Bats...

[Lwapo]

I'm SURE this isn't the right place for this, but i'll try it here anyways.

How do I get rid of bats? I'm renting a house and in the past 6 months or so I've had to let out 10-12 bats.

I know that they are not "usually" dangerous, but I don't want them IN the house nonetheless. Is there a way that I can get rid of them? I have puppies and I worry about them getting bit as well.

Thanks!

[trout]

Bats in the house do pose a dangers and should be removed by a person trained in such work.
Contact several ADC trappers and get qoutes.
Your landlord should have them removed.

[jharris]

Bats are an interesting problem. I live in mosquito heaven and would only get rid of the bats if they were getting into my living quarters on a regular basis. If they are only in the attic or a storage area, I might just leave them be for the benefits that they will bring in the summer. If there were any possibility of them harming my pups, I would try to get rid of them though... the ways I have done and seen done in the past were more for the comic pages though than a good technique.

[Raf]

i would try to figure out first how they are getting inside the house. if its through the chimney you can put one of them metal screens on.

[hungry hunter]

bats are definately a problem that should be taken seriously,if a person has been sleeping in a room with a bat or young children alone in a room with a bat they are supposed to get the rabbies vaccine or have the bat tested if it is caught.do a search on bats to find more info. here is a link about rabbies and bats http://www.michigan.gov/documents/rabiesbrochure_1_6884_7.pdf

[FixedBlade]

Letting the bat out is always the best thing to do. But, if you don't find where it is getting in, you may let him out 10 more times. Bats typically come into an attic from the roof and soffit areas. Start by putting chimney caps on, new hardware cloth on pot vents and dormer vents and seal all gaps along the roof edge and soffits. Now your just getting warmed up. Check all the window and door frames Outdoor light fixtures attached to the house are great ways for bats to enter because most homeowners do not seal around the base plate leaving ample space for bats to get in. Now check around the boxing of the house, basement windows and celler door. If you have a 1" piece of morter missing between the block they will crawl in there to. You may want to call the landlord and have him send out a pro.

[elvis]

isnt bat poop someone harmful???

i do remeber throwing tinfoil balls at them when i was a kid, i loved that, and i sure as heck know they didnt

[Splitshot]

I even put bat houses out for them. Once in a while one will get in and I usually catch them in my trout and gently release them outdoors.

My theory is anything that eats mosquitos is a friend of mine.

[Linda G.]

If you still have bats in your house NOW, in this cold weather, they're in the house where it's heated. In cold weather, they hibernate. Get hold of a professional. Could be he'll find them, and seal off that area until spring, as long as they can get outside from there. If they can't get outside from where they are now, and you're seeing them now, he'll have to move them now, but I don't know where he'd move them to, unless he knows of a refuge somewhere, that they wouldn't die from the cold...but there are laws about this sort of thing, so contact a professional. Bats are protected.

If you haven't seen any in the last few weeks, I wouldn't worry about it till it starts to warm up in the spring. Bats usually won't emerge unless it's at least 45 or so. But call a professional, he'll know right when to move them.

You have a colony if you've seen more than one or two. You might have hundreds in there somewhere.

[Lwapo]

You have a colony if you've seen more than one or two. You might have hundreds in there somewhere.

That scares me. The last one I saw was last night. (I'm in Mid-Mich... It's cold)

I guess a call to a pro is my next step. I would have liked to have thought that it was a once-in-a-great-while occurance, but that is not seeming to be the case.

Thanks for all of the great info guy and gals. I really apreciate it!