# How do I remove bats from under a deck?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [June 19, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325 "2006-06-19T17:56:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/1 "2006-06-19T17:56:48Z")
Over the weekend I was under my deck spraying for bugs. When I turned around I came face to face with five to six bats hanging under the deck.
Now I don’t mind bats, but we do have an infant and I’d rather not have them that close to the front door. This is a weekend house in the woods so we’re not there very often. I’d like to find a way to get rid of the bats without harming them, mostly just a way to tell them to bugger off. Is there a safe way for both them and me that’s easy to do and will not cost much, or will I have to bring someone in?
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### Author:  [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/2 "2006-06-19T18:10:41Z")
I don’t recommend a DIY approach, on the unlikely chance one of the bats could be rabid. I would recommend calling someone it, except that most people are just going to kill the bats, which leaves the planet with fewer bug-eaters. I love anything that eats bugs! If there is a university you can contact, they have have information about a bat-catcher near you, or one that is willing to travel.
I have also seen online information about building bat houses. Maybe you could do something like that to lure them farther away from your house? I wanted to build some at our cabin but my sister in law has an unreasonable fear of bats “getting in her hair”.
Good luck.
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### Author:  [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/3 "2006-06-19T18:16:13Z")
> [@Edward The Head](#):
>
> or will I have to bring someone in?
My sister had a problem with bats in her attic. They called an exterminator to get rid of them and found out that they’re protected (at least in Minnesota, they are) and that the exterminator’s only advice was to wait for them to fly out then plug whatever holes they could get back into. Apparently even dime-sized holes were big enough for the bats. I think they used some ultrasonic thing to get them to leave while they plugged up the hole but I can’t verify.
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### Author:  [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2006, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/4 "2006-06-19T20:47:03Z")
The easiest solution is probably to line the underside of the deck with something that their little claws can’t get a grip on. Anything smooth would work.
Another approach would be to put up a bathouse away from the house. If it’s more attractive to them than your deck, they may move voluntarily.
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### Author:  [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2006, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/5 "2006-06-19T21:43:40Z")
In theory, if you install a light of some kind under the deck and leave it on at night, the bats should be persuaded bats to move away.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/6 "2006-06-20T00:13:11Z")
Fire, and lots of it.
I keed, I keed…
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/7 "2006-06-20T01:28:19Z")
Build them a [bat house](http://www.eparks.org/wildlife_protection/wildlife_facts/bats/bat_house.asp). Bats and babies can coexist.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/8 "2006-06-20T12:26:37Z")
> [@Little Bird](#):
>
> Fire, and lots of it.
>
> I keed, I keed…
Almost right.
I’ve given this advice before about critters under a deck: Get a packet of plumber’s smoke bombs (they are non-toxic), light one, drop it in an old coffee can, & stick it under the deck. Stand by with a hose. This is reasonably safe, but the hose is a sensible precaution. The thick coulds of smoke will drive the bats away.
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### Author:  [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/9 "2006-06-20T12:45:54Z")
I don’t get what the problem is here. Are infants allergic to bats, or something? Bats are good. They eat bugs, and they’re cute to boot. I love sitting out in my garden at dusk watching the bats circling round ans snapping up insects.
Leave the bats be.
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### Author:  [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/10 "2006-06-20T14:06:07Z")
> [@Colophon](#):
>
> I don’t get what the problem is here. Are infants allergic to bats, or something? Bats are good. They eat bugs, and they’re cute to boot. I love sitting out in my garden at dusk watching the bats circling round ans snapping up insects.
>
> Leave the bats be.
I don’t have a problem with the bats at all. I do have a problem with a group of bats a couple of feet from my front door. I don’t want a possibly sick bat to get into the house and then have a baby find it and play with it. I have been looking around and the bat sites I have seen say that you can not always tell if someone has been bitten and I don’t want to subject the baby to shots. I know it is rare to happen but it can.
I never knew there were bat houses, and there is a good place for one near the house. I don’t mind the bats, I would just rather them not right next to the door.
