Bat Facts

Bat Information You Should Know

Bats are commonly found entering the attics of residential homes and commercial buildings through many different points of entry, such as gable end vents, chimney caps, ridge vents, soffit returns, construction gaps, roof vents, etc. Once a bat colony has developed a roosting site in your attic, it will only stay and grow larger. 

Since bats are such a beneficial animal and play such a pivotal role in the world’s ecosystem, it is important to use safe, nondestructive methods to alleviate conflicts between people and bats. Xceptional Wildlife Removal‘s trained wildlife biologists, not exterminators, always practice humane, non-toxic, environmentally friendly bat removal and exclusion.

12 Biology Bat Facts

1. Bats are not blind. 
2. They are not rodents or birds. 
3. They will not suck your blood or vaporize from sunlight. 
4. They are the world’s only flying mammals. 
5. Bats are nocturnal – they sleep in roosts during the daytime and emerge at dusk. 
6. Worldwide, bats are a major predator of night-flying insects, including pests that cost farmers billions of dollars annually. 
7. They feast on flying insects such as moths, beetles, and mosquitoes, among others. 
8. Due to their large consumption of insects, bats are the world’s most efficient pest control.
9. Bats use echolocation in order to aid in navigation and feeding. They emit high-pitched chirps and read the sonar-like returns of the sound waves as they bounce back off of objects. 
10. Roosting preference depends on the species and even gender of the bats. 
11. They tolerate and even prefer very high temperatures. 
12. Some of the southern bats migrate to different areas as climates change, while some choose not to leave the Southeastern United States during the winter.

The Risks of Having Bats

Bats play an important role in our ecosystem. However, they are also associated with many diseases deadly to humans. Bats can cause serious health hazards to humans and domestic animals when they roost in homes or businesses. 

Bat droppings (also known as guano) can contain pathogens and insects, and also serve as a breeding medium for different types of fungus, some of which can cause diseases such as histoplasmosis. Bats also carry many different parasites that are disease vectors, like ticks, fleas, and bat bugs. They can carry rabies and have transmitted the virus to more humans than any other animals.

Bat Feces (Guano) and Histoplasmosis

Many homeowners do not even know bats are present until piles of droppings are obvious or a strong ammonia smell spreads throughout the house. This strong odor is caused by the bats’ fecal matter, more commonly known as guano.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), bat droppings should be treated similarly to asbestos, and proper respiratory equipment should be worn when dealing with bat guano due to the harmful spores that can lead to histoplasmosis and other respiratory diseases.

Mouse and bat droppings appear to be similar, but they have very different diets, and therefore their droppings are different. Mice eat a lot of vegetable material, and their droppings of plant matter are solid and do not crumble. Bats eat insects which makes guano segmented and friable. When crushed, they become powdery and reveal shiny parts of undigested insect remains (elytra).

Rabies

The CDC reports that the most common way for people to get rabies in the United States is through contact with a bat. Exposure to rabies most commonly occurs when a person is bitten by a rabid bat. It can also be transmitted when the saliva from a rabid bat comes in contact with a person’s mouth, eyes, nose, or a fresh wound. 

When a person is exposed to rabies, timely administration of a vaccine known as post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) can prevent infection. Once a person becomes infected and symptoms begin to occur, rabies is almost always fatal.

People often know when a bat has bitten them, but sometimes it can be hard to notice because most types of bats have very small teeth, which may leave marks that disappear quickly. If you are bitten by a bat or if infectious material such as saliva gets into your eyes, nose, mouth, or a wound, wash the affected area thoroughly with soap and water and get medical advice immediately. All dead, sick, or easily captured bats should be tested for rabies if exposed to people or pets.

Insects and Parasites

Several arthropods are often associated with colonies of bats in homes and buildings. Their diversity depends on the number of bats, quantity of feces, and season. Bat ectoparasites (ticks, mites, fleas, and bat bugs) sometimes attack humans or pets and quickly search for a new host in the absence of bats. Ectoparasites may become a nuisance following the exclusion of large numbers of bats from a roost site. 

Bat bugs are another problem commonly associated with bats. Bat bugs are sometimes found crawling on the surface of beams or around holes leading to secluded recesses used by bats. They are very closely related to bed bugs, and it is impossible to differentiate the two by the naked eye. Sometimes, after a bat removal job, bat bugs migrate into the living quarters of a home and start feeding on people instead of bats. They cannot reproduce without bat blood, but they can survive a long time on human blood.

Arthropods (such as beetles) contribute to the decomposition of guano and insect remnants, but may also become a pest of stored goods and/or a nuisance within the living quarters. Cockroaches that are also attracted to guano reproduce quickly and may invade other parts of a home or building.

An ectoparasite treatment and attic area fumigation may be an appropriate solution to kill all the arthropods within an enclosed space, but only after bat removal and exclusion.

Common Nuisance Bats

Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus)

Little Brown bats are widely distributed and are most commonly found in the United States. Little Brown Bats have a fondness for hot attics for its nursery colonies. Roosting colonies can be very large and range in hundreds to thousands of bats. Little brown bats are insectivores, eating moths, wasps, beetles, gnats, mosquitoes, midges, and mayflies, among others.

Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus)

Big Brown bats are native to North America, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. The species is larger in size than comparative species of bats, from about four to five inches in body length. 

Big brown bats navigate through the night skies using echolocation, producing ultrasonic sounds through the mouth or nose. They are also known to produce audible sounds during flight. Its voice is a click or a sound like escaping steam. Big brown bats are insectivorous, eating many kinds of night-flying insects, including moths, beetles, and wasps which they capture in flight.

Mexican Free-Tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis)

The Mexican Free-Tailed bat (also known as the Brazilian Free-Tailed bat), is a medium-sized bat that is native to North and South America and is widely regarded as one of the most abundant mammals in North America. However, its proclivity towards roosting in large numbers in relatively few roosts makes it especially vulnerable to human disturbance. 

Mexican free-tailed bats roost primarily in caves. But they will also roost in buildings of any type as long as they have access to openings and dark recesses in ceilings or walls. The bats can make roosting sites of buildings regardless of age, height, architecture, construction materials, occupancy by humans, and compass orientation. Mexican free-tailed bats are primarily insectivores. They hunt their prey using echolocation. They can fly hundreds of meters above the ground to feed on migrating insects. These bats most commonly eat moths, beetles, dragonflies, flies, true bugs, wasps, and ants.

FAQs About Bats

Will bats leave if I put lights in the attic? Use ultrasonic devices? Throw out Moth Balls?

All the answers are no! Bats living in attics are very territorial. Once they colonize an attic, bats will put up with anything, including noise, light, and strong smells. Bats are actually able to put up with smells so strong that humans must wear protective masks. Naphthalene, which is in mothballs, has been found to be a carcinogen and is also dangerous to the people living in the house. Inhalation of naphthalene vapors is a hazard to human health. Do not spread out mothballs in your attic.

If I put up a bat house, will the bats leave my attic?

Unfortunately, the answer is no. Attics are usually much safer, warmer, quieter, and larger than a bat house. Bats will continue to live in their primary roost and never leave to use a bat house.