How to Remove a Bat from Your House Quickly and Safely

If you see a bat in your home, it most likely means that a bat colony has chosen to roost in your attic or chimney. This is common in older homes and homes near a river or bayou. Bats will also roost in disused chimneys, when the owners installed a new furnace with side venting. The bats have established exits, generally in the room vents. If a bat enters your living area, he has gotten side-tracked from his normal route. If you have a drop ceiling this is generally where the bat has gotten trapped. He gets out through the ceiling tiles.

When we moved into our old fixer-upper, we discovered that this house had a bat history. The little brown bat is the more common variety in homes. These little guys are a great friend to the home owner is summer. We have virtually no mosquitoes, gnats or flies all summer and never need to spray. The brown bat will eat her weight in bugs in a single night's hunting.

I've read advice that says to open windows and doors and wait for the bat to fly out. This is not good advice for several reasons. First it may be raining or very cold. Next, a bat gets disoriented in a house, even in the dark. Light will cause her to roost; and I don't want to sit in a dark house with a trapped bat. Also, a bat in the house, as with any other wild animal, is not safe. Bat guano (poop) is quite toxic. Bats bite, when they are afraid. When a bat is caught in the house, he panics. Although people contract rabies from bats far less frequently than they do from dogs and other warm-blooded infected pets, bats are carriers of rabies. Pets, especially cats are attracted to bats and in danger of being bitten and infected.

When we discovered our bat colony, we called an exterminator to get guidance on removal. We refused to harm or kill the bats; we just want them outside. We were told that as a protected species, animal control can not rid our house of bats. But we were given some removal tips. Some worked and some we had to invent ourselves. If a bat gets in your house follow these steps:

Stay calm and quiet. Noise disturbs a bat's echolocation and makes her panic.

You may want to put your pets into another room; my cat is a superb hunter and can pluck the bat out of mid air. He takes the bat to the outside door, and while I appreciate the help, I don't want him to get bit. It also terrorizes the bat and makes her more difficult to catch and more likely to bite.

Close all the interior doors in the house including the room that the bat is in to contain her.

Turn on a bright overhead light on. Light will send a bat into sleep mode; she will land on anyplace she can hang, generally this will be a curtain.

Put on some rubber kitchen gloves.

Get a small hand towel and place it over the hanging bat. I talk quietly to her. Crazy as this sounds they have excellent hearing and are very intelligent. They respond to kindness in your voice.

Gently pull the bat off from the curtain and enclose her in the towel

She will make a buzzing sound. That is her echolocation at work.

Take her outside and gently shake the towel. She will fly away, until next time that is!