Bats aren’t by any means the worst pest to have hanging around your home; in fact they’re generally pretty harmless, and can even keep a mosquito presence on your property at bay. On the other hand, bat poop (called “guano”) can be the carrier of disease-spreading bacteria, and all-in-all having a roost of bats in the attic can just in general cause a mess. We scoured the internet to show you just how gnarly a bat habitat in the home can get!

How Bats Get Into Homes

So how do bats get in the house in the first place? Because of their ability to squeeze into small spaces- as small as a ½ inch crack- here are a few places that they bats make their entry: 

• Cracks or holes in locations like attics, which can create air currents that bats will follow right indoors. 
• Loose roof shingles can give bats access to attics. 
• Gaps in the trim around doors and windows can be enough space for a bat to get indoors.
• Cracks in the foundation can give bats the opportunity to sneak into your basement. 
• More simply, just leaving a door or window open can mean bats can get in.

Where Bats Roost & Hibernate in Homes 

Bats will usually roost or hibernate inside walls if they can, and typically that will be in areas like a basement or attic, where they can find a relatively quiet, dark place to spend time in without being bothered. Here are some examples of bats hiding in homes:

Here you can see some bats roosting in an attic-like structure up in Canada:

In this video you can see a TON of bats hiding out in some unlucky homeowners loose roof shingles:

This bat infestation was so bad that it actually made the news in Tampa:

And here’s an example of a totally insane bat infestation nearby, just out in western New York (warning: there’s a TON of guano -- and bed bugs to boot):

As you can see, bats can get inside and cause all sorts of problems in any structure. So what can you do to prevent them?

Preventing Bats From Getting Inside

Here’s what you can do to prevent a bat presence in your home: 

1. Identify any holes, gaps, crevices or cracks that might act as an entry point.
2. If you can, use caulk on any openings that bats can get into (¼ inch-½ inch).
3. Use window screens, chimney caps, and draft-guards beneath doors to attics.
4. Fill electrical and plumbing holes with stainless steel wool or caulking.
5. Ensure that all doors to the outside close tightly.

Even if you take these steps, there’s always a good chance that you’ll miss something, which is why it’s a good idea to contact a professional bat control company. That’s where we come in. At Thomas Pest Services, we use a 4 step bat control process that involves inspection, exclusion, observation, and clean up -- done ethically and with a warranty to ensure that the creatures are treated humanely and guarantee that your bat problem is taken care of. Just contact us to get the process started ASAP!