Let's first start off by talking about four approaches that WILL NOT work to get bats out of the chimney:
1 - Lighting a fire.
2 - Using repellents.
3 - Placing down poison.
4 - Hoping the problem will go away by itself.



All four options are useless if the bat is stuck, injured, or sick — it might not be able to get out of the sticky situation it has found itself in even if it wanted to. Lighting a fire will result in burned or smoked-out bats. If the bats can't escape, you'll fry them alive and that will not be pleasant to listen to or smell. The bats will also still be in your chimney, so you'll still need to take the hands-on approach to getting rid of them.

Repellents have been shown time and time again not to work for bats and, again, if the bats aren't able to free themselves, they won't. Poison will result in a similar outcome to lighting a fire. If the bat doesn't get to the poison, it won't eat it and will, therefore, not die. If the bat does eat the poison, it might still die. You'll still have a bat or bats in the chimney, except this time, they'll be dead bats. You'll still need to go down there and retrieve them.

If you take route number 4 - hoping the problem will go away by itself, you'll have a 50/50 chance of it working out for you. Yes, they might leave. They probably won't, though. They definitely won't if they can't — the sick and injured thing again.

What is the best approach for bats in the chimney?
If the animal is physically stuck down there or doesn't seem to be able to get free of its own accord, you will need to get involved. You can delegate, however, to a bat removal specialist who will know exactly what to do. If you can reach the bats from above — on the roof looking down into the chimney — you might just be able to use something like a snare pole to get them out. You will need to ensure that you don't inure or kill any bats in the process, however. Bats are protected, depending on the species and where you are, on both federal and state levels.

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