A lot of people consider bats creepy mammals.
As such, they’d rather have no dealings with these bats. However, there are times when you just discover that bats seem to be attracted to your home.
Why Are There Bats in Your House At Night?
During such times, most people will want to know what the bat attraction is.
In other words, what makes these bats keep coming to your house?
This article seeks to provide answers.
Here, you’ll find possible reasons why these flying mammals seem to prefer your surroundings and if there’s anything you can do about it.
If you’re reading this, chances are that you’re experiencing a bat problem. Stick around to learn about your situation.
With Bats, There’s a Level of Tolerance
Bats are considered as being creatures of the wild.
As such, it’s common to find them around homes, in caves, woodlands, suburban communities, and in cities. As creatures of the wild, these flying mammals are free to roam to wherever they find an abundance of food, water, and shelter.
However, there are times when they get too close for comfort. Most people are freaked out to see bats indoors. This is quite scary for many as they’re generally unwelcome. What more?
Bats could find your attic or any outbuilding suitable for nesting. All such scenarios are less than ideal.
You’ll have to take back control of your space. For most homeowners, the question will border on what these flying creatures find attractive.
The purpose of such a question is to identify the sources of attraction to remove them where possible. This takes us to the main focus of this article.
What Attracts Bats to Your House At Night?
Whenever you find yourself asking why there are bats within or around your home, it’s important to rephrase such questions by asking what attracts them. This is because bats only come around areas they find attractive.
There has to be something that attracts for these bats to come around.
Basically, bats are attracted by harborage (shelter), food, and water.
Human swellings provide an abundance of such. So, the goal should be to identify what particularly (in terms of food) brings them around.
To find answers, we’ll have to consider bat diets.
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Bat Diets
One of the primary reasons bats migrate to an area is the availability of food.
These nocturnal mammals mainly feed on insects. While this is true, certain bat species known as fruit bats feed mainly on fruit and nectar.
These mammals are excellent insect predators.
They feed in flight and catch prey mainly through echolocation. In the case of fruit bats, your home may have lots of fruit trees. Bats will help themselves with any fruit they find attractive.
In terms of the broad spectrum of bat diets, there aren’t studies that identify all.
In other words, the detailed types of food (insect prey) aren’t fully known due to the absence of studies on such. So, this leaves you with a starting point in dealing with the problem.
You’d want to be more attentive to overripe fruits (either hanging or dropped) to have such removed.
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Bat Harborage in Homes
We earlier mentioned that one of the attractions for bats in homes is a suitable shelter. These nocturnal mammals will readily roost in homes to get protection from predators.
There are a few natural bat predators such as owls, snakes, and hawks. Human dwellings are likely to provide the cover bats need from these predators.
Also important for bats is the need to raise their young undisturbed. Your home, among other man-made structures, may provide or serve as the perfect roosting ground for bats.
Removing Bats
Your vacation home might become a roosting ground for bats when such isn’t in use and has ample nesting spots. It’s most disturbing for people to find these mammals occupying human spaces.
At this point, the goal is to have bats removed. So, who performs the job?
If you need professional help (which you should), bat excluders should be called. These are bat experts that understand bat behavior and will help with their removal.
A lot of times, most people would avoid bats and have professionals handle their removal. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
However, if you’re a DIY enthusiast, you might be interested in getting the job done yourself. If so, you must adopt all precautionary measures during removal.
Such precautionary measures mostly have to do with safety. Bats can bite when they feel threatened.
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Before you Begin…
Before you proceed with bat removal, it’s important to note that some species of bats are considered endangered, hence are protected under federal law.
You’ll like to make your research to understand what species you’re dealing with and which of these are under federal protection.
Also, the bat removal process isn’t for the faint of heart.
In other words, it’s a difficult procedure to undertake and must be done carefully. If you don’t have the experience or expertise, you should leave a bat removal job to the experts.
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Removing Bats
Bat removal requires the adoption of adequate safety measures including putting on thick or heavy leather gloves.
Also, put on long-sleeves and get a small container (such as a cardboard box) for covering the bat when it lands. You’ll have to lie in wait for it to land before covering it.
With the help of a piece of cardboard, gently cover or slip it between where the bat was and the cardboard box. Remember you don’t want to have the bat injured, so this must be carefully done.
With the bat in your box, gently turn it over.
There should be tiny holes for ventilation because the bat will have to remain in the box until dark where it’s best to have it released. You want to release the bat in the best possible position.
An elevated area will enable it to catch flight better. You mustn’t have it fed when in captivity.
Can A Colony of Bats Be Removed?
They can, but not through DIY methods. You’ll have to call for professional help to have them removed. This is beyond your scope as a non-professional.
Now you know the reasons why there are bats around your home. Such a situation isn’t hopeless as these bats can be removed as discussed above.