Bat in the house! But how? And wait, it’s December, shouldn’t the bats be hibernating?
The bat in the video appears to have made entry into the living space of this home through a gap around the ceiling fan junction box where the electricity is wired. Essentially the bat had access to the living space from the attic space within the ceiling fan housing though this was completely inconspicuous until the fan housing was removed. In this case we removed the fan housing, located the bat resting on the fan motor as seen in the featured image for this post, and safely removed the bat from the living space.
Hold on, questions remain. Bats in the attic, how does that happen? You can learn more on our bat removal page, but bottom line, all of our homes and structures are covered in a multitude of different construction gaps, vents, etc, that are vulnerable to bat and bat colony intrusion. It’s really just a matter of unluck when your property becomes impacted by bat presence as the big brown bat species readily occupies man-made structures. Bat colonies in structures is a very common issue we resolve.
Today’s occurrence of a bat found in a ceiling fan highlights a unique way a bat gained access into the living space of the home. Other ways we’ve seen are ill-fitting attic doors, poorly secured register vents on ceilings, utility chases for plumbing, electric, gas vents, and more that connect our attics directly to utility rooms in closets or basements. We’ve even documented bats entering a home through a louvered surround of a gas fireplace insert. I’m certain we haven’t seen it all, and most of these intrusions into the living space occur during the warmer months when bats are active.
That leads to our other question, it’s freezing outside, it’s December, shouldn’t the bats be hibernating? Yes, they generally are, and many will hibernate in the homes or structures they dwelled in during the summer. Some randomly wake up and when they move toward the outside they sense the unpleasant cold. Bats sense air currents and during the winter there air warm-air currents coming from the living space into the attic. A bat that awakens during the cold months will preferentially follow the warm-air currents and may end up inside the living space. Every year we receive calls about and remove numerous bats from within homes and other properties during the winter months. Almost invariably this is a sign the structure hosts a bat colony, thus inspection and a bat exclusion are prudent.
Trifecta Wildlife Services provides personal service and safe long-term solutions for Lexington bat removal & exclusion, call us today if bats have taken up residence in your home or property!
