It's the middle of the night,
and you hear a squeaking sound
coming from your attic.
You get up to investigate,
and as soon as you pull
the attic ladder down,
a swarm of winged-rodents
come flying out at you.
There are too many of them
to count,
and the only physical feature
you can make out
is their sharp teeth.
What should you do next?
Bats are essential to the ecosystem.
They pollinate many nocturnal plants
and eat tons of insects
that could ravish the flora,
making them a natural form
of pest control.
But that doesn’t mean
that you should let them live in your home.
Every fall,
bats start looking for a new home
to hibernate in for the winter.
And what better place for them
to set up shop
than in the comfort of your house?
Not only does it provide the dark,
humid shelter of your attic,
but it also offers convenient access
to your food and water.
You might not know it,
but bats could be setting up
a colony in your attic right now.
And if you don't stop them soon,
you could end up with about
500 of these flying critters up there.
Bats can squeeze
to fit through small openings
about the size of a dime.
But they can’t create holes by themselves,
so they can’t poke
their way into your house.
But they will enter
through an existing hole.
Since your attic is a dark
and humid space,
it can provide an ideal shelter
for bats to roost.
In February 2021,
about 386 bats were discovered
at a curling rink
in Saskatchewan, Canada.
The colony was hibernating,
and may have entered
through a hole the size
of a fingertip.
To prevent bats from infesting your home,
you should start
checking your attic for holes.
Pay special attention to gaps
where materials join.
In 2016,
Barb Humby’s home
in Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada,
became a house of horrors
when she found hundreds
of bats living in her attic.
They had been breeding there for a while,
so their colony was well established.
The estimated cost
of a professional exterminator
was almost $12,000 USD.
And since Barb
didn’t have that much money,
she decided to take matters
into her own hands.
First,
she identified the entry points
in her house and sealed them.
Each night she opened them
so the bats could get out
to enjoy their nocturnal activities.
And she closed the entry points
before dawn,
so they couldn’t get back in.
It took almost a week,
but Barb got rid of the infestation.
Usually, bats are shy
and gentle critters
who don’t seek contact with humans.
So if you encounter a bat
that’s acting boldly
and flying towards you,
its behavior could suggest
that the bat has rabies.
Rabies is a viral disease
that can alter its host's behavior,
making it highly aggressive
and dangerous.
And you could get rabies
from an infected bat’s bite or scratch.
If a bat attacks you,
don't wait.
Seek immediate medical treatment,
and ask to be given
a rabies shot right away.
If you discover bats infesting your house,
you should consider using a light
in the area where the bats are.
Bats are active at night.
And during the day,
they prefer to sleep
where there aren’t any lights.
So if you light the infested area,
there's a good chance
that they’ll leave and find another place.
After the bat colony has left your home,
the next step is to get rid of the droppings
and urine they left behind.
But you'll need to wear protective gear
to handle this cleaning job.
You can get fungal diseases
like histoplasmosis
by inhaling bat manure,
which can be life-threatening
for people with compromised
immune systems and children.
The symptoms include fever,
muscle aches and dry cough.
So wear long-sleeved clothing,
rubber gloves
and an N95 mask.
Then, spray a water-bleach solution
to kill
any bacteria suspended in the air.
To clean the floor and walls,
scrub thoroughly with soap or detergent
and rinse with clean water.
Well done,
you survived a bat infestation,
and you shouldn't have to worry
about them again.
But maybe they weren't so bad after all,
because ever since they've been gone,
there have been a lot more
pesky bugs around,
like mosquitoes.
And they've been known to kill
a lot more people than bats do.
So how should you protect yourself?
Find out here
on How to Survive.