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### Author:  [@Scoundrel\_Swanswater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scoundrel_Swanswater)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/11 "2006-06-20T14:35:55Z")
Let me chime in with another “please don’t hurt the bats”.
These are natures greatest bug-killers and are very cute too (I know, I know, but I think they are, I am weird like that).
I think the bat-house would be a great idea.
I loved the bats that flew around our house when I was a little kid.
We used to throw little pebbles and watch the bats swoop down on them.
The bat is one of the most intricate flying machines around and can really move.
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### Author:  [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/12 "2006-06-20T16:14:27Z")
Prepare.
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### Author:  [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/13 "2006-06-20T16:20:30Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#):
>
> Prepare.
Whoa. That was a pleasantly surreal answer.
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### Author:  [@Cluricaun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cluricaun)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/14 "2006-06-20T16:40:01Z")
> [@twickster](#):
>
> Whoa. That was a pleasantly surreal answer.
Oh no, \*\*Troy \*\* is working with the bats! You’re doomed!
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### Author:  [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/15 "2006-06-20T16:49:59Z")
Do be advised that if you’re in the UK, bats are a [protected species](http://www.naturenet.net/law/bats.html). See also section 3 of [this page](http://www.wildlifetrust.org.uk/urbanwt/ecorecord/bap/html/bats.htm).
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### Author:  [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/16 "2006-06-20T17:03:29Z")
> [@Colophon](#):
>
> I don’t get what the problem is here. Are infants allergic to bats, or something? Bats are good. They eat bugs, and they’re cute to boot. I love sitting out in my garden at dusk watching the bats circling round ans snapping up insects.
>
> Leave the bats be.
Bats are frequently rabies carriers. A bat could get into the house and bite the Little Headster. Her dad is right to be concerned.
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### Author:  [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/17 "2006-06-20T17:20:12Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#):
>
> Bats are frequently rabies carriers.
Bats \*can \* carry rabies. Whether they do so \*frequently \* has yet to be established. [Oh, wait, yes it has](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/bats_&_rabies/bats&.htm):
> [@](#):
>
> When people think about bats, they often imagine things that are not true. Bats are not blind. They are neither rodents nor birds. They will not suck your blood – **and most do not have rabies**.
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### Author:  [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/18 "2006-06-20T17:34:41Z")
The Bat house suggestion is the best.
Put it up, then leave (you did say it’s not a constatly occupied home, right?)
A proper bat house will be much more attractive than your deck underside.
Within a few visits you’ll find them in the bat house, **ready to shield your infant from West Nile virus every night** , instead of under the deck.
Problem solved without any bat encounter at all!
Sailboat
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### Author:  [@BMax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMax)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/19 "2006-06-20T17:35:52Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#):
>
> Bats \*can \* carry rabies. Whether they do so \*frequently \* has yet to be established. [Oh, wait, yes it has](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/bats_&_rabies/bats&.htm):
[sarcasm]Those bats will eat your baby. Just a little at a time. And being nocturnal, they will carry your baby’s soul up to the moon, where it will be changed into an evil little demon bat baby.
They’ll also get tangled in your wife’s hair and give her rabies. They’ll probably put an eye out too.[/sarcasm]
If you’re only there a couple weeks of the year I’d suggest leaving the bats alone and keeping an eye on the baby. They eat a lot of mosquitos, which will be a bigger nuisance and possible health problem than bats.
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### Author:  [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)
#### Post date: [June 20, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-remove-bats-from-under-a-deck/361325/20 "2006-06-20T17:44:36Z")
> [@Fear Itself](#):
>
> Bats \*can \* carry rabies. Whether they do so \*frequently \* has yet to be established. [Oh, wait, yes it has](http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/bats_&_rabies/bats&.htm):
And yet, from the same site:
> [@](#):
>
> Why should I learn about bats and rabies?
> **Most of the recent human rabies cases in the United States have been caused by rabies virus from bats**.
I don’t blame him in the least for his concern.
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