Finding a bat in your home, whether it’s in the attic, chimney, or living space, can be unsettling. Bats often seek refuge in small, tight spaces, and encounters are most common in early spring, late summer (when young bats learn to fly), or fall during migration. If you’ve discovered a bat, your first question might be who to call. A common query is: Does Animal Control Remove Bats? Understanding the typical roles and limitations of animal control, and knowing the correct procedures for safe bat handling, is crucial.
Understanding Animal Control’s Role with Bats
While policies can vary significantly by city and county, animal control agencies typically focus on issues related to domestic animals (dogs, cats), public safety threats, and rabies control. Their mandate often doesn’t extend to the routine removal of healthy wildlife, including bats, from private property.
Here’s a breakdown of why animal control might not be your primary solution for bat removal:
- Focus on Domestic Animals: Most resources are allocated to stray pets, animal cruelty cases, and dog bites.
- Wildlife Management: Removing nuisance wildlife often falls outside their scope unless there’s an immediate danger or rabies concern. Bat exclusion, in particular, requires specialized knowledge and equipment they may not possess.
- Resource Constraints: Agencies often lack the staffing or funding to handle widespread wildlife calls.
- Specialized Skills: Humane bat removal and exclusion require specific techniques to ensure bats aren’t harmed (especially during maternity season) and that entry points are properly sealed, which is usually handled by specialized wildlife control operators.
However, animal control may get involved in specific bat-related situations:
- Rabies Testing: If a bat has potentially exposed a person or pet to rabies (e.g., found in a room with a sleeping person, child, or pet), animal control or the local health department should be contacted. They can advise on capturing the bat safely for testing.
- Immediate Public Safety Risk: If a bat is acting aggressively or is in a public space posing a direct threat, animal control might respond.
Because services differ greatly, it’s always best to check directly with your local animal control agency to understand their specific policies regarding bats. They can often provide referrals to appropriate resources if they don’t handle removal themselves.
What to Do if You Find a Single Bat in Your Home
If you encounter a lone bat, it might be lost, young, or migrating. Remember safety first:
- Never Handle Bare-Handed: Always wear thick leather gloves if you must handle a bat. Bats have small teeth, and bites may not be easily noticeable.
- Assess Rabies Risk: If there’s any possibility of contact between the bat and a person or pet, contact your local health department (like the KDHE Epidemiology Hotline mentioned in the source at 877-427-7317 for Kansas residents, or your equivalent local agency) immediately. They will guide you on whether the bat needs to be captured for rabies testing. Exposure risk includes waking up to find a bat in the room or a child being alone with a bat. If your pet may have encountered the bat, contact your veterinarian.
If you are certain no contact occurred, you can try these removal methods:
- Allow it to Exit: If the bat is flying, confine it to one room, open windows and doors leading outside, and turn off the lights inside. Bats can see and use echolocation to find their way out. Contrary to myth, they are not blind.
- Capture When Landed: Wait for the bat to land. Wearing thick gloves, place a small box or container over it. Gently slide a piece of cardboard or a large envelope underneath to secure the bat inside. Take the container outside and place it on its side on an elevated surface like a tree branch or deck. Bats usually need to drop slightly to take flight.
Person safely capturing a bat against a wall using a container and cardboard, demonstrating a humane removal method.
- Net Capture (Use Caution): Carefully using a butterfly net is an option, but it’s difficult with a flying, healthy bat. It’s safer to wait until it lands. Always wear gloves and wash your hands thoroughly afterward. Bats are typically not aggressive and are likely scared.
A bat found indoors during winter is often a Big Brown Bat seeking warmth. If no contact occurred, the above methods can be used. These bats are relatively hardy and can often find alternative roosts even in colder weather.
When Professional Bat Removal is Necessary: Bat Colonies
Discovering a colony of bats in your attic or walls requires a different approach than dealing with a single bat. Signs include scratching or squeaking noises, droppings (guano) accumulating near entry points, or frequent sightings at dusk. In these cases, contacting professional wildlife control operators (WCOs) or specialized pest control companies is highly recommended.
These professionals often have permits (like the Nuisance Wildlife Damage Control permit in Kansas) specifically for handling wildlife. They have the expertise and equipment for:
- Inspection: Identifying all entry and exit points bats are using.
- Humane Exclusion: Installing one-way devices that allow bats to leave but not re-enter. This is the preferred method over trapping or killing bats, which is often illegal and ineffective.
- Timing: Performing exclusion during appropriate times (typically early spring or fall) to avoid trapping flightless young bats inside during the summer maternity season (usually May-August). Trapped young can lead to distressed mothers trying to get back in and unpleasant odors from deceased bats.
- Sealing: Permanently sealing entry points after confirming all bats have left.
Humane Bat Exclusion Methods
Professional exclusion typically involves installing one-way doors or netting over the primary entry/exit points identified during inspection.
- Finding Exits: Observe your home at dusk to see where bats emerge. Look for guano stains below potential openings.
- Installing One-Way Doors: Devices like mesh or netting are carefully placed over openings. The material should hang loosely below the exit (e.g., 2-3 feet), allowing bats to crawl out and fly away but preventing them from crawling back in. Bird netting, as tested by Dr. Stephen C. Frantz, is commonly used. These devices should remain in place for about 5-7 days (excluding rainy nights when bats may not emerge) to ensure all bats have vacated.
Illustration demonstrating how to install bird netting as a one-way bat exclusion device over an entry point.
Diagram showing a one-way bat exclusion device installed on a flat fascia board beneath the roofline.
Illustration of a bat exclusion device correctly placed at the roof apex where walls meet.
Diagram illustrating the placement of a one-way bat exclusion device on an outside roof corner.
Illustration showing how to install a bat exclusion device underneath a soffit vent.
- Critical Timing: Understanding the bat life cycle is vital for successful and humane exclusion.
- March – Early May: Bats emerge from hibernation and form maternity colonies. Exclusion is possible.
- May – Late June: Pups are born and cannot fly. Exclusion is NOT recommended as young will be trapped and die.
- July – August: Young bats learn to fly. Exclusion becomes less risky towards the end of this period.
- September – October: Bats leave summer roosts for hibernation sites. This is the best time for exclusion.
- November – February: Bats hibernate. Exclusion is generally not recommended as hibernating bats may be trapped.
Preventing Bats from Returning
Once bats are excluded, preventing re-entry is key. Bats can squeeze through incredibly small gaps (1/4″ to 1/2″). Regular home maintenance helps eliminate potential entry points:
- Inspect and repair unscreened attic vents.
- Fix holes or cracks under eaves, especially if wood is rotted.
- Seal gaps where the chimney meets the house.
- Repair loose or warped siding.
- Ensure cellar hatches close tightly.
- Install chimney caps.
- Seal openings around pipes or wiring entering the house.
- Repair rotted window sills and ensure screens fit snugly.
Filling these small holes and crevices is the most effective way to prevent bats from returning year after year.
Conclusion: Who Handles Bat Removal?
So, Does Animal Control Remove Bats? Typically, no, not for routine removal or infestations in private homes. Their involvement is usually limited to rabies exposure situations or immediate public safety risks. For safe, effective, and humane removal of single bats (when no contact has occurred) or bat colonies, homeowners should first prioritize safety, then consider careful DIY removal for single bats if appropriate, or contact qualified professional wildlife control operators. These specialists possess the knowledge of bat behavior, exclusion techniques, and critical timing needed to resolve bat issues permanently and humanely. Preventing entry through diligent home maintenance is the best long-term solution. Addressing bat issues correctly not only protects your home but also contributes to the conservation of these ecologically valuable animals.
