Bats roost throughout the year, but choosing a specific spot becomes even more important depending on the season. If bats are calling your attic home during these summer months, it’s not a great time to try and remove them. June and July is when baby bats are born, which makes it harder to get rid of these critters. You’ll want to get in contact with your local wildlife removal service to handle the bats in your attic.
Seasonal Creatures
Bats roost seasonally, moving to different roosts throughout the year. The attic presents a safe space resembling a cave—a bat’s ideal hideout. If they’ve made their home in your attic, just that one season of habitation will do a lot of property damage, making attic restoration after removal necessary to rebuild the space and rid it of parasites. Neglecting to clean the space after will draw these creatures back to roost there the following year at the same time. It’s best to wait before going up there to deal with it. When you stop hearing bat noises and seeing fresh droppings, call a professional.
Bats generally migrate and return each spring to settle down, but if the climate is warm enough, they may stay year-round. Spring is mating season. This is the best season to evict bats because they aren’t fully settled, and they’re flying around a lot at night, searching for insects and food to survive.
The fall is also safe for bat removal. The babies are old enough to leave the nest, reducing your chances of running into these creatures while cleaning. Winter is hibernating season, with occasional periods of waking to drink. As they spend most of November to March sleeping, this is a difficult time to remove them.
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Birthing Season
Bats enter breeding season in the spring, with mother bats reproducing once per year, usually giving birth to only one pup per litter. The female bats control the timing of the pregnancy and optimize their maximum food capability. The babies are nursed until adult size, when they can fly on their own. From six to eight weeks old, these pups are completely reliant on their mother.
It’s too late to remove the bats in your attic during June and July. As the summer months are maternity season, the baby bats in your attic are totally dependent on their mother. Bats are mammals, and like all mammals, the mother needs to be close to her babies to give them the milk necessary for survival. Baby bats are also born without wings, rendering them helpless residents of the nest until they reach adulthood.
Problems and Consequences
Bats have status as protected species, meaning it’s illegal to exterminate them. There are also several inhumane and ethically questionable reasons to remove bats in your attic during June and July. The best option is to wait until bats reach adulthood in the fall and are able to leave the nest: inadequate removal processes would trap the babies inside. With no food, they would starve, and you’d be left with dead bats in your attic.
It’s inhumane to remove these helpless creatures. A blocked entrance won’t allow the mother in to feed her young, and she’ll look for other gaps, cracks, and open windows to gain entry. It only takes 3/8 of an inch for a bat to come in, and the mother bat will find a way.
Wildlife removal services are experts at dealing with these situations. They’ll create one-way exits to deter the bats from having entry points, deterring them from re-entering your home. Getting rid of bats can be a nuisance, but knowing when to remove them makes it easier for everyone involved.
Do you need wildlife removal services? Request a quote today!