Bats have a bad reputation. Movies and media have typically associated them with vampires, black magic and things that go bump in the night. I can’t imagine they make the list of many people’s favourite animals but I’ve always felt quite ambivalent about them – I mean I didn’t want to cuddle up with one on my lap but neither would I want to exterminate them without mercy. After all bats have incredible value as a controllers of insects and some bats can eat up to 1000 mosquitoes a night providing a
highly beneficial alternative to pesticides for mosquito control. However a few weeks ago in the dusky twilight I watched to see a squadron of bats flying like a military air force crew out of my roof into the emerging night. Ok, I thought no big deal, we have bats around the place – a perfectly
natural part of living in this region. Then a few days later it appeared that one of them lost their sense of direction and instead of flying outwards started swooping wildly through the house. I’m not sure if it was confused by the light or was just a novice at flying but it appeared pretty erratic in its movements and landed on the bathroom floor. Getting a close up view of this creature I shuddered and could relate to the sense of disgust people feel when they encounter these creatures. Let’s face it, in the realm of the animal kingdom a bat is never going to win a beauty contest, but according to the Bat Conservation International (BCI), our fear of them is not all that rational as
bats’ pose few risks to human health. However
living with them in close quarters is not entirely acceptable and steps ahould be taken to remove them if they become a nuisance.
Thankfully the bat managed to make its own exit from the house but the saga continued to intensify with an intense screeching noise coming from our roof over the next few days. Quite clearly the bats were celebrating something and getting very comfortable in their home. They started to wake us up at night with their noise and at around 5 o’clock each morning one of them would consistently swoop through our bedroom. Its fast beating wings sounded like a small remote-controlled helicopter. I hid under the covers whilst my partner opened the window in the hope it would fly out. As a person who strongly believes in the principles of non-violence towards all living things (except cockroaches and mosquitos), I did not want to kill them but I definitely wanted these bats out of my house and fast!
Bats often are seen as pests in the same way as mice, rats or roaches and their presence in a home often results in guerilla style removal tactics. This is an unfair approach to take as it is often humans who have destroyed natural bat habitats and forced them to take refuge in our attics and roofs. Even though the 5am wake up call was becoming increasingly disturbing I still wanted to hold a sense of compassion for the bats as fellow mammals and started doing research on some friendly ways to remove them.
It seems the main way to omit bats is to block up the places where they are nesting. My partner dutifully filled in all crevices between the roof and the ceiling and that night we felt confident that the bats would realize that their eviction notice had been served and start to find alternative accommodations. Well the screeching party stopped but the early morning visitor continued - the swooshing sound of its fast beating wings an unacceptable annoyance. My friend suggested putting up little bits of foil on the gaps in the windows which apparently confuses their sonar system and they can not tell if the space is big enough for them to fly through. Yes we tried this and a few other simple tactics but ‘Mr Bat’ continued its dawn visits regardless until my partner vowed that he was forgoing non-violence and was “Gonna kill that bat.” Interestingly this threat appears to have done the trick as the bat has not reappeared since!
Further research indicates that we were likely a little too hasty in blocking up the bat entrances in the way that we did. Bat Conservation International says that this can often trap live animals and instead offers
exclusion guidelines,
a few other DIY solutions and recommends getting a bat exclusion professional in to deal with the problem. Bats are also in mating season between April – September depending on the area and care should be taken to make sure disturbance is minimal during this time. After all, bats are
an important part of a healthy ecosystem and should be conserved carefully. Another option is to give the bats an alternative place to live by
building a bat house that can be affixed outside your home or somewhere in the garden. Should we continue seeing the bats around our house in the future I think this will be an option I’ll feel bound to materialize.
I’d be really interested to hear of anyone else’s
encounters with bats and further information on how we can peacefully co-exist with these creatures.
