Bats: What You Need to Know

With the weather (every-so-slightly) warming up, bats have started to emerge from their winter homes. Last August, a resident found a bat in Memorial Park that turned out to be rabid. Although that is rare, there are things to know about what to do if you see a bat -- inside or out.

"If a bat is flying around, that is normal behavior and there is nothing to fear," said Maplewood Health Officer Robert Roe. "Bats do not attack people. They eat flying insects."

Roe said if you find a bat on the ground, or on the floor in your home, call the Police or Animal Control Officer since this may be a sick (i.e., rabid) bat.

If you find a bat in your house, email Roe at healthofficer@twp.maplewood.nj.us or call at (973) 762-8120 ext. 4400 to determine if there is any risk. "Current recommendations are that if you wake up and find a bat flying in your bedroom, then if possible the bat should be captured using a towel, and the Health Dept. will have it tested for rabies," said Roe. "If you cannot capture the bat flying your bedroom, then consult your physician on the possible need for rabies prevention vaccination."

Roe emphasized that bats are a natural part of our environment and are generally considered beneficial. "For the most part, if you leave them alone, they will leave you alone," said Roe. "They are only a danger when they are found to be acting in an abnormal way such as the bat that was found last summer in Memorial Park."

 

How do I keep them out?

Bats tend to enter buildings near the roof line, and roost in dark, generally undisturbed places. Here are some other tips from a Patch 2010 article, from information on the South Orange Village website:

Once you have determined the principal entry points, you may seal all of the openings and crevices of over 3/8" not used by bats. Because bats cannot gnaw to enlarge an opening, a variety of materials can be used to seal an opening, including: l/4" hardware cloth, fly screen, sheet metal, wood, caulking, expandable polyurethane foam, or fiberglass insulation.

To block off the principal bat entry openings, either:

• seal the openings one evening after all the bats have been observed and counted while leaving, or

• hang one-half inch bird netting from above the openings with staples or duct tape, letting it extend, unattached at the bottom, to one foot below the openings (do not use in June or July). This allows the bats to leave but not enter again. After several days, the openings can be sealed, or

• seal the openings between November 15 and March 15, or

• contact a wildlife removal specialist, pest control company, or other contractors that will provide permanent bat exclusion from your home

 

How do you know if bats are in the house?

Sometimes the only evidence of the presence of bats in a building will be an accumulation of droppings in one area of the attic, or droppings and rubmarks on siding at the bat entry opening. To confirm their presence and locate the openings used by bats' in the warmer months, observe from the outside for bats leaving in the evening, from one-half hour before until one-half hour after sundown.

Are there other ways to bat-proof?

Occasionally, bats enter finished rooms from their roost area in the attic or wall spaces. Interior bat-proofing, such as sealing spaces around the attic door, will prevent the bats from accidentally entering living areas of the home until the bats can be excluded from the entire structure. Because fiberglass insulation is repellent to bats, insulating walls and attic will serve a dual purpose of energy conservation and bat control.

The only chemical registered for bat control in New Jersey is napthalene, which can be effective as a temporary repellent in very confined roost areas. The use of napthalene is no substitute for bat-proofing and does not guarantee that the bats will completely leave the building.

Other temporary methods include keeping the lights on in an attic bat roost area for 24 hours a day over several weeks when the bats return in the spring, or using fans to disturb the roosting bats with strong air currents. Sticky bird repellent applied around the bat entry opening can sometimes provide temporary control.