But it turns out that these fuzzy fliers do have one weakness: super-smooth vertical surfaces. Bats find their way in the dark using echolocation—sending out sound waves and listening for their echo.
Fact: Bats are afraid of people and avoid them. Bat echolocation is highly sophisticated and enables them to detect obstacles as fine as human hair, therefore easily avoiding your head. If a bat gets close to a human, it's usually because they are curious about insects that are naturally attracted to people.
Bats have few natural predators — disease is one of the biggest threats. Owls, hawks and snakes eat bats, but that's nothing compared to the millions of bats dying from white-nose syndrome.
Habitat loss is a leading threat to bat survival. Fragmentation of habitat, destruction of roosts, and mitigating human wildlife conflict are all causing a decline in bat populations. Clearing land for human consumption eliminates warm, dry, safe, and quiet roost spots used by bats.
Because they have a sensitive nose, they are afraid of strong odors. Cinnamon, eucalyptus, cloves, mint, and peppermint are all repulsive to them. Loud noises might also frighten them away.
But it turns out that these fuzzy fliers do have one weakness: super-smooth vertical surfaces. Bats find their way in the dark using echolocation—sending out sound waves and listening for their echo.
Use bright, motion-activated lights to deter nocturnal bats by creating an unwelcoming environment. Keep the porch clean and free from food sources such as standing water and insects to discourage bats. Employ scent and noise deterrents like peppermint and eucalyptus oils, and ultrasonic devices to repel bats.
Most small mammals have very short lives (often only 1 year), but bats are the exception and have relatively long lives. One study showed that bats live on average about 4 years, while another study showed bats may live about 16 years on average. The maximum lifespan reported for bats in the wild is more than 30 years.
Bats are associated with diseases, including rabies. In addition, their droppings, called “guano,” can contain fungi which can cause a lung infection called histoplasmosis when spores that grow in bat guano are inhaled.
Unfortunately, white-nose syndrome (WNS), a fatal fungal disease of hibernating bats, has killed over six million bats since 2006, and may well lead to the extinction of certain bat species. Other threats to bats include habitat loss from land use change (e.g. urban and energy development and climate change.
Collisions with wind turbines and white-nose syndrome are now the leading causes of reported MMEs in bats.
Bats have a strong sense of smell and are commonly thought to be repelled by certain natural scents. For this purpose, some homeowners use peppermint oil, cinnamon, eucalyptus oil, cloves, and garlic as bat repellants.
This is because flying insects are drawn to the carbon dioxide in human breath and the bats swoop down to eat insects. However, bats won't attack or hurt humans unless they are seriously provoked. Visitors should watch out for falling urine and guano, however.
Domestic cats, as well as larger felines like bobcats and cougars, will readily snatch up a bat if they get the chance. Bats are nocturnal mammals, so they like hiding in places where it's dark during the day. It can be your attics, porch roofs, chimneys, cable vents, and other small nooks and crannies.
Bats are largely nocturnal, meaning they are most active after sundown. Specifically, little brown bats emerge from their dark roosts two-to-three hours after dusk to feed. After feeding, they return to their roosts to sleep out the rest of the night and day hanging upside down. Seem a bit mysterious and spooky to you?
All healthy bats try to avoid humans by taking flight and are not purposely aggressive. Most bats are about the size of a mouse and use their small teeth and weak jaws to grind up insects.
Also, long-lived bats have evolved genetic changes that give them the ability to stay healthy over so many years. Comparing DNA between bats with high and low LQ highlights genes that contribute to longevity. These genes control cellular activities like DNA repair, cleaning out cell waste, and tumor suppression.
Installing Deterrents
Ultrasonic devices can keep bats away. They make sounds that bats don't like. Bright lights near where bats might want to roost can also keep them away.
We have also had customers experiment with a mixture of equal parts ammonia and vinegar. While successful in driving the bats away, the odor can be very strong. Our owner Peggy also had success using lavendar scented moth balls.
If you want to implement a practice to deter bats, putting up bright lights probably won't do the trick. It seems reasonable, as bats will avoid bright lights, but it often exacerbates the problem.
Your state department of natural resources may have a biologist willing to remove the bat for you. Another method is to let the bat find its own way out. Open as many windows and doors leading to the outside as possible. If it is evening, turn off indoor lights to help the bat navigate its way out.
Bats are still under threat from building and development work that affects roosts, loss of habitat, the severing of commuting routes by roads and threats in the home including cat attacks, flypaper and some chemical treatments of building materials.
Bats get a bad rap. They are known to host more zoonotic viruses — those that spread between people and animals — than any other mammal species. In fact, they are the originating hosts of several disease-causing microbes, including those that cause flu and common colds.