![]() But once winter rolls around and the temperature drops. Bats most common source of food is insects. ![]() Richard Patterson is the former executive director of Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids. Bats begin to hibernate from late fall until spring arrives. ' Marion Patterson is a retired educator. Once the entire colony has vacated, they will caulk entry points to keep them out.Įrecting bat houses sometimes will keep a colony in the yard while caulking prevents them from coming inside your home. Professionals often use a one-way device over the crack that allows bats to leave unharmed but prevents re-entry. If a colony is living upstairs, call a bat control specialist. Watching the house at twilight also can pinpoint where they get in and out. Bats often come and go from the same crack and eventually leave a dark stain on the paint that reveals their doorway. Look for them hanging from the ceiling and droppings, called guano, on the floor.Ī more pleasant way is to circle outside the house with a pair of binoculars seeking holes and cracks in the siding and around windows and soffits. One way to tell whether bats have moved in is to check the attic in the middle of the day armed with a flashlight. Colonies might only summer upstairs but big brown bats hibernate in homes and can be heard scratching around during January thaws. Sometimes people unknowingly share their home with a bat colony living in a rarely visited corner of the attic. Caulking and weather stripping is a near foolproof way of keeping both bats and cold air from entering, an important and inexpensive home maintenance project. Bats prefer darkness and usually exit quickly.Īny bat inside a home is a sure sign that there is a crack or hole in an exterior wall or a gap around windows or doors. To encourage eviction, open doors and screenless windows and turn on lights. If a bat is discovered flapping around inside the house it might be just a single one that somehow entered and is trying to leave.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |