What should I do if I find dead or dying bats, or if I observe bats with signs of White-nose Syndrome? If you find a dead or dying bat: Contact your state wildlife agency, file an electronic report in those states that offer this service, e-mail U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists in your area, or contact your nearest Fish and Wildlife Service field office to report your potential White-nose Syndrome (WNS) observations.
How long can a bat live inside a house? 6 months. Generally, they enter the living quarters through unfinished basements, loose attic hatches, or through unlined cold air returns. It is a rare bat that simply flies through the front door as a random occurrence. Depending on the time of year and the climate, bats can live over 6 months without food and water.
What happens if you have bats? It is illegal to intentionally kill, injure or take any bat or to recklessly damage, destroy or block up their roosts or disturb them. Because bats tend to return to the same roosts each year, these sites are protected whether the bats are present or not.
Is it bad to have bats around your house? Bat droppings, called guano, can cause health issues in humans, bats can get into the living area of a home, bat infestations left unchecked can lead to damage to the home as the weight of the guano can affect the attic floor/living quarters ceiling. The guano can also attract insects into the home.
What should I do if I find dead or dying bats, or if I observe bats with signs of White-nose Syndrome? If you find a dead or dying bat: Contact your state wildlife agency, file an electronic report in those states that offer this service, e-mail U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists in your area, or contact your nearest Fish and Wildlife Service field office to report your potential White-nose Syndrome (WNS) observations.
What happens if you have bats? It is illegal to intentionally kill, injure or take any bat or to recklessly damage, destroy or block up their roosts or disturb them. Because bats tend to return to the same roosts each year, these sites are protected whether the bats are present or not.
How small of a hole can a bat get through? Most often bats find their way into homes through cracks and crevices in building materials. Their small size makes it easy for bats to tuck themselves into even the smallest of gaps. They can squeeze through holes as small as 6 millimetres or about the size of a dime.