Bat Exclusion

Bats in an attic or wall are removed by exclusion, not by trapping. Michael Gerbino of Cypress Critters & Pests finds the gaps the colony uses, fits one-way exits so the bats fly out at night and cannot return, seals the house once they are gone, and cleans up the guano they leave behind. He does this work across Spring, Cypress, Tomball, The Woodlands, Klein and north Houston. If you see bats leaving your roofline at dusk, call Michael at 713-775-8799.

How do you know bats are in your attic?

Bats are quiet next to a raccoon or a squirrel, so most people find them by what they see and smell rather than what they hear. These are the signs Michael checks first.

A bat inside a bedroom or living area is its own situation. Do not pick it up with bare hands. Keep children and pets out of the room, close the door, and call. If anyone may have been bitten, the Texas Department of State Health Services says to wash the spot right away with soap and water and get medical help as soon as possible, and Texas health rules call for a possible rabies exposure to be reported to the local rabies control authority.

Where do bats get into houses around Spring and Cypress?

A bat does not chew or tear its way in. It uses a gap that is already there, and it needs very little room. On Gulf Coast houses these are the openings Michael finds most:

• Roof returns and soffit corners. Where two rooflines meet, the end of the soffit often leaves a gap a bat can crawl into from below.
• Roof-to-fascia gaps. As fascia boards age and pull away from the roof deck, a thin slot opens along the drip edge.
• Gable vents. The screen behind a louvered vent rusts, tears, or was never put in.
• Chimney tops and flashing. An uncapped flue or loose flashing gives a sheltered way inside.
• Siding and trim joints. Gaps where siding meets trim, window frames or a brick ledge.
• Line chases. The holes where AC lines, cable and plumbing pass through a wall or the roof.

Many houses have more than one active gap. That is why the inspection covers the whole roofline and not just the spot where someone saw them fly out.

Why will trapping not fix a bat problem?

Bats are protected in Texas. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Code allows a bat to be removed when it is inside or on a building occupied by people, and Michael removes them one way only: exits that let them fly out on their own. Bats are not caught in cage traps. Trying to grab or net them in an attic only scatters the colony deeper into the walls, and every gap stays open for the bats that were out feeding that night. With any animal, trapping removes the one you catch and leaves the opening ready for the next. The fix is to let the bats leave on their own and then close the house behind them, which is what animal exclusion means.

When is the right time to exclude bats?

Timing matters more with bats than with any other animal Michael handles. Texas Parks and Wildlife says excluding bats from buildings is discouraged from May 1 to August 15, when the young are unable to fly. If the exits go up while those pups are still in the roost, the adults get out, the young are left behind to die in the attic or the walls, and the smell follows. So Michael plans exclusion for outside that window, looks for signs of young before any one-way exit goes on, and waits until every bat in the roost can fly out on its own.

How Michael handles it

1. Inspect. He watches where the bats come out, walks the full roofline, and checks the attic for guano, staining and the size of the roost.
2. Close the side gaps. Every opening the bats are not using as a main exit gets sealed first, so the colony is funneled to one or two exits.
3. Fit one-way exits. A one-way device goes over each remaining exit. The bats crawl out at night to feed and cannot find the way back in.
4. Confirm they are gone. The exits stay up until there is no more activity, and then he checks the roost again.
5. Seal the house. The exits come off and the last openings are closed with material suited to the spot: metal flashing, screened vents, chimney caps and sealant for narrow joints.
6. Clean up the guano. Droppings and soiled insulation come out of the attic and the area is cleaned and deodorized, so the scent does not draw another colony to the same place.

Seeing bats at dusk or finding droppings under a vent? Call Michael at 713-775-8799 and he will come look at the house himself.

The gaps that let bats in often let in other animals too. A loose soffit corner is a common door for squirrels, a torn gable screen for raccoons, and an open line chase for rats and mice. If a bat or anything else has died inside a wall and left a smell, that is a job for dead animal removal. Businesses with bats in the roof are covered under commercial service. Every animal Michael handles is listed on the wild animal control page.

Where Michael does bat exclusion

• Spring, TX, where his business is based
• Cypress, TX
• Tomball, TX
• The Woodlands, TX
• Klein, TX
• Houston, TX, on the north and northwest side

What decides the quote

Michael quotes bat work after he has seen the house, because no two roofs are alike. What moves the number is how many gaps there are and how high they sit, how large the roost is, whether young are present and the work has to wait, and how much guano and insulation have to come out of the attic. He will tell you plainly what your house needs. To set up an inspection, use the contact page or call 713-775-8799.