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Why you might have bats in your house and not know it

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(© Ivan Kuzmin – stock.adobe.com)

Bats are elusive creatures. Not only are they largely nocturnal, meaning they are active whilst you are asleep, but they are also small and incredibly agile, and love to roost in small, inaccessible spaces. Bats are unique in being the only mammal in the world that can fly. This makes them more difficult than other pests such as rodents you may find in your attic, as there is no tell-tale pitter-patter on the floor. They are also very quiet. You will very rarely hear a bat, mostly because they communicate using frequencies too high for any person to hear. This aids their ultrasound and allows them to be active at night, making up for their very poor eyesight. Therefore, it is worth knowing some signs of bats residing in your property, so you are able to take swift and decisive action and hire a professional, like Wildlife X Team, to remove the bats for you as soon as possible. If you are dealing with a bat infestation and need removal services, find out the price in your local area.

Droppings

You may not be able to see or hear bats, but you will quite possibly smell them. Bat droppings are ovular, the same sort of size and shape as any rodent, but are a lot more brittle. Any amount of external pressure is likely to cause the droppings to disintegrate. Before testing the droppings, be sure to wear gloves to avoid infection. Naturally, if you find a concentration of bat droppings in a certain place, above them is likely to be where your bat is roosting.

Sightings

Bats fly much like small birds, making them hard to differentiate. Thankfully, their flight times are ordinarily different to garden birds. If you see a small creature flying outside your window at dawn or dusk, it is likely a bat. It is a lot less likely to be an owl, as they are larger and fly more gracefully. If you are able to see the general area in which these bats are flying into this will help you locate them when they are roosting.

Bat Detectors

Nowadays, there really is such a thing as a bat detector. These gadgets detect the high-frequency calls of the bats and can identify the species. Whilst these are predominantly designed for ecologists and researchers, they can also help you to detect whether there are bats nearby. These devices work in varying ways and vary in terms of quality, but many connect to an app on your tablet or cell phone. For those experiencing somewhat of a bat epidemic, this may be the way forwards.

Unfortunately, many bats can go under the radar even after using these methods. As a result, it may be beneficial to regularly survey prime bat roosting positions, such as porches and attics. This should be done during the day when the bats are roosting.

If you do find bats in your property, they are near impossible to remove on your own, but here is a great source on bat removal. It is always advised to seek professional advice and help before attempting to remove bats on your own.

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