Bats in the Attic

swifts need our help! · 02-06-2012 9:20pm

of course. One is active by day and one by night. I know two sites where swifts use the same hole as bats

fryup · 02-06-2012 11:10pm

^^^^^^^^^

but wouldn't there be bit of a squeeze? not to mention disruption as a whole pile of bats come and go?

swifts need our help! · 04-06-2012 4:29pm

My guess is they arent sharing the same space. Birds not far in and bats under the roof felt, in the eaves or the cavity

Mark ^..^

fryup · 07-06-2012 5:21am

i think the bluetits have abandoned the nest ever since the bats moved in..haven't seen them for the past week or so:(

PGM66 · 11-01-2013 7:34pm

John Griffin wrote: »

They are protected by law. The best thing you can do is get in touch with your local Wildlife Ranger and they will let you know how to block them out without causing them any harm. The time for blocking them out is in early October and it needs to be done over a few nights. You need to create a valve that allows them out but not back in again.
The best thing would be to just live with them, if they are getting into your living area, you can block them out, your local Wildlife Ranger will help you find where they are entering the living space. They only have one offspring per year and are only in your attic for the summer to keep the young warm. They are most likely between the felt and tiles in your roof and at a gable end. Their sh1t is a dry pellet made up of insect waste and is nothing to worry about. The urine is not worth worrying about and they don't carry any diseases, they don't chew anything other than insects. If you want i can give you the number of your local Ranger, if your from Wicklow then its me!:D

Hi John,

Are you still the Wildlife Ranger for Wicklow? I need some advice please on assessing the bat 'presence' in my property in Aughrim. They are lots of droppings in the attic and I have found dead bats in the living space .. so would advice on what to do.

Regards,
PG

swifts need our help! · 11-01-2013 10:37pm

If the house is heated there will be no bats in there at this time of year.

What do you want to do with the house?

Any photos of the dead bats?

Mark
the N Ireland bat man

Bigcheeze · 13-01-2013 5:02pm

For the past couple of months I've noticed an occasional scratching sound coming from the cavity, just below the soffit, in an upstairs bedroom that doubles as an office. Any time I am in the office the scratching always starts at dusk. At first I thought it was mice but the noise is always in the same spot and there is no evidence of mice....presumably they would travel more and would end up all over the house looking for food. Does this sound like bat behaviour or should they be in hibernation now?

swifts need our help! · 13-01-2013 8:20pm

Definitely hibernating. Is your house heated?

Sounds like it could be birds. Starlings are very noisy

Bigcheeze · 13-01-2013 11:42pm

swifts need our help! wrote: »

Definitely hibernating. Is your house heated?

Sounds like it could be birds. Starlings are very noisy

It is heated. Would starlings not be noisy throughout the day ? This noise always starts at dusk.

PGM66 · 14-01-2013 12:20pm

Hi Mark,

Thanks for the reply.

It is a second home and so the heat only comes on a few hours a day in the early morning and evening. It has been used very little in recent years and therefore we are thinking about selling it. So that's one reason why I would like to confirm whether the droppings are from bats. I'm guessing that most potential buyers - rightly or wrongly - will be put off by the presence of bats. So if there are indeed bats then I suppose I would try and find out where they are getting in to the attic space (where the droppings are located) and block it up before they return in the summer (assuming they are not hibernating there). The specific help I need therefore is with: a) confirming the droppings are from bats (there appears to be plenty of info on that subject available); b) determining whether they are hibernating in the attic/roof area; c) if not then finding how they get in in order to block it up. Any thoughts would be very welcome please.

Regards PG

Sorry but I'm afraid that I didn't take a photo of the bat

swifts need our help! · 14-01-2013 11:58pm

bat droppings squash when rolled. Mouse/rat droppings once dry are rock hard.

Mark

PGM66 · 15-01-2013 9:28am

Ok thanks Mark

PG

blackis200 · 14-05-2013 8:08am

Dimitri Damp Shingle wrote: »

Rather than go into it all here why not contact these people

http://www.batconservationireland.org/

They will be best fixed to advise you. I'd imagine Bat Boxes would be among the suggestions.

I have bats in the attic but can't say we ever noticed a smell from them. Their droppings are dry and odourless.

It's the dead bats that stink. We had 2 flying bats in our bedroom overnight.
Not happy. They have to go..

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 14-05-2013 8:45am

blackis200 wrote: »

It's the dead bats that stink. We had 2 flying bats in our bedroom overnight.
Not happy. They have to go..

In that case contact your local wildlife ranger. It's the only legal way to do it.

blackis200 · 14-05-2013 9:07am

Dimitri Damp Shingle wrote: »

In that case contact your local wildlife ranger. It's the only legal way to do it.

I did that. They came here 3 times to count bats.

