Frickin Bats

[Mr_Yan]

It's now going on 4 am and I've been up for about half an hour catching a frickin' bat in my living room. This is the third time we've had a bat in our house this month.

Previously I've been catching them and releasing them outside but I learned not to do this from the exterminator that came out here Tuesday. At this point I am waiting for animal control to come and collect this flying hamster for testing. Thinking about that just compounds the insult - first a bat now I'm waiting for city government. At least I don't have to sit in the row of terrible plastic chairs at the DMV.

 

[Mr_Yan]

Animal control just collected the bat.

Now for the tough call of do I go back to sleep or just keep going? My alarm will go off in about 30 minutes.

 

[Rolex]

Only way I know to keep them out of the house is to install bells in your batfry.

 

[Mr_Yan]

I'm starting to think .410 but that would wake up my kids and make a mess - not to mention the illegal discharge within city limits problem.

I've had the scene from The Big Chill going through my head for most of today.

I didn't go back to sleep today so I've been up since 3:30 and generally haven't had much sleep lately so the effects are becoming noticeable.

 

[w_r_ranch]

I didn't go back to sleep today so I've been up since 3:30.

LOL, welcome to my world...

Now find the hole where they're getting in & fix it, then get some shut-eye...

 

[Mr_Yan]

Now find the hole where they're getting in & fix it, then get some shut-eye...

That's just it we don't know where the holes are. I've been over this house several times and there are the common entry points that will be a problem but other than that I am without a clue.

We had an exterminator out here Tuesday and he did an inspection. This guy specializes in bats and raccoons. He determined that we don't have signs of bats living in the house rather were getting transient bats. According to him it is really common this time of year for two reasons - young are starting to fly and exploring and adults are looking for fall roosting sites. As I was talking to the animal control officer last night she said it was her 5th call for bats inside that shift.

This place is 85 ish years old. The roof deck is glued together with spray in polyurethane foam insulation on the underside of the deck. The windows are original with modern storms and these are my best idea for entry especially the ones upstairs. Tonight I will cover the inside of the windows with netting or screening. My thinking is let them crawl in and get trapped inside the netting. Then I can target my sealing a little more. The front door is original and has some small gaps and I intend to replace it with a pre-hung steel door with modern weather striping (and I won't need to put a full shoulder check into the door to latch it).

 

[w_r_ranch]

That sounds like a plan. Another area to check is the foundation wall where the siding meets/overlaps the brick and also around the basement windows... Don't ignore even the smallest holes.

While we don't have basements here in Texas, we do have field mice (bats are just mice w/wings). Every fall they try to get in via the garage... In the past, I have found that about 10-20 'sticky traps' were quite effective at controlling them if placed along the walls (they try to chew their way in by getting in between the wood baseboard trim that overlaps the plasterboard walls and the concrete foundation). It is amazing that them suckers can actually squeeze into a 1/4" area...

 

[w_r_ranch]

I forgot... Look for bat poop & urine stains, it will help you find them...

http://www.wildlife-removal.com/batinspection.html