Sometimes you need to try something before you realize that the approach you're trying to take just isn't going to work. Don't make this the case with bats, particularly trapping bats. There are too many reasons to list why you shouldn't trap bats, but we'll start with a few of the basics:



1 - It is illegal to perform DIY bat removal in some states
We URGE you to do your own research before attempting any kind of DIY approach to the removal of any animal, bats especially. There are no fewer than six bat species listed that are covered at a federal level, and plenty more that are protected on an individual state level, which are also likely to change over time. When a bat is protected, either on a federal or a state level, you are not permitted to move the bats, disrupt them in any way, or even try to move their roosts. This includes sealing the roost.

2 - Trying to remove a hundred-plus-strong colony of bats using just a couple of traps would take you forever.
And there really are hundreds — potentially even thousands — of bats in a single colony, all of which could be living quite happily up in your attic. Traps might work to catch the odd one or two bats at a time, but for an approach to take them all on … It's just not going to work. Buying lots of traps to try and get rid of bats would cost you a small fortune, and you would never be on top fo the problem. The bats would fly in quicker than you could trap and remove them.

3 - Trying to release a bat far enough away is impossible.
Bats can follow a migratory path that literally takes them to the other side of the world in some instances, so traveling a few miles down the road just isn't going to work. When you release the bat, the first thing it'll do is head straight home again. It'll probably even get back there before you do.

4 - Trapping bats doesn't bat-proof your home.
Bats will return to the same roosting spot time and time again if they could, so even if you were able to trap those bats and release them far enough away that they couldn't become a problem again, it wouldn't stop them from coming back the next year, or even further immediately. When you use exclusion devices — the right approach for the removal of bats — you are sealing and excluding as you go. You will attach your exclusion devices to the major holes that are most-used by the mammals, sealing up the smaller holes so that the bats have no choice but to use the ones with the exclusion devices. Eventually, no more bats will be left in the building and all the holes will be sealed. That's not the kind of outcome you can expect from bat trapping.

Go back to the Bat Removal home page or email us for more info about Is It Possible to Get Rid of Bats Using Cages?