Wildlife Viewing - In Your Own Backyard

In Your Backyard

Bats in Your Belfry

Bats are beneficial, but that doesn't mean that you want them living in your attic or chimney (even though they don't chew insulation or make new holes). If you do have bats in your house, follow these tips:

1. Do not trap or poison bats. Instead, watch the outside of your house 30 minutes before and after sunset. Once the bats have flown out and you've located the openings, seal them with caulking, hardware cloth or duct tape. (A crack only 3/8" wide will admit bats.)

2. Never seal off openings between May 1 and September 1 or you may seal in young bats too small to fly.

3. Provide alternative bat habitat in your yard by leaving dead or hollow trees or by erecting a bat box. Unpruned cabbage palms also provide homes for some bats.

For more information on bats visit Bat Conservation International at http://www.batcon.org or FWC's Critter Questions' information about bats.