Psalms 73:26..My heart and flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart
Think You Have Bats In Your Attic?
If you've been hearing scratching above your ceiling, noticing bats flying around your house at dusk, or recently found a bat inside your home, you're probably asking yourself the same question many of our customers ask us:
"Do I have bats living in my attic?"
The truth is, many homeowners aren't completely sure what they're hearing or seeing. Some discover small piles of bat droppings below the roofline. Others hear noises that seem to come from the attic late in the evening. Sometimes the first sign is actually a bat flying through the house. Every home is different, but the questions homeowners have are often the same.
At Trapper's Wildlife Control, we've been helping Central Iowa homeowners solve bat problems since 2015. Before you can decide what to do next, it helps to understand the common signs that bats may be using your home. Let's start there.
Have You Been Hearing Scratching Above Your Ceiling?
Those Sounds May Be Telling You More Than You Think
Many homeowners first notice a bat problem because they hear scratching, fluttering, or faint squeaking above the ceiling. Unlike mice, bats usually become active around sunset as they leave to feed and again before sunrise when they return. Depending on where they're roosting, those sounds may seem to come from the attic, soffits, or where two rooflines meet.
Hearing noises doesn't automatically mean you have bats, but if it happens around the same time each evening or morning, it's one of the first clues that something may be using your home.
Have You Been Seeing Bats Flying Around Your House At Dusk?
Seeing Bats Doesn't Always Mean They're Living In Your Home
Bats are beneficial and commonly fly through neighborhoods each evening while feeding on insects. The difference is when you consistently see them circling your roof or disappearing beneath the edge of your roofline.
Watching where they're flying can provide valuable clues about whether they're simply passing through or using your home as a roosting site.
Have You Been Finding Bat Droppings Around Your Home?
Have You Been Finding Bat Droppings Around Your Home?
Bat Droppings Can Help Tell The Story
Small piles of bat droppings on a porch, deck, window ledge, or below the roofline often indicate bats are roosting somewhere above. While droppings alone don't reveal every entry point, they help identify areas that deserve a closer look.
Combined with the other signs on this page, they can paint a much clearer picture of what's happening around your home.
Has A Bat Recently Been Found Inside Your House?
Have You Been Finding Bat Droppings Around Your Home?
One Bat Doesn't Always Mean One Bat
Finding a bat inside your home is alarming, and it's one of the most common reasons homeowners call us. While an individual bat can occasionally find its way indoors, multiple bats over time often indicate that a colony is living somewhere within the structure.
That's why understanding how it got inside is just as important as safely removing the bat you can see.
How Are The Bats Getting Into Your House?
Small Openings Can Lead To Big Problems
Most homeowners are surprised by how little space a bat needs to enter a home. Gaps around soffits, fascia boards, ridge vents, dormers, and roof intersections can all provide access into an attic or wall cavity.
Many of these openings aren't visible from the ground, which is why homeowners are often surprised by what we find.
Could There Really Be Bats Living In Your Attic?
Looking At The Whole Picture
One sign by itself doesn't always mean you have bats. But when you begin putting several of these clues together—scratching noises, bats flying around the roofline, droppings below the eaves, or a bat inside your home—the picture becomes much clearer.
The next step isn't guessing. It's learning how to determine exactly where the bats are getting into your home.
The Next Question Most Homeowners Ask is...
"Can you figure out where they're getting in?"
On the next page, we'll show you how we inspect a home, what we're looking for, and how we determine every potential bat entry point before recommending a permanent solution.