Is there any ultrasonic device that drives them away?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1 · 14-05-2013 12:38pm

No.And to use such a device is to knowingly disturb roosting bats - illegal. Tell the rangers you want them removed, not counted.

swifts need our help! · 14-05-2013 3:32pm

what dead bats? Dead bats normally just dehydrate.

blackis200 · 14-05-2013 5:52pm

swifts need our help! wrote: »

what dead bats? Dead bats normally just dehydrate.

They stink while "dehydrating"

mecksimay · 15-05-2013 9:14am

Srameen is correct, contacting your local conservation ranger is the only correct action to take on this one.

mquinn73 · 17-05-2013 12:43am

Hi -

I live in Kildare and have had bats in my attic for the last couple of years (from May through to October). Twice I've had a bat get into the house and I've had no problem putting him/her in a box and moving them outside. However, what I really have a problem with is the smell... the attic (which is partially converted) is stinking - I presume this is from their droppings and urine.

Can somebody please advise me what options I have? If I contact the local wildlife ranger what will he/she actually do? and how much will it cost (always a consideration in these financially stringent times!)?

And what can I do about the smell?

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

OpenYourEyes · 17-05-2013 12:53am

mquinn73 wrote: »

Hi -

I live in Kildare and have had bats in my attic for the last couple of years (from May through to October). Twice I've had a bat get into the house and I've had no problem putting him/her in a box and moving them outside. However, what I really have a problem with is the smell... the attic (which is partially converted) is stinking - I presume this is from their droppings and urine.

Can somebody please advise me what options I have? If I contact the local wildlife ranger what will he/she actually do? and how much will it cost (always a consideration in these financially stringent times!)?

And what can I do about the smell?

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks.

I think the time to act was before May, i.e. before they came back to your attic.
But the thing to do is to contact your local wildlife ranger and he/she will be able to tell you all of your options and might be able to advise on something that might help with the smell hopefully.

It's discussed a bit here on the Bat Conservation Ireland website though

mquinn73 · 17-05-2013 12:59am

OpenYourEyes wrote: »

I think the time to act was before May, i.e. before they came back to your attic.

Thanks, OpenYourEyes.

Yep, I knew I should've addressed it over the winter and will certainly do that come November this year. But I suppose up until now, the bats really haven't been too much of a problem. I don't mid sharing my attic and garden with them, but the smell this year is almost unbearable. Something has to be done....

belinda502 · 02-07-2013 10:41pm

A week ago I got bitten by a bat at 1.00am in the morning. We've had them for over 10 years and the colony gets bigger every year. We have tried blocking up cracks on the inside of the house with Styrofoam, and blocking up the fireplaces with foam but they still get in. I'd say we easily have 500 now and though I'm used to the smell, it's still pretty bad. We can't leave the house in the summer because they set off the alarm when they fly around at night. I could stick it really until I got bitten. I'd been putting bats out for 10 years with no problems; I wrap them in a towel and put them out the window but this one wouldn't go out and then jumped off the towel and bit me on the forearm. It was very bad last year and we were putting out up to 9 of them a night but I never thought I'd get bitten.

Rang up Cherry Orchard Hospital the following day, one of the centres for infectious diseases and lo and behold I had to get into the car and drive up to Dublin for a rabies shot and immunoglobin around the site of the wound. I've got 5 more rabies shots to get. The medical practice in Ireland and UK is that if you have direct contact with a bat (including its saliva), you have to get a rabies shot. It was news to me as I thought there was no rabies in Ireland. The law says it's a criminal offence to interfere with their roost with no exceptions. We rang up the Bat Conservation Society the morning after the bite and eventually got put through to a guy who admitted he didn't have a clue what to do about it and had no advice to offer so that was pretty useless. My advice is wear gloves when handling them.

It would be great to stop them getting into the house and it would great if they left altogether as I'm really sick of them

OpenYourEyes · 02-07-2013 11:09pm

belinda502 wrote: »

A week ago I got bitten by a bat at 1.00am in the morning. We've had them for over 10 years and the colony gets bigger every year. We have tried blocking up cracks on the inside of the house with Styrofoam, and blocking up the fireplaces with foam but they still get in. I'd say we easily have 500 now and though I'm used to the smell, it's still pretty bad. We can't leave the house in the summer because they set off the alarm when they fly around at night. I could stick it really until I got bitten. I'd been putting bats out for 10 years with no problems; I wrap them in a towel and put them out the window but this one wouldn't go out and then jumped off the towel and bit me on the forearm. It was very bad last year and we were putting out up to 9 of them a night but I never thought I'd get bitten.

