone in your home including pets, you release to the wild. If one of you came in contact with the bat, you should call in the animal control department. They will take the bat for testing for rabies and where necessary, you and your family members will receive the required treatment.

Getting Rid of Bats in The Chimney

Bats roosting in your chimney may not cause any damages, but they will still pose a health risk. They will drop their feces and urine to your fireplace which is dangerous. In addition, there is the risk of bats escaping into the room, a scenario that will expose you and your family to risks.

To eliminate bats from your chimney, you will still use the exclusion method. Seal off all the cracks and openings and remain with one. You can place a mesh barrier over the remaining opening to allow the bats to get out and prevent them from re-entering. If the climate gets cold, the bats will migrate.

If you live in a warmer climate, or you are not willing to wait for the colder season, you can use the exclusion devise to get rid of the bats. After the bats are gone, you can seal the remaining opening.

Get Rid of Bats in the Walls

Generally, a bat infestation inside the walls is usually the most difficult one to handle. To start off, you need to examine and inspect the exterior walls to locate the entry points. As you inspect, remember that bats can fit in extremely small holes even less than half an inch. Once you locate the holes and gaps, you can use exclusion devices to get rid of the bats. The process is likely to take as it’s hard to tell when all the bats are gone.

It’s actually recommended that you hire professional wildlife removal services to handle a bat wall infestation. After successful removal, it is best to install foam insulation. This will help prevent a re-infestation situation in your walls. Also, make sure your address the waste and urine that will be trapped behind the walls.

How to Prevent Bats from Getting Inside Your House

Once you have managed to get rid of bats out your house, it essential to make sure that they do not find their way back inside again. Bats are known to return to their old nesting sites. Therefore, it is essential to take necessary precautions to make sure that you don’t find yourself dealing with the same problem the following year.

One of the safest ways to discourage bats from coming to your house is setting up bat boxes. A bat box is a small enclosed wooden box that acts as a temporary place for bats that are looking for a place to roost.

The main purpose of using set up bat box is to provide a place for the bats to roost to discourage them from looking for places to enter the house. The bats can be relocated once inside the boxes. You can construct a bat box from scratch if you live in the woods; or, you can purchase them at the pest control shops. Bat boxes prices range from $23.99 to about $89 depending on the brand.

The other prevention method is to make sure all the holes and openings are sealed. You should always inspect your home to see if there are any new openings and seal them promptly.

If all the DIY prevention measures fail to keep the bats away, then you should consider seeking for professional assistance to manage the bat situation and bat-proof your home.

Cleaning Out Guano and Bat’s Urine

One of the dangers of having bats in your home is the risk of getting exposed to bat’s guano. As discussed earlier in the guide, exposure to guano can be dangerous to you. The droppings, when disturbed can release Histoplasma capsulatum, a fungus that infects the respiratory system to cause an infection known as Histoplasmosis.

Since exposure to guano can be dangerous, it’s critical to be careful and exercise safe cleanup methods to prevent exposure. In fact, due to the dangers associated with guano, it’s advisable to hire a pest professional to do the cleanup and sanitize your home.

If you choose to do it yourself, the first step is to make sure that you wear protective gear. This includes a disposable protective suit, boots, a hood, and rubber gloves. If you are cleaning the attic, you should use a headlamp to enable you to see around the cramped space. Also, make sure you wear a quality air filter mask.

Start off by vacuuming loose guano on the smooth surface. The vacuum will safely contain the guano and its hazardous waste. If the guano is a lot, you can use a shovel to collect and place it in sealed bags. After that, vacuum any excess guano left on the surface.

After you have managed to collect and vacuum all the guano on the surface, you should scrub the area thoroughly using an enzyme-based cleaner. Make sure you also clean and scrub the walls with the enzyme cleaner to get off the guano and urine stains.

Inspect the insulation to see if it has guano on it. If it doesn’t seem to have guano on it, you should spray it with the enzyme cleaner. However, if the insulation has been exposed to guano, it will have to be replaced as it is impossible to clean all the guano on it.

Once you have cleaned the area, you will need to sanitize and fog the area using an atomizing mist machine. The fogging process will ensure that the cleanser gets deep into the surface and cleans up all hazardous organic matter from the bat’s dropping. In the process, the fogging will eliminate any pheromones that could have been left behind by the bats which can easily attract other pests.

Hiring A Professional Bat Remover

Eliminating bats especially a colony can be a difficult, challenging and complicated process. If you have tried the DIY methods without any lack removing bats, then it’s possible that you have a colony roosting in your home and you need professional services to get rid of the bat infestation.

A pest control professional will be able to contact inspection of your home and pinpoint the possible entry points that the bats are using to get inside. Since they are experienced with this kind of infestation, they will be able to locate the vulnerable entry points in your home better than you.

Calling a professional to handle a bat removal is the best approach, safe and convenient particularly if you can afford it. In fact, in some regions, some bat species are protected by the environmental conservation rules, and you might not be allowed to get rid of bats on your own. It will be a good idea to contact wildlife services in your area as they might actually remove the bats from your home at no cost.

What Will a Professional Do?

Since bats are considered to be a vital part of the ecosystem, a professional will not harm the bats or exterminate them. They will use exclusion method which is considered to be a humane way to remove the bats and relocate them safely.

In addition to removing the bats, they will give guidelines and advice on how to handle and prevent a future infestation. They will also clean and sanitize your home and leave it free of guano and bat’s urine.

Remember, bats exist in many species. A professional will be able to identify the bat species in your home and use the most appropriate method to remove them. Different species require slightly different removal methods for the process to be effective and successful.

How Much Will Professional Bat Removal Services Cost?

A bat removal service will cost you a significant amount of money. The cost will vary depending on the expert you hire, the size of the colony, the size of your home, the severity of the infestation and the type of bat species that has invaded your home.

Here the average bat removal costs that you should expect from a professional bat removal services.

Bat removal service	Average cost
Single bat removal services	$90-$350
Small colonies of about 50 to 60 bats	$350-$550
A colony of about 100 to 250	$550-&1200
A large colony of bats of more than 60 bats	$1500-$1800
A massive colony of bats	$3000

The costs described above do not include the additional costs of clean up, repairs, and any preventive measures that will be taken after the removal process. If you have a relatively old building or a large house, the cost will be higher than it would be for a newer building or a smaller house. An older or large building is likely to have lots of potential entry points. An older building may require a lot of work as the colonies may have stayed there for a longer period and grown to huge numbers.

Conclusion

A bat infestation is not something you would want to encourage or overlook in your home. Bats pose a potential health risk to you, your family members and domesticated animals. If you see signs in your home that may indicate there are bats in your home, you need to have an inspection done as soon as possible.

In most regions, bats are protected by the wildlife laws. Therefore, the removal of bats has to be done through the exclusion methods, and the process has to be safe and humane. Harming or killing bats is discouraged and prohibited. Besides, you risk exposing yourself and your household to diseases and infections.

Lastly, for safe removal of bats, it’s always recommended that you hire professional services. They will safely remove the bats through the exclusion methods and relocate them. They will further do a clean up to ensure that your home is sanitized and safe. A professional will recommend tests for rabies on the bats where necessary and recommend treatment for you and your household. However, it doesn’t hurt to try the DIY method on bat removal to save on costs.