How To Catch A Bat In Your House2019-01-24T18:51:34-04:00

how to catch a bat in your houseHow To Catch A Bat In Your House

Callers often ask us about the process of How To Catch A Bat In Your House. First and foremost, you do NOT ever want to harm the bat OR put yourself in harms way, so the process of catching a bat in your house should be approached VERY DELICATELY. If you prefer not to call a professional right away to get rid of the bat, please use the below tips on How To Catch A Bat In Your House:

  • PROTECT YOUR HANDS AND ARMS.   Wear leather gloves to protect against bites that could lead to rabies. Bats are not normally aggressive, but if they feel threatened, they will bite. Open your door or window. Open a door and leave it open to give the flying bat a clear path. Turn on the porch light. The bat may sense the fresh air and fly out of your house. If not, try going outside the door and make a scratching sound at the doorway. The sound waves will help the bat see the outline of the door and it will fly out on its own.
  •  ALLOW THE BAT TO LAND. Stay out of the bat’s way and watch for it to land. If the bat lands low, toss a towel or blanket carefully over the bat. It will not be able to take off again. The towel should cover the bat without causing injury. Scoop up the towel, keeping the bat wrapped inside. You should expect to hear clicking noises when the bat is frightened. It is best to presume that the bat might try to bite through the towel, so put on gloves or oven mitts to be safe. Carefully carry the towel and bat outside, close the door, and move far away from the house. Place the bat/towel down on the ground (preferably near a tree) and slowly lift the towel to release the bat away from yourself and the house.
  •  COAX THE BAT FROM HIGH PLACES. If the bat lands high on your wall or ceiling, place a coffee can or plastic container over the bat. Slide the lid of the container cautiously between the bat and wall. Keep the container as close to the wall as possible, be careful not to pinch the bat. Then, slide paper under the container to trap the bat and carefully take it outside.
  • HELP THE BAT IF IT SEEMS FATIGUED. If the bat is too tired or scared to take off, you may want to place it near a tree or on the trunk of the tree. The bat will climb the tree where it can drop into flight.

Once you get the bat out of your home, you need to address the underlying problem. You likely have a colony of bats living in your home somewhere and that needs addressing. Bat trapping and/or bat poisoning is not safe, effective, or legal.  You need a professional to perform a proper live bat exclusion and bat proofing. If you need professional help, please visit Bat Removal USA’s National Directory of Bat Removal Specialist HERE.

While it is helpful to have bats in the surrounding area of your home, you do not want them inside your house even if it is a room that you do not go into, such as the attic. According to the CDC (Center For Disease Control) there are a few diseases that bats can give to people. The one disease that everyone knows is rabies. Bats can transmit rabies with exposure to a human through a bite from a rabid animal. If the animal’s saliva comes into contact with people’s mouths, nose, eyes or a fresh wound, it can also be transmitted. Another disease associated with bats is histoplasmosis which can be transmitted when fungi grow on the guano (bat droppings). The symptoms of histoplasmosis can vary from person to person, but people with a weakened immune system are at a higher risk of severe complications including death.

The first thing you need to do is to prevent the bats from getting into your house. In order to do that you must first find out where the bats are coming in from. Usually bats will come into a house or a building through the highest available entry point, although in some occasions when they get lost, they will use a door or window. Now keep in mind that even though their wings can be long, bats are actually small and can fit through very small spaces. If you have a hole or opening on the side of your home that is two thirds of an inch, that may be enough for a small bat to get through.

We hope that this has been helpful information on how to catch a bat in your house. For more info about Bat Removal, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page.