Bats seem like little harmless creatures until they decide to infest your property. You could be wondering, where do bats nest during the day? Can bats nest in your eaves and gutters? The answer to this question is a stern yes.
Bats love dark, sheltered places to nest, and eaves and gutters in buildings provide favorable conditions. When nesting in eaves, they can squeeze into the ceiling through tiny holes. Bats also like nesting in shaded downpipes and rain gutters.
Why Do Bats Live In Eaves And Gutters?
Bats prefer eaves and gutters because they provide dark conditions for shelter and sleep during the day. They are nocturnal animals and prefer nesting in structure edges and dark corners to avoid predators during the day.
Gutters and eaves provide bats protection from the sun and rain. Eaves tend to have slightly elevated temperatures by confining the heat from the sun in a small space. The space favors the warm condition that bats prefer for nesting and breeding. Bats also prefer secluded areas within which they can reproduce into colonies.
Also, rarely will you check through your eaves or poke your hands into the gutters. Bats dominate these areas for this very reason. What’s more, some insects like mosquitoes, spiders, and flies are commonly found under the gutters and eaves, providing a feast for the bats.
Signs Of Bats In Gutters And Eaves Of A House
It is not always easy to point out a bat infestation in your house gutters and eaves. Bats are secretive creatures that rarely come out of hiding during the day, thus, it is very easy to miss a bat infestation.
There are, however, dead giveaways for bats nesting in your gutters and eaves.
These include:
The most common sign is the presence of bat droppings under the nesting area. Bat droppings have a distinct black color. You will notice a pile of droppings below the hole through which bats access the eaves.
You might also spot clogged water downpipes or a residue of droppings at the bottom of the pipe after it rains.
Urine from bats is another typical sign. You will notice a pungent smell of ammonia coming from the urine of the bats. Extended exposure to urine causes staining of the eaves and the wall adjacent to it. The bat urine stains appear as greasy patches on the surface.
In extreme cases, the eave ceiling may start leaking with brown fluid. If your eaves are waterproof, they will trap the feces, urine, and even hold dead bats. Soon the roof begins to sag. Gutters may also clog after a long period of a bat infestation.
At the entrance point to the eaves, the bats leave very distinctive streaky marks. The marks are black and soon turn oily and appear as a dirty patch surrounding the entry hole.
The noises that bats make could also give them away. Bats tend to produce sharp, squeaky sounds that resemble the chirping of birds. This is a typical habit of bats living in colonies. As they move around their nesting site, they cause disturbance to each other, producing high-pitched sounds of retaliation.
Seeing a dead bat on your property should also be a cause for alarm. It is possible that you rarely visit the area of the house that’s infested with bats, and a dead bat is the only evidence.
Also, pets such as cats tend to sneak through eaves and gutters. If your cat brings a dead bat to you, this is a sign to start looking for the bat infestation.
How To Prevent Bats From Roosting In Gutters And Under Eaves?
The wildlife conservation law prohibits you from disturbing bats once they have already settled in your gutters or eaves of your house.
It is, however, possible to avoid their presence in the first place.
To prevent bats from roosting in gutters and under eaves, you may try the following:
– The first thing to do is seal off all holes and crevices on the eaves to prevent entry. Bats can squeeze through tiny openings as small as a quarter an inch, so you should therefore be thorough with sealing the holes.
– Also, installing lights under eaves and gutters will keep bats off. These animals dislike lit conditions. Alternatively, you may attach flash tape that is highly reflective, which may help scare the bats away.
– Bats also hate noise as much as they hate light. Hang strips of aluminum foil under the gutters and eaves. The reflective surface and crackling noises produced by the foil will discourage nesting.
– You can also choose to use chemical repellents such as mothballs. They emit smells that are not friendly to bats so that they will not nest near the treated area.
– In addition, regular emptying of debris from the gutter clears potential nesting sites.
Do you suspect you have a bat problem in your gutters, eaves, or anywhere else in your home?
Here at Wildlife Troopers in South Florida, we have the experience, tools, and resources necessary to extract and eliminate nuisance bats, safely and humanely.
So give our licensed professionals a call for a free quote on bat removal and control service. You’d be glad you did! (
