How to get rid of bats in an attic

Six steps you must follow to get rid of bats in an attic

1. First off June through July let them fly. Never I mean NEVER DO A BAT EXCLUSION IN CONNECTICUT JUNE to AUGUST + or – a week or so. Baby bats are not capable of flying at this time and you will cause much more problems then if you wait.
2. Find what points bats are using to enter the home.
3. Find all other places on the outside of the home that bats can access to get into the home 6ft and higher from the ground.
4. Seal off all access points found in step two using appropriate construction materials.
5. Next install one way bat exclusion devices such as a pro cone to let bats out of the home.
6. FinallyHow to get rid of bats in an attic Insure all bats have exited the home, then remove one way bat exclusion devices and seal entry points

Finding the points of entry bats are using to get into an attic

Finding the bats entry points into an attic is the trickiest part of bat removal and exclusion. It takes a trained eye and experience to spot all the places bats can use to get into an attic. Bats access homes usually 6ft off the ground and higher. Depending on how the building is framed bats may have access from the basement to the attic if the can get into an exterior wall. This is called balloon framing or “Chicago construction” and was common until the 1870’s. You really have to have a solid grasp of construction to be good at bat exclusion work. I was a union carpenter and one of the first helmets to hard hats soldier in the state of Connecticut.

Seal up possible bat entry points and how to tell if they are inactive.

Bats follow air currents, when sealing off areas bats can access the attic keep this in mind. Bats do not chew to get in they use entry points other animals have made, construction gaps or vent screens that their droppings have eaten away. Active bat entrance points will usually have staining and droppings present like the picture above. The bats are accessing a soffit on a dormer in the attic of this home. Had this entry point been inactive the dropping would not be present and spiderwebs would likely be present. Closing up entry points must be done with metal to stop other animals from chewing in, caulking and/or foam to seal out air currents.

Attic Vent entry points can be a challenge

The Attic vent that was first opened up by a grey squirrel. Notice the bat guano and urine is so alkaline that it will eat away at the screening on vents. Screens need to be placed over the outside of these type of vents, because they act as a bat house. I prefer to let them out as close to their normal exit point as possible. to do this I use a cone or two then wire the rest of the vent closed. After tape or cardboard covers all but the cones in order that only the cones will have air current going through them.

This method has never backed bats up into the house. Backing up bats is the nightmare scenario that I have never caused. bats backed up end up in living space. For instance on one job the maintenance crew backed bats up in a small condo complex causing me to return daily to remove bats by hand from the interior of the condo and the tenant had to get rabies shots.

Before removing one way bat exclusion devices make sure bats are gone

It is less necessary for a professional but never a bad idea to do a full inspection inside before removing bat one way doors. Hopefully before the bat exclusion was performed you located the roosting spot of the bats. Bat roosts are not always in areas you can access when in the attic. In these cases the night before you remove the one way devices you can do a bat watch. How you do this is pick a corner of the house and watch to see if bats come out of the attic. They will drop and swoop from the entry point. The bats will then do a circle around the house before taking off to drink or feed.