Bats live differently around you, like in tree roots, caves, or your home. Mostly, the term nest is used for the location where a bat resides.
What Does a Bat Nest Look Like? - How to Trace It?
Though bats are good as they keep your surroundings insect free, they are scary and messy too. So, removing them from your home is a good step.
But you will succeed in eliminating the messy bats from your house only when you know 'what a bat nest looks like?'. You will easily recognize bats residing around you after reading this useful guide.
Bat Nest Appearance
The place where a bat resides in its nest, so don't confuse it with the birds’ nest. They can build different-sized nests depending upon the type of habitat.
Mostly, bats love isolation to hide from their predators. So, they build a nest in a hidden and dark place.
Different species of bats make different-sized nests. However, most of their homes are not too big. They use certain items, like ferns, fur, or mosses, to make their living place soft for the maximum safety of their young ones.
Some bat types also use their saliva to put all the nest items together. In short, they try to build a home for their maximum safety and comfort.
How to Tell if a Bat is Nesting in Your House?
Most bats love residing in dark and isolated places, so it is hard to locate them. Then how to tell if there is any bat infestation in your house?
It becomes quite easy when you know some signs associated with them. Here are some symptoms that support the evidence that you have bats in your surroundings that need proper removal treatment.
- Bat guano, which resembles mouse excretion but will be larger. You will find these droppings in areas featuring bats.
- As bats are nocturnal mammals, they leave their nests at night. You'll hear a squeaking sound whenever they fly outside or return to their roosts.
- Whenever bats leave or enter your house, they may leave some rub marks. It is another sign of bat infestation.
Observing any of these signs in your surroundings means some bat is roosting in your home. As bats leave their nests at night, you can wait outside your home in the darkness to confirm.
Are Bats Dangerous?
A simple answer to this query is 'yes.' Bats can cause diseases; like rabies or histoplasmosis, which may transfer to humans when someone touches them.
So, touching the bat barehanded is not wise as it may result in severe unexpected results. However, you can catch and remove them from your house by using special protective gear.
As mentioned above, bats are nocturnal creatures who love flying in the dark. They have an inbuilt sonar that helps them navigate in the dark. So, you may encounter them at night.
Here are the most common types of bats found in different regions of North America.
- Little and big brown bats
- Mexican free-tail bats
- Evening bats
- Long-eared bats
What Do Bats Feed On?
Most categories of bats feed are insectivores and feed on insects. These pests may include beetles, moths, flies, mosquitoes, and other hard-shell bugs.
Bats prey on all these insects and can eat a large quantity quickly. Besides these bugs and insects, they eat different food items like bananas, papayas, fish eggs, nectar, etc.
How to Remove Bats?
Any unexpected encounter with bats may result in great damage in the form of any disease. So, whenever you notice any bat infestation symptoms, manage to remove them from your home instantly.
The first thing to remove the bats from your surroundings is to recognize their entrance. You can trace this by observing their movements at night.
Different bat removal methods can help you. Here are some creative ways to get rid of these harmful creatures.
Using Mothballs
Mothballs will work effectively for you to remove the bats from you. However, you'll have to compromise with their bad smell for some time.
Just leave some mothballs in the bat roosting place. They will leave their nest soon after they encounter the naphthalene smell.
Using Natural Oil Spray
A blend of natural oils is also effective in removing bats from your house. For this purpose, you can use any of your favorite oils, peppermint and strawberry.
Spray the oil mixture on the bat roosting; they will leave the nest within a short while after spraying the oils. Bats don't like the fragrance of these natural oils, so they will resist it by leaving the community.
Note: Ensure you have covered your hair while spraying the natural oils. Hair exposure to these oils will leave them standing straight for an extended time.
Using a Mirror
As bats are nocturnal creatures, they hate light. You can remove them from your surroundings by using this weak point.
Hang a mirror on the ceiling near the entrance of bats roosting. As the mirror reflects the light at night, it will be a great irritation for bats. They will leave their nests soon after you use this simple technique.
Using Cinnamon
Like mothballs and natural oils, cinnamon is another weak point of bats. So, you can sprinkle cinnamon powder in the bat infestation sites to get rid of them.
Hire a Professional
Hiring a professional will be a great option if you can't proceed with the above methods. Such a service will not only help you remove the bats from your home, but these skillful persons will close all the bat infestation spots in your home.
Conclusion
Bats and birds have identical features, but it never means they reside in the same nest types. The former resides in isolated, dark, and hidden places where they feel secure.
Bat infestation is not a good sign, and it may bring some harmful diseases to your home. So, it's good to learn “what a bat nest looks like” to make your surroundings bat-free.
