Where Would a Bat Hide in My House?
If you’re having a problem with bats in your home, it’s important to know where they might be hiding. This will help you to get the bats out of your house and avoid damage from their guano.
When a bat is in a home, it is typically located near the roof, in a joist or eaves space, and often in an attic. These spaces are cool and dark during the winter and hot and humid during the summer, making them the perfect place to hide.
It is also common for a bat to find its way inside a house by using gaps beside plumbing pipes or chimneys. It can even crawl under doors if it is able to get into them.
You should also keep an eye out for a bat’s droppings, which look similar to mouse droppings but are much larger. They’re usually brown and resemble dark grains of rice.
Another way to tell if you have a bat in your home is to smell it. The animal produces a foul, musty smell when it is roosting in a high place.
If you see one roosting in your attic or a room with a lot of windows, you can try to catch it and release it outside by opening nearby windows and leaving them open. This will attract the bat to a warmer, more hospitable location where it can overwinter.
Once you have caught the bat, make sure to take all necessary precautions to protect yourself from rabies, which is a potentially fatal disease that can be contracted by anyone who touches a bat and doesn’t have the proper protective gear on. This includes wearing oven mitts or rubber or leather gloves, as well as a face mask and long-sleeved shirt.
It’s also important to be calm as you help the bat escape. A frantic, loud voice or a chase will make the bat more nervous and less likely to leave.
In addition, if you have pets in the room, it is best to remove them from the situation before trying to get the bat out. Pets will frighten the bat and make it harder to catch.
To help you to locate a bat, use a flashlight and a flashlight-like instrument called a pinlight. This will allow you to see very clearly in areas where you might not otherwise be able to, such as underneath shelves and other high surfaces.
Once you find the bat, gently place it on a towel or piece of fabric to prevent it from flying away. This should discourage the bat from attempting to hide again, and will allow you to catch it without having to resort to snatching it out of mid air.
If the bat doesn’t leave after a few minutes, you might need to move to a different area of your home or call a pest professional for removal assistance. It’s a good idea to keep children and pets away from the bat as well, to minimize distractions and reduce the stress on the animal.
