Over the summer, Utahns might find they have an unexpected roommate — roosting bats.
Bats can be found throughout Utah just about anywhere they can find food, shelter, and water — and, like humans, houses can be an excellent source of shelter for a few bat species.
Despite the common association with fall and Halloween, though, roosting actually happens in the summer when bats are more active and females have their babies.
“They can go off flying at night looking for food and leave their young behind and they’ll stay safe and warm,” said Kim Hersey, the mammal conservation coordinator with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources.
Between the guano and scratching noises at odd hours, bats aren't the best roommates. But Hersey said it’s not time to kick them out quite yet.
“As long as they're not getting into the living space, we'd like to wait until that time period when the young are actually able to fly so we can make sure we get them out permanently,” Hersey said.
That’s because tools to evict bats usually allow them to leave on their own while also preventing them from getting back in. If the mother gets out but the babies do not, problems could quickly arise.
“The only time I've ever really seen or heard [evicting bats] go wrong was when people were trying to do an eviction during that time period when the young were still reliant on the mothers for milk,” Hersey said, “and so you had angry mothers trying to get back to their young by any means possible.”
The baby bats could also die if separated from their mother, which is an even bigger concern since bats are a protected species and thus illegal to kill.
In the meantime, Hersey recommended sealing up any possible holes or cracks in and outside of the house that could allow bats to get into general living spaces.
“Unfortunately, bats can get into very small spaces, so sometimes you don't know that there's a spot until they've found it for you,” Hersey said.
If bats do get out of their roosting area and into the home, there are two options to get them out safely — either turn off the lights and open up doors and windows to let the bat hopefully leave on its own, or what Hersey called the “bumblebee method.”
“Make sure you’ve got thick gloves on that a bat couldn’t bite through," Hersey said. "Put a box over [the bat], slide a piece of paper under it, and as long as there's been no chance of human contact skin-to-skin, you can release that outside.”
Avoiding skin-to-skin contact with bats is the most important part of the process, because while it's rare, bats can carry rabies, which is passed on through bites or scratches.
“If there's ever a chance of any bites or scratches, keep that bat contained and contact your health provider for instructions,” Hersey said.
And, assuming you’re not interested in renewing the bats’ lease next year, Hersey said the best way to prevent bats from roosting is to seal up any cracks and crevices before summer rolls around again.
