# Bats



## Travis_handyman (Sep 22, 2011)

We live near a river and a neighbor down the block has a huge bat house that can't hold about 500 bats. The problem with this is that we also get bats do to these 2 situations. They get into our attic somehow,( I haven't found out where). What can I do to drive them away? Moth balls? Electronic sonic devices? Or any other suggestions?


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## oh'mike (Sep 18, 2009)

You must find the entrance ----if bats can get in --so can other critters.

Best to get a service in to remove them---it's rare but some bats carry rabies.


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

And you're not necessarily looking for what we humans might think of as an entrance. Those guys are very opportunistic; a loose piece of soffit, a piece of vinyl siding that came unhooked, or other such obscure openings are all they need, so sometimes you have to feel your way around the area they are using. Unless you can catch them coming and going, and watch from a distance to identify a general area to begin searching, you are probably best served to get an expert, as Mike suggested.


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## Windows (Feb 22, 2010)

You could try putting up a bat house of your own. THey may be less inclined to come into your house, if they have a habitat close by that is more suited to them.


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## PAbugman (Jun 29, 2010)

You must find out how they are entering/exiting. Stand outside at dusk and watch for bat activity. Go into your attic on a bright sunny day and see if you can find any daylight filtering in. Cover attic windows, if any, to minimize light infiltration thru them. Look for small piles of bat droppings. Often times where chimneys penetrate the attic/roof is an entry. Carpentry and obsessive sealing is required, sometimes a man-lift will be necessary. Putting up a bat house outside is a nice thing to do, but will do nothing as far as your problem goes. Moth balls and sonic devices offer no help. Gather as much info as you can as to their entry/exits at your house; that knowledge will guide you to the type of repairs needed.


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## Bud Cline (Mar 12, 2006)

You probably can't get rid of them so why not provide for them thereby controlling their whereabouts?



http://www.diychatroom.com/f2/diy-bat-house-challenge-111151/


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## md2lgyk (Jan 6, 2009)

While my house was still under construction and the soffits not yet installed, we had 10 or so bats in the attic. That wasn't so bad, except finishing the soffits sealed them in so they started coming into the living spaces. It's amazing how small a crack they can squeeze through. I solved the problem with a .410 shotgun and bird shot (it's a log house so no drywall to worry about).


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## 1910NE (Sep 5, 2010)

2nd and 3rd plug for providing a "bat house." As others have mentioned, you will probably never get rid of them all together, and they probably help with the bugs that must also live along that river. Some of the web sites with information on building/installing bat houses also discuss how to insure the bat house is placed in a location that the bats will like. Just reverse that advice to keep them away (and put up a bat house away from your house.)


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## autx790 (Aug 30, 2009)

I had about 70 bats in my attic. I could see the hole they were coming in and out of (and the wood was getting a black stain on it on the bottom side and rat poo was all over the ground bellow). I put some screen up making a one way door and they all left and we haven't seen or heard them since. They found there way into another hole else where but I did the same thing there. The pros wanted $2000 to fix the problem. Sadly even with that many bats, we still had a horendous mosquitto problem.


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