Hugo D. You must keep bats away from your home for your safety and the safety of those who live with you. However, you don’t want to kill bats that get in. They’re good for the environment, and there are rules on how you can deal with them.
Bats can be dangerous to humans, so keeping them away from your home is best. Below, you’ll find all of the tips to do just that!
1. Sealing Your Home
Sealing your home is the best, most effective way to keep bats out. If they can’t find an easy way inside, they’ll give up quickly and move on. So, you’ll want to check for gaps around the home where bats could get in.
If you find a gap, you’ll want to seal it as soon as possible with caulk or foam. Most people choose caulk for small holes. You’ll want to pick a formula that’s listed as being for all weather. Duct tape can even work in a pinch until you can replace it with more substantial materials. Screens and insulation are some other options.
Bats don’t need much space to work with. They can enter gaps less than an inch around and choose entry points high off the ground. Keep an eye out for broken windows, shingles, and holes in chimneys, as these are the most common ways bats get inside.
Overall, sealing your home is where you’ll want to start. You’ll find guano around the areas where bats enter and exit the house. Make sure you aren’t going to trap any bats inside when sealing.
2. Use Bat Houses
It’s proven that bat houses are effective form of bat removal for your home. You’ll provide the bats with a more comfortable place to live, so they’ll usually choose it over living in your house.
They’re attracted to the bat houses because they provide more security. The bats will feel safer there since it’s further away from humans and closer to their food and water sources.
Bat houses are a humane way to discourage them from entering your home. Plus, using bat houses keeps these creatures nearby, where they can benefit your local environment. You and the bats will be happy, so it’s a win-win.
Do not install the bat house above areas where you don’t want their waste to fall.
3. Turn Off Outdoor Lights
You’ll want to turn off the outdoor lights while trying to keep bats away. It sounds counterintuitive, but it works.
Bats hunt for food during the night. They primarily eat insects, which are attracted to light. You can deter the insects from flying around your property, causing the bats to follow them elsewhere.
Anything you can do to reduce the number of insects around your property will also reduce the number of bats that appear looking for food. If you need outdoor lighting, switching to LED lights can reduce the amount of insects the lights attract.
You’ll want to make sure that there’s no standing water nearby. It can attract mosquitos, one of a bat’s favorite foods.
Trimming your trees and mowing the yard can also help control insect populations. Plus, it gives the bats fewer hiding places, so they’ll move on to somewhere else.
So, take the time to deal with insects on your property, and you can discourage the bats from coming.
4. Contact the Bat Experts
Contacting the bat experts when you don’t know what steps to take is crucial. They know how to deter bats and can help you if they’re already come into your home. You won’t want to try to deal with them alone once they’ve got inside.
The pros will remove the bats safely, effectively, and legally. Many laws protect bats; some species have more protections than others. The bat removal experts are well-informed on the species and regulations in your area, so you won’t have to worry about it.
So, start looking up bat removal services in Indianapolis when you see signs of bats in your home. You don’t want to let them go for long as they’ll become more comfortable, and removing them will be much more complex.
There are also plenty of tools that bat removers can use that you can’t find alone. For instance, they have access to one-way exclusion devices. These tools let the bats leave, but they can’t return.
5. Clean Your Attic
Bats will often choose to live in areas with a lot of stuff so they can hide easily. You’ll want to go through everything in your attic and reduce the clutter before that happens. Then, try your best to keep up with it as time passes.
A cleaner, more organized attic will help you notice if bats come inside since you won’t have to move anything to see the signs.
6. Restore Old Insulation
Next, replace the old insulation in your home, especially in the attic. Doing this before a bat infestation happens can prevent the animals from ever making it inside your home in the first place.
You can fill in potential entry points so the bats stay outside.
7. Try Strong Scents
Bats dislike peppermint, cinnamon, garlic, and cloves. You can also use moth balls to keep them away. Strong scents around your property make your home less appealing to bats with sensitive noses.
These essential oils make bats avoid potential roosting spots. They also might interrupt some of the ways bats communicate through pheromones since they cover up scents.
Bats can adapt to scents with time, so you’ll want to use the other options for better results.
Keep Bats Away for Good
The best way to keep bats away for good is to contact an expert. They can give you all the help you need to stop the bats from entering your home. The sooner you reach them, the better off you’ll be.
There are many proven ways that you can deter bats. You’ll want to focus on sealing entry points, using bat houses, and keeping your attic clean.
