If you have a bat flying around in your house, the best thing to do is to trap the bat in an isolated room. Place a towel under the door to prevent it from escaping the room and then call us at Advanced Wildlife Control to come and remove your bat. We will come and remove bats from your house 24/7. 

Yes and No. Bats are great to have around your backyard because they will eat up all your mosquitoes. However, they can be very dangerous when they take up residence in your home.

The biggest concern with bats living in your home is that they are carriers of Rabies. Rabies is transmitted when an infected bat bites or scratches a person’s skin. Studies have shown that most bats don’t carry the Rabies virus, but there is no way to tell by just looking at it. Bats can also carry Histoplasmosis which is a respiratory disease that is caused by fungal spores in bat droppings. Bat colonies can also contaminate your attic insulation with droppings, create nasty musky odors, and make loud squealing noises at night. 

Most of our customers that have been bitten by bats were bitten when trying to get rid of the bat by themselves. Do not pick up a bat that is lying on the floor or on a wall, you could get bit! Anyone who is bitten or scratched by a bat must receive the Rabies vaccination, which requires 7 shots and can cost up to $4000.

If there is anyone that has been exposed to a bat who is unable to communicate, such as a small child, they should be given the vaccination as well. Under no circumstance should you release a bat that has bitten or scratched you. If the bat is captured it can be tested for Rabies. We have captured a large number of bats over the years, but very few of them have tested positive for rabies.

Southeastern Wisconsin winters can be extremely difficult to predict. One day it could be 40 degrees and the next -10 degrees. The change in temperature is the main reason we receive calls from clients year-round asking us to get rid of a bat that is flying around inside their home.

Bats have a hard time staying in hibernation throughout the winter season when temperatures fluctuate like this. After warm days, bats will go back to find warmer places to hide like heating ducts to settle back down. However, if a bat goes too fat into heating ducts, it could end up in your basement. Bats have an initial instinct to fly upwards which could result in them ending up in the main areas of your home.

Unlike other hibernators that sleep through the whole winter, bats only go into hibernation for 2-3 week periods. They will come out of hibernation after that period for about an hour to get water and sometimes to mate. Then they will go back into hibernation for another 2-3 weeks. This complex hibernation process can explain why you will sometimes hear noises for short periods of time during the winter, but then hear nothing else until a few weeks later.