How To Remove A Bat From Your House
Bats play an essential role in maintaining healthy ecosystems and benefit the environment in several ways, but we don’t want them in our living rooms. Here is how to remove a bat from your house.
Bats in the Belfry
How To Remove A Bat From Your House
If a bat has flown into your house, here are steps to safely and humanely remove it:
1. Stay Calm
Bats usually want to escape as much as you want them out. They are unlikely to attack, so stay calm and avoid panic.
2. Confine the Bat to One Room
If possible, close doors to other rooms to limit where the bat can go. Turn off ceiling fans to avoid injuring it.
3. Turn Off the Lights
Bats rely on echolocation, but lowering the lights in the room can help keep them calmer and more likely to follow your directions.
4. Open Windows and Doors
Create an exit path by opening windows and doors in the room where the bat is trapped. Close curtains to help guide it toward the open space.
5. Wait and Observe
Step back and wait. The bat may find its way out through the open window or door on its own.
This video always gives me belly laughs.
6. Gently Guide the Bat (if Needed)
If the bat doesn’t leave, you can try to guide it:
- Wear gloves for protection.
- Use a large towel or a cardboard box to gently trap the bat without injuring it.
- Once caught, release it outside.
7. Check for Additional Bats
Bats can sometimes travel in groups. After removing the bat, check areas like attics, basements, or chimneys for any others.
When to Call a Professional
If the bat refuses to leave, or if you’re uncomfortable handling the situation, contact a local wildlife removal expert to safely remove it.
Important Note:
If you suspect the bat may have bitten or scratched anyone or a pet, contact your local health department immediately, as bats can carry rabies.
3 Comments
Betty
Typically adolescents that got confused about how to get around, not rabid monsters coming to get you. But do take precautions.
I’ll never forget when I lived in an old duplex hearing the neighbor tear through the house in the middle of the night with a tennis racket destroying everything in his path and his wife chasing him screaming to get him to stop. The bat and I laughing like hell!
NAIMA Anne HAVILAND
Thank you for posting about safe bat removal. We recently had a bat expert to our house to assess the bat habitation in our big attic. Terry could tell by the amount of scat that we had about 4 or 5 bats. He said, “You’ll never have a colony, because the colony is spread out among the neighborhood attics.” He gave us info on best time to seal up the attic; you want to wait until they’ve all migrated. We think we just have one bat left. After sealing the attic, we plan to erect a bat house outside. Pennsylvania has seen a great reduction in bat populations, so we are conservation minded. In my last old house, while tearing out an acoustic tile ceiling, I uncovered a bat who was just as surprised as I was. A wildlife expert took him away.
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Thank you!