Bats can prove to be a serious nuisance in your life if you don’t know how to deal with them. There are quite a few things associated with bats, including the fact that these animals were the cause of one of the biggest pandemics that the world has ever seen.
It may not seem like it, but bats are generally docile creatures. These flying creatures like to hide in dark corners and hang upside down to sleep.
This may seem funny right now, especially considering the widespread life changes that bats have caused around the globe, but you should know that bats are actually some of the most harmless creatures on the planet.
In fact, the chances of your cat or dog biting you are much higher than a bat. However, nobody likes bats in their garage or their house. If you want to get rid of bats from your garage, you will have to adopt a multipronged approach.
This is important, because you will first want to figure out how the bats were able to get in, and what attracted them. Let’s talk about these things.
What Attracts Bats?
In the wild, bats are generally considered to be cave dwellers. Basically, these animals like to hang from the jagged surfaces of the rocks, and use their clawed feet to support themselves upside down.
A colony of bats is likely to include a vast majority of female bats, and they also have baby bats.
If they are in an urban area, the bats are likely going to look for a dark space that is not commonly disturbed. The eaves in your garage, or your attic, are an ideal location. Another thing that attracts bats is the availability of food. When the sun begins to set, these animals get out and start to look for food.
These are the only mammals that are capable of flying, and they generally feed on a variety of different insects, ranging from mosquitoes to beetles and moths.
They also like to eat fruits such as mangoes and bananas, so if you have an ample amount of food available in your garage, you should know that it’s going to attract bats.
One important thing to understand here is that bats do not have very good vision. Instead, they use a technique known as echolocation, which is a kind of sonar, to hunt for their food.
They are very avid hunters, and a small bat is capable of devouring more than 600 mosquitoes within the hour!
If you have food in your garage that is not properly protected, you should know that it’s an open invitation to bats in your garage. It is important for you to always cover up your food and then make sure that you look for entry points in your garage.
How to Get Rid of Them
There are a number of different remedies that you can use to get rid of bats from your garage. Before you try any radical measures, you should know that there are several effective remedies that will help you get rid of the bats in your garage.
To remove the bats from your garage, your aim should not be to attack them directly. Instead, your aim should be to make the environment as inhospitable as possible so that the bats leave on their own.
There are several methods that you can try in this regard. Here are a few.
1 – Using Bright Light
As mentioned above, bats are cave dwellers, so they do not like bright light during the day. Instead, bats tend to hide in the day and they like places that are dark or cozy.
If you know that there are bats in your garage, it might be a wise idea to wait until they leave in the morning. Once they have departed, you need to first seal off the space from where they might be entering or leaving.
Once that is done, the next step should be to install a set of bright floodlights. You have to turn the dark area into a blindingly bright section. The more light you can get in the area, the better.
As you already know, bats tend to hang upside down, so the aim is to make sure that the light is directed above.
If there are any overhead projections, make sure you direct the light toward those. It is important that you illuminate the area as best as you can.
By the time the bats return during the day, they will realize that the whole place is so bright that it is unsuitable for them, and they will fly off.
You are going to have to spend a bit of money on buying the bright floodlights, and you may have to run an extension cord from the house to light up (or see how to light a garage without electricity), but a few days of lighting is all it takes to divert the bats and have them move to another location.
2 – Heat
Bats do not like excessive heat, so one of the most effective ways to get rid of them is to overheat the place.
Bats generally prefer warm and damp environments, conditions that are similar to caves, but they simply can’t stand excessively dry and hot areas. For example, you can’t find bats in desert environments!
One of the simplest ways to get rid of these bats is to get a bunch of small heaters and then place them in your garage. Once you have identified the place that the bats use for roosting purposes, all you have to do is to keep the heaters there, and then turn them on.
It’s not necessary for you to turn them incredibly hot; just keep the temperature over 100 degrees F, and it’s going to work just as well.
Remember, this is not a method that works immediately. It is going to take a bit of time for the area to completely dry out and the moisture to run out completely.
Once the place becomes completely dry, the temperature will become too much for the bats to handle, and they are going to fly away. It’s a pretty simple and effective measure to get rid of bats from your garage.
3 – Essential Oils
Finally, you have essential oils. Remember, you can’t find a mixture of chemicals in the market that are designed to serve as bat repellents.
But, what you can do is drive them away by emitting particular smells. For instance, bats do not like smells that are emitted from essential oils such as peppermint or eucalyptus.
They hate cinnamon or mint, and it is best if you mix these properly. Bats usually find these smells quite offensive, and won’t take too long to leave.
Once the bats leave to hunt for the night, you should spray the mixture of essential oils that has been properly diluted with water.
Remember, it should be wet, but it should not be dripping. The smell will be quite strong, and you will notice the bats leaving very soon.
These are just some of the simplest methods that you can use to get rid of bats from your garage.
I have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems and over 10 years of experience working in IT. As a homeowner, I love working on projects around the house, and as a father, I love investigating various ways to keep my family safe (whether or not this involves tech). I’ve also played guitar for almost 20 years and love writing music, although it’s hard to find the time these days.