Do you know how and why bats enter your home?

A bat infestation brings a severe threat to any home. 

Although they eat particular household pests like insects and spiders, bats may also pose critical health risks to you and your family. They carry rabies, and their droppings may contain a fungus that causes lung infection when inhaled.

Thus, you want to immediately remove bats if they manage to come into your home.

However, animal control agencies suggest it’s better to understand why and how bats come inside a house. It helps stop bats from coming into your home again, especially after solving a previous infestation.

Why Do Bats Come Indoors

There are a few reasons why bats enter a house:

Looking for food

Bat diet consists of a lot of insects and spiders. One little brown bat can eat up to a thousand mosquitoes in one hour, and a nursing mother bat consumes around 4000 insects each night.

Now, certain parts of your home have thousands of insects that bats can feed upon, like in the attic. This is why they love to stay in those spots for a long time.

Comfortable environment

Bats may also find some parts of your home comfortable enough for them. They love the stable temperature in your home, especially when it’s too cold or hot outside. In some cases, they even find their way into your home because they follow the cool air from your air conditioning unit.

These flying critters will then rest or start a colony in a hidden space in your home. They prefer dark but comfortable environments with lots of insects, like in the attic or walls. 

They are lost

Some newborn bats accidentally reach into your home because they are lost. They are inexperienced flyers, but they may try their wings while their parents are away to find food.

These young bats will then reach your home by chance or because they curiously follow the cool air from indoors. And you are likely to encounter these lost baby bats after the breeding season, which is around June to August each year.

How Bats Reach the Inside of Your Home

The next factor to think about is how bats manage to come inside your home so you can block their entry. Here are a few  common possible bat entryways to find:

Open Doors and Windows

Bats may come inside through doors, windows, and framing that you leave open at night. For instance, they may fly inside while you open your windows to enjoy the cool night air.

Chimneys and Vents

Your home’s vents and chimney are large enough for bats to enter conveniently, especially during the spring.

These flying critters may stay in the vents or chimneys because of the warmth and availability of insects. However, they may also reach your living space like your bedrooms.

So, it’s better to use vent covers and chimney caps to prevent unwelcome animals from entering without blocking the air passage.

Cracks and Gaps

Bats can enter gaps and cracks that are only about a half-inch wide. They can seamlessly pass through different spots, like gaps in uninsulated walls and damaged roofing.

So, fix all cracks and gaps in your home and insulate the walls to block bat entryways. Moreover, proper insulation stops cool indoor air from escaping and attracting the bats.

Home Siding

Bats may also enter beneath your wall sidings. These are the additional layers on your exterior walls that may wear out faster because of weather elements.

Gaps on these layers may allow bats to enter the space between the siding and the actual wall.

Removing Bats from Your Home

The best step to remove bats from your house is to call a professional animal control service. They know how to humanely capture these flying critters and release them back to the wild.

Moreover, these services can also help you clean the bat droppings left in your home.

Once the professionals remove the bats, you next need to review why and how bats reach your home to keep them from coming back.

Seal all possible bat entryways like gaps and cracks. Also, preventing insects from accumulating in your home ensures bats won’t have enough food.

Contact a Reliable Animal Control Service to Solve Bat Infestation in Your Home

In general, bats are shy creatures, but they may bring harm and health risks to your household.  Thus, you want to remove them immediately.

Calling a reliable animal control agency helps remove bats from your home and keeps them from coming back.