Help Identifying Bats

[Neal Lewis]

I'm pretty sure what I'm seeing is an entry point for bats. The droppings on the house are a dark color. There were no droppings in the attic at all. Can anyone give some pointers on inspection for bats? I only see this type of thing every few years.

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[Les]

not bats. droppings would be in attic also. smudge looks a little large for typical bat. think like a bat.

[StevenT]

Although the new aluminum ones seem to hit farther, I prefer the old fashioned type.

[hausdok]

The stain is from oil rubbing off their fur as they squeeze up in there and then dust collects on the oily surface. Have 'em stuff those gaps with steel wool and then build a bat box and secure it to the side of the house.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Les]

Steven,

ya suppose that would be linseed oil? Does anyone remember those penny candy suckers - BB Bats?

[Neal Lewis]

BTW- the house next door had netting stapled up over the rake boards, only about 25 feet away.

[Jim Katen]

Originally posted by Neal Lewis

I'm pretty sure what I'm seeing is an entry point for bats. The droppings on the house are a dark color. There were no droppings in the attic at all. Can anyone give some pointers on inspection for bats? I only see this type of thing every few years.

Every time I find bats, there's a conical pile of guano under them. They might not be getting into the attic at all. They might be happy just hiding behind the trim. That's what they do on my house. It sure looks like a bat hideout.

I'd encourage them.

- Jim Katen, Oregon

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[AHI in AR]

I find bats around here a few times a year. If they are roosting in the outer gable louvers, I generally view them as beneficial. After all, we have a lot of mosquitoes around here in some areas. So long as the colony isn't huge, and the guano isn't deposited on top of anything important, I say live and let live. (I do inform my clients, however. Most are not so willing to peacefully co-exist.) When bats get inside the attic, however, your average homeowner isn't so willing to allow their presence...nor am I.

My first experience with bats was kinda funny. As an inspector, I was pretty green. I was inspecting a 2 story home in a neighborhood of homes about 30-40 years old. When I got into the attic, I saw about a dozen bats hanging by the gable vent screening, but they were outside the attic itself. I remembered seeing a guy working on the gable of a home across the street on a very tall ladder. I went over and asked if he was dealing with bats. It turns out that the homeowner had noticed an odor in the home in the area of her teenaged son's bedroom. She had previously attributed it to dirty socks and such since he played football.

Well, don'tcha know...he left for college and the smell didn't.

Upon further investigation, there were dozens of bats literally hanging from the rafters and depositing their... um, byproducts of digestion on the attic insulation. After enough time, the smell -- and some stains -- soaked through the drywall and became obvious inside the home.

I found the little guy in the photo hanging near the floor in a 1920's home I inspected. He was inside a room which had been a patio decades ago, but was now a sitting room. I never figured out how he got in.

This is for Jim K--

"Fluffy" for a bat??? I prefer "Spike".

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[Erby]

Sure looks like a bat stain to me. Bet they're hiding above the soffit material in the rake if there's no guano in the attic.

[hausdok]

They're beneficial creatures. If the owner provides a better place for them, they won't be in the attic.

http://habitat.ms11.net//bat/bathome.htm

http://www.batcon.org/bhra/economyhouse.html

http://www.batcon.org/bhra/bhcriter.html

http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wild ... allbat.htm

http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/wild ... ohnbat.htm

http://www.nps.gov/archive/cave/bathouse.htm

http://www.batworld.org/bcs/BWbathouseplans.pdf

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Mark P]

So if I build it will they come? Looks like a fun thing to build with my kids, and as a bonus the idea will drive my wife batty.

[SonOfSwamp]

Originally posted by StevenT

Although the new aluminum ones seem to hit farther, I prefer the old fashioned type.

Ah, how quickly things change. The aluminum bats are pretty much obsolete. These days, the big hitters use composite bats. It's the same stuff they use to build Stealth aircraft.

Daddy of a power-hittin' girl,

WJ

PS: I've got a yellow Louisville Slugger all-wood softball bat. It's on its way to becoming an oddity and an heirloom.id="blue">