Dealing with Bats in Your Home: A Summer Saga

August has arrived, and for some, like Kathleen O’Brien, it brings not just summer heat but also the task of evicting bats from their homes.

This summer started with a surprising discovery. Kathleen noticed droppings on her balcony and, upon sending a photo to a local exterminator, found out that bats had made themselves at home in the crawl space of her house.

Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done during their breeding season, which runs from May to July. The exterminator explained that in August, he could put up special netting to allow the bats to leave but not come back.

For Kathleen, the idea of sharing her house with bats was unacceptable. “Mi casa es mi casa,” she declared. While she enjoys sharing her property with deer, rabbits, and even bears, she draws the line at bats living indoors.

Her husband had an idea to build a bat house to lure the bats outside, but the exterminator warned that it wouldn’t work; after all, why would the bats leave a warm, cozy space for an outdoor house?

So, they waited with bat guano collecting under their roof, a fact that Kathleen finds particularly unpleasant. While many folks advocate for bats and their benefits, including eating mosquitoes, she can’t shake her discomfort with having them in her personal space.

The conversation around bats tends to be positive due to their protected status, which came about after significant population declines. Even the language has shifted; exterminators are now referred to as “excluders,” making the process sound more genteel.

However, Kathleen’s encounter with a bat in her home only heightened her fear. A brief sighting sent her running outside, leaving her in a panic.

Despite the positive spin on bats, Kathleen’s fears come from real concerns — bats can carry rabies, and their droppings can harbor harmful bacteria.

With worries about diseases that can jump species, such as SARS and even COVID-19, Kathleen feels justified in wanting the bats to find a different home, perhaps next door.