Literally. Historic home we closed on recently and are supposed to move into next week has a severe infestation in the attic. Bats everywhere, bat E36 M3 coming out of the light fixtures where they attach to the ceiling, dead baby bats downstairs. Yes, very serious conversations are being held with the inspector and prior owner.
Anyone know much about removing them? I know their droppings are hazardous to humans. This is just one of many in the attic.
Oh no!
Not much to offer, other than my sympathies. I know this house meant a lot to you! I've done a LOT of work in historic houses in GA and found MANY large infestations, but I am not knowledgeable about eradication. (Other than dealing up even small cracks- they can fly full speed into a crack less than 1/2")
That picture looks like someone made a (small) effort to try to keep them out, which means the previous owner knew about them (and probably should have disclosed)
You heard it here first, folks! SKJSS is the founder of COVID 2.0!
That is absolutely awful :(
I know back in my childhood, we had an ultrasonic thingie or two in our attic to keep out bats, but that's as much as I know.
Bats are cool but not in a house so much. You can probably find a sympathetic bat expert to come remove them, rather than just kill them.
And also BERK a berkin(lazy) home inspector. Our "recommended" inspector stuck his head in the attic, took a few pics and was done. I felt he did a good job, until i realized he missed a SUPER OBVIOUS ACTIVE ROOF LEAK. Had the lazy berker actually done his job and inspected, it would have been easily spotted.
next inspection, im hiring my own inspector and im going to be there with them to make sure its done right.
Bat removal may be a huge cost. A neighbor had some bats in their house and had to basically evacuate ther house for a week while the removal/cleanup was happening. There are some rules on the books here that they can not be killed but must be caught live and removed.
My mom had bats in her belfry, er..., attic a few years ago. Terminix came out installed a temporary one-way door at their exit point to keep them from getting back in. They were gone in two days and then they screened off the opening to keep them out for good. I can't remember what we paid but it wasn't unreasonable. In many areas it's illegal to kill or move colonies during certain months while they are have their babies. Here in central NC it runs from May until Sept, IIRC. Cleaning up the bat E36 M3 was a nightmare.
I had an infestation several years ago and luckily found it the day they moved in. I had a hole in the screen on one of my gable vents. I rigged up a one way screen over the hole so they could fall out, but not get back in. The next evening when they went to feed, they were effectively locked out and did not return.
Fun fact - they can not take off from the ground. They literally have to fall to take off flying.
That's a good looking little group ya got there. The fact that you've got babies (err "pups") falling is a good sign too - they are trying their best to reproduce so they must at least be healthy.
Bats are both extremely cool and terrifying. Rabies creeps me the eff out.
SV reX said:Oh no!
Not much to offer, other than my sympathies. I know this house meant a lot to you!
That picture looks like someone made a (small) effort to try to keep them out, which means the previous owner knew about them (and probably should have disclosed)
+1 on these 2 points. You've talked about how much your wife loves this house, so I hope things work out. And it certainly seems like something the seller knew about. Non-disclosure of known issues is a big no-no. And shame on your home inspector for not finding what seems like an obvious issue!
Am I the only one that sees 'bat' and instantly assume Bring-A-Trailer?
berkeley! now i'm wigged out because one of my gable vents has a huge piece missing. guess i'm going up in the attic tonight to survey the scene, and at least put up some kind of one-way screen.
Your biggest issue is going to be regulations tied to the removal. They can not just be killed. You are looking at a 90 day process and $20k or so. A buddy went through this last year in NJ
In reply to Steve_Jones :
NJ ain't GA. (I've lived in both places)
My wife would've burned the house down or refused to step foot in the house.
The biggest problem isn't actually the bats. It's the points of entry.
You have a 100 year old GA historic home with a slate roof and no sheathing. You don't have 1 point of entry.. you have several thousand. I'm not trying to be dramatic... I spent 30 years doing historic work in older homes in GA. It's just the way it is.
The reason bats love older historic homes so much is because there are so many ways for them to get in, and then there is this wonderful honeycomb of roof lathe strips holding up the slate that makes a perfect home for them.
Can they be influenced to move to a bat box that you can install near your house? They are great mosquito control, like 5000 a night for each bat from what I've read.
SV reX said:The biggest problem isn't actually the bats. It's the points of entry.
You have a 100 year old GA historic home with a slate roof and no sheathing. You don't have 1 point of entry.. you have several thousand. I'm not trying to be dramatic... I spent 30 years doing historic work in older homes in GA. It's just the way it is.
The reason bats love older historic homes so much is because there are so many ways for them to get in, and then there is this wonderful honeycomb of roof lathe strips holding up the slate that makes a perfect home for them.
The roof was replaced a little while ago, so it's brand new.
From my understanding, baby bats are federally protected so we can't touch them. Even when they can be removed, the damage is already done. The house would pretty much need to be stripped to the studs.
In reply to SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) :
That's a good start. The plywood sