Bats in the Attic in Winter

Bats in the Attic in Winter

Bats in the attic in winter is not a very common occurrence but it does happen on occasion. Instead of migrating to a warmer location or heading to a cave they will find a warm area inside an attic and go into hibernation. If this is the case, you have to wait until spring when they become active again to remove the bats. Once they are leaving on a regular basis, a one way can be installed to exclude them from the attic. If exclusion methods are performed during the winter months, most likely bat removal will be unsuccessful. If a one way is installed during this time you will still see active bats in the attic in winter once you go to remove the bat droppings.

The most common bat in this area is the little brown bat. They will typically arrive around April to have their babies in the attic and leave in October. When they leave, little brown bats head west to the mountains. They will travel several hundred miles and find a nice cave in the mountains. Once they arrive at their winter home they will go into hibernation for up to 82 days. Little brown bats will wake up every so often to lick the condensation off of their fur. The area that is most compatible for them is a small pocket in the cave that the temperature variation does not change more than a couple of degrees. This helps them successfully maintain a good body temperature during the cold months.

Once the temperature begin to increase in the spring they will awake from hibernation and head to their summer home. In most cases it is an attic that gives them protection from most predators. Because bats are protected it is recommended that you do not exclude bats from the attic from May 1st until July 31st. These are the times that baby bats are volant or able to fly. If a wildlife professional is to determine that there are no baby bats or the young are old enough to fly, then they can be excluded during this time frame. This can cause a problem with the homeowner because typically they want them out asap.

For your wildlife control and wildlife removal needs in North Carolina and South Carolina, call PCA Wildlife at (704) 387-5395.