Bat infestation

[VacationForever]

Batman came out with 2 other people. One is a woman who maybe the owner or "manager". Anyway, their proposal is to change out the 4 outdoor recessed lightings with lightings that are flat/flushed so that bats cannot go inside and roost. It is something that our electrician handyman can take care of. The other thing that they are proposing is to put up plexiglass in the corners where they have been hanging down from. They will also clean up all the guano. Anyway, they went to work to check out that one recessed lighting and found 2 bats sleeping above. When he reached for one, another one flew out. A whole lot of guano came down from that hole. Yuck.

They charged us $169 for that work done on clearing out that recessed lighting bats today and will send us a proposal on how much their work will cost for the plexiglass installation etc.

Basically, after they have cleaned up all the guano, we will have the electrician scheduled immediately behind to close out the recessed lighting gaps with new fixtures.

 

[mentalbreak]

Wow. Glad there is a plan. I would not have done well when that 2nd bat came out.

 

[VacationForever]

The batman came out today to clean up the guano that dropped out from the recessed lighting. Anyway, he confirmed that there was no bat that made it into the house and that the bats were contained within that canned lighting.

Here's the sticker shock. The clean-up of the guano around the house, in addition to the $189 yesterday (it was not $169 that I thought) and $69 today, is another $800. We can live with that. But to put up the plexiglass around all the corners around the ceiling, 42 feet long in total, is another $3900. I looked at Stay Away pouches, those are for indoor use, not for outdoor. So my options are to pay for the plexiglass installation or buy bat repellent spray, which is primarily peppermint scent, and squirt it around the areas that have signs of where bats have hung out. I have contacted the electrician/handyman to install the covers over the 5 recessed canned lighting, so once the clean-up is completed, he can install the covers. The issue is that the 42 feet long of plexiglass only covers a small surface area of the outside. Plus it will raise a red flag if we were to sell the house. We decided against it and I have ordered a natural scented spray that we will use on the outside of the house after the clean-up.

Any thoughts?

 

[susieq]

I really like the idea of plants that give off a fragrance that deters bats, maybe mint?? - you can google others.............. to be planted underneath where they were found. I also like the bat box suggestion, to be placed further away from the house. You can also google placement for that.

 

[VacationForever]

I really like the idea of plants that give off a fragrance that deters bats, maybe mint?? - you can google others.............. to be planted underneath where they were found. I also like the bat box suggestion, to be placed further away from the house. You can also google placement for that.

I will see if mint grows in our weather (very hot and dry). We are urban (very small lots and nice homes), and bat houses won't work. The last thing that we want to have bats near us. We live next to a national park and bats come and go all the time. We need to make bats go elsewhere.

 

[easyrider]

Any thoughts?

The scented sprays won't help much. It dissipates too fast and it isn't that strong a smell. I tried the Hot Shot brand from Home Depot that has an electric pump and soaked the area where our bat problem was. It did work enough to make the bats moved to the perpendicular eve of where they were for a week. The Vic's vapor rub did work along with sealing everything up. The Vapor rub is the consistency of grease so it globs on well. Probably sealing the cracks was the best preventative measure, imo.

I was told that a sponge soaked with ammonia screwed to the wall where they like to hang out works but I thought it might be illegal for bats since they are endangered. I do use the sponge soaked in ammonia for mice, rats and squirrels on top of the hot water tank and anywhere I see signs of them hanging out at this particular property in the mountains.

Bill

 

[VacationForever]

The scented sprays won't help much. It dissipates too fast and it isn't that strong a smell. I tried the Hot Shot brand from Home Depot that has an electric pump and soaked the area where our bat problem was. It did work enough to make the bats moved to the perpendicular eve of where they were for a week. The Vic's vapor rub did work along with sealing everything up. The Vapor rub is the consistency of grease so it globs on well. Probably sealing the cracks was the best preventative measure, imo.

I was told that a sponge soaked with ammonia screwed to the wall where they like to hang out works but I thought it might be illegal for bats since they are endangered. I do use the sponge soaked in ammonia for mice, rats and squirrels on top of the hot water tank and anywhere I see signs of them hanging out at this particular property in the mountains.

Bill

We don't have cracks to seal up. As I have stated, they are not making into the house. They have roosted inside a canned light and signs of hanging down from the 4 corners of the underside of ceilings. We are going to close up all the canned lights so that they cannot get in. We plan on spraying the scent underneath the ceilings on the outside of the home.

 

[Sandi Bo]

Wow, well glad you go the bat people out! Crazy pricing, but seems they provided value (and good input). I don't really understand the plexiglass - installing something so the bats don't "hang around"? Sounds like you have a good plan, and now you have an awareness, for sure. And really, thank goodness they are not getting into your house!

I thought the idea of a bat house was to give them somewhere (away from your house) to go. My guess is that they would want to hang out close(ish) by - so provide them something more acceptable to you. Maybe you could keep moving it a few feet away every week or so, just kidding (sort of). My daughters house was (well still is, she's the one that moved) in a very established central part of the city. Very residential. I'll have to take a picture next time I'm around there. The bat houses are pretty subtle. Unless I knew to look, I thought they were bird houses. I figured the residents were trying to keep the bats away from their houses, but maybe they do want them around for the mosquitoes. I wonder if you can rid an area of bats (legally) if it's an area they've roosted for years.

Maybe google also what bats are attracted to and make sure you don't have any of that (certain plants / ponds, etc).

On another note, I happened to take my grandson to the zoo this week. The Omaha Zoo has an amazing building - the desert dome - above ground is a desert - below ground is 'Kingdom of the Nights' - bats and a cave, etc - lord does it stink in there. I can't stomach it. That guano sure has a strong (overpowering) odor to it.

Good luck with everything!!!

 

[easyrider]

We are going to close up all the canned lights so that they cannot get in.

My bet is that will do it. Good luck with the spray.

Bill