Bats In My Belfry

[eddiememphis]

I am in a condo so I can't mount anything outside. The old bats on the HOA board would go bananas if they knew I was installing a house for their brethren.

The holes lead into a vaulted ceiling so there is no attic. I only see the poop in the one area so I don't think there are too many in there.

If they are in there at all. I am not sure if my porch is a rest stop or a home. I am going to assume it is a home and proceed from there.

Here is the plan.

Clean everything well today and install a 100 watt bulb in the porch light. Leave it on at night.

If they come back despite the light, before I go to bed I will hang strips of towel soaked in ammonia near the hole. Once I am poop free for a couple days, I'll fill the holes with spray foam.

That should give them ample warning that doomsday is coming.

I have no animosity towards them. I love having them swoop and dart about as I am walking the dog, knowing they are eating pesky mosquitoes.

However, being in the home inspection and air quality testing business, I know that their feces can have some bad pathogens in there. I try to avoid situations where I could contract histoplasmosis.

But mostly I'm tired of cleaning shit off of my porch.

[eddiememphis]

can you put some sort of flap over the holes that would allow them to squeeze their way out and exit but not get back in? But yeah, those holes are plenty big for bats.

I have thought of that as well.

The problem is that there are many holes. I would need to make a lot of little flaps. I was thinking of possibly taping cardboard up there so they can only come out and not get back in but I don't know if they would chew their way through.

Or I could make one and fill the rest with spray foam, hoping that they all lead to one chamber. I still haven't done anything except install a 100w bulb.

Who knows? That may be enough to keep them from coming back.

[earplug]

Fertilizer shortage will make your bat shit worth more. Less bugs and free bat shit. Figure out a easy recovery method.

[battlemidget]

Eyeball the other condos with the same floorplate as yours, see what their ceilings look like. If anyone looks to have sealed theirs, they might have insight into how big the voids are.
Those flexneck cams are getting cheaper all the time.

[def90]

If the house was constructed in the way it should be the ceiling lid would go up first, then the siding then the trim. Those voids should not go in to the attic or anywhere else. That said it doesn't mean that a bat wouldn't use that 3 inch space to habitate, they love those little nooks and crannys. I'm guessing that if you shoved a stick up in to any of those openings it would stop where it meets the ceiling.

[SideShow Bob]

South wall so the sun never shines on it. The house needs to stay [relatively] cool.

O2

Umm, North wall. As in like moss grows on the North side of a tree predominately.

[Great-Kazoo]

I have thought of that as well.

The problem is that there are many holes. I would need to make a lot of little flaps. I was thinking of possibly taping cardboard up there so they can only come out and not get back in but I don't know if they would chew their way through.

Or I could make one and fill the rest with spray foam, hoping that they all lead to one chamber. I still haven't done anything except install a 100w bulb.

Who knows? That may be enough to keep them from coming back.

Which is why the bats are there. That bulb is a magnet for insects, insects attract bats. Who stay in the light, gray area, chowing down. Outside the bat shit, they're nice to have around.

As for it being a vaulted ceiling. I'd wager a tank of gas. Those bats are along the entire vaulted ceiling, or just inside that top molding strip. They're winged mice. If there's an opportunity to get in somewhere, they will. The church next door from us in CO was a major bat haven. The wife counted approx 300, before she got tired of clicking the counter. That was from one entry / exit point. They'd come out at night like fighter squadrons.


The down side of bats is the mess and potential to get tangled, or caught by a dog / cat. or your hair.

[O2HeN2]

Umm, North wall.

Crap. Next time I'll attach my fingers to my brain before typing, thanks!

O2

[eddiememphis]

Which is why the bats are there. That bulb is a magnet for insects, insects attract bats. Who stay in the light, gray area, chowing down. Outside the bat shit, they're nice to have around.

As for it being a vaulted ceiling. I'd wager a tank of gas. Those bats are along the entire vaulted ceiling, or just inside that top molding strip. They're winged mice. If there's an opportunity to get in somewhere, they will. The church next door from us in CO was a major bat haven. The wife counted approx 300, before she got tired of clicking the counter. That was from one entry / exit point. They'd come out at night like fighter squadrons.


The down side of bats is the mess and potential to get tangled, or caught by a dog / cat. or your hair.

Tonight will be the first time the light comes on. The bats have been soiling my deck for a couple of years.

If I was smarter, I'd take you up on your bet. I only see a couple of turds in one spot. If there was an entire colony in either my ceiling or the cover of the deck, I would think there would be much more evidence of occupation. Reading and watching videos shows they are filthy and leave smudges from body oils and dirt as they crawl through the entrances to their diabolical lairs.

[Great-Kazoo]

Tonight will be the first time the light comes on. The bats have been soiling my deck for a couple of years.

If I was smarter, I'd take you up on your bet. I only see a couple of turds in one spot. If there was an entire colony in either my ceiling or the cover of the deck, I would think there would be much more evidence of occupation. Reading and watching videos shows they are filthy and leave smudges from body oils and dirt as they crawl through the entrances to their diabolical lairs.

You'd be surprised how many can fit in those small openings. IF they've been there for years, there's more than a few. Outside the shit, they leave, they're great for insect control.