Rang up Cherry Orchard Hospital the following day, one of the centres for infectious diseases and lo and behold I had to get into the car and drive up to Dublin for a rabies shot and immunoglobin around the site of the wound. I've got 5 more rabies shots to get. The medical practice in Ireland and UK is that if you have direct contact with a bat (including its saliva), you have to get a rabies shot. It was news to me as I thought there was no rabies in Ireland. The law says it's a criminal offence to interfere with their roost with no exceptions. We rang up the Bat Conservation Society the morning after the bite and eventually got put through to a guy who admitted he didn't have a clue what to do about it and had no advice to offer so that was pretty useless. My advice is wear gloves when handling them.

It would be great to stop them getting into the house and it would great if they left altogether as I'm really sick of them

We have no rabies in Ireland, but some bats do carry "rabies-like diseases" as far as I know. Thats an awful story alright, very to sorry to hear about it.

Maybe try ringing up your Ranger and demand they come down and look around and advise you as to what to do, and to bring a person from Bat Conservation Ireland if needs be?

swifts need our help! · 03-07-2013 9:49am

I doubt Bat Conservation Ireland told you he didn't have a clue. They are an excellent team of people.

You don't have to keep your bats. Its a myth.

A roost of 500 indicated they are Soprano pipistrelles. Their teeth cant break through our skin. How big was the bat?

swifts need our help! · 03-07-2013 10:36am

Belinda send me your phone number by a private message and I'll make sure the correct person contacts you. Before 11.45 this morning would be great

belinda502 · 03-07-2013 11:24am

I'm not going to argue with you over the Bat Conservation Society other than to repeat what happened - my mum rang them and got through to a very snooty woman who put her through to a nice man with a Dublin accent who apologised and said he wouldn't know what to do. There were and still are puncture wounds on my forearm. I saw and felt the animal bite me. The bite mark was seen and confirmed by the doctor. Why should I send you my phone number? You appear to be a bat zealot and appear to have disbelieved everything in my previous post. I am not in the habit of giving out my phone number to people I don't know and I don't know who you are or what organisation you represent. If you want to send me the number and identity of the' correct person' you can send me a message on this forum.

swifts need our help! · 03-07-2013 11:32am

I'm a bat worker in the north and would have given your number to people I know who do bat work. How did the bat bite your arm? I would have expected a bite on the hand. Only one Irish bat, in my opinion, can bite and leave puncture wounds. This is Leisler's bat but it doesn't roost in numbers as high as 500.

From the Bat Conservation Ireland web site. I suggest you speak to the person from BCI and not a ranger
Contact us

If you have any questions about bats that you need answered immediately - for instance if you have bats entering the living area of your house - you can contact your local National Parks and Wildlife Service Ranger. Your local wildlife ranger telephone numbers are available from the NPWS Dublin head office at locall number 1890 202021 (during office hours). Alternatively you can try our Batline 086 4049468, although please note that we are mainly a voluntary organisation and we may not be in a position to help you immediately with your enquiry.

belinda502 · 03-07-2013 5:14pm

Just to clarify this I checked with my mother and the number she rang was 1890 202021 which is the first number listed on the bat conservation Ireland website 'www.batconservationireland.org'. She got through to a woman who said 'Department of the Environment' and was transferred from there when she explained what the problem was. I note there is a number for 'batline' 086 4049468 - she did not ring that number. We did try ringing that number a few years ago when we were looking for help but it always rang out and we never got through.

I posted about my bite on this site as a warning to other people who have bats in their living space because there is no information anywhere on the bat conservation website that I could see about health warnings for humans interacting with bats. In response to your question, how did the bat bite me on my forearm, well I was holding a hand towel with both hands - I tried to shake the bat out the window, normally when I do that they fly away, but this one clung on and when I got the towel back in, it was on the back of the towel nearest to me, my forearm was exposed and at that stage bat bit me. That's why I would advise anyone who is not an expert with bats and has them in their house to put on a pair of gloves before they try to handle them.

kylith · 03-07-2013 6:51pm

swifts need our help! wrote: »

I'm a bat worker in the north and would have given your number to people I know who do bat work. How did the bat bite your arm? I would have expected a bite on the hand. Only one Irish bat, in my opinion, can bite and leave puncture wounds. This is Leisler's bat but it doesn't roost in numbers as high as 500.

From the Bat Conservation Ireland web site. I suggest you speak to the person from BCI and not a ranger
Contact us

If you have any questions about bats that you need answered immediately - for instance if you have bats entering the living area of your house - you can contact your local National Parks and Wildlife Service Ranger. Your local wildlife ranger telephone numbers are available from the NPWS Dublin head office at locall number 1890 202021 (during office hours). Alternatively you can try our Batline 086 4049468, although please note that we are mainly a voluntary organisation and we may not be in a position to help you immediately with your enquiry.

Irishwildlifematters.ie would disagree with the bit I've bolded. They say

All bats can potentially bite – always wear gloves or use cloth to lift bat to prevent being nipped

Bats in the Attic

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