Often the same house ends up having one or two bats in the basement or living area year after year. This is usually a sign that you may have a colony of bats living in your home. The size can vary from as little as 1 to as many as 5,000. Anytime a homeowner is faced with an uninvited guest such as a bat, it can be an unsettling occurrence. Bats will come back to the same home year after year, some even hibernate in your attic spaces.
Potential signs that you may have a bat problem:
• Brown or grayish stains near the roosting entry site
• Droppings (guano) underneath the entry site
• The odor that you may smell comes from the bats and their urine
This smell is associated with the bat itself and the urine, not the feces. Most of the smell will subside once the bats are gone. Bird-like chirping or “roost chatter” may be most noticeable in the evening before the bats emerge to feed. If you suspect that you have a bat problem you can monitor your home at dusk to see if the bats are exiting the roost.
Bats only have one baby a year, and in rare cases, a bat will have twins. One bat can live for up to 20 years. Night activity also helps bats stay cool and retain proper body moisture.
Insects are the main staple of the bat diet, and the majority of these insects are active at night, bats are also nocturnal creatures.
Bats are less active during the winter months, and they usually migrate to warmer climates at that time.
Why are bats in my attic?
Attics offer female bats a warm, dry, safe place to feed and raise their young. Bats have a very high metabolism, they often seek out areas of high heat so bats and attics are very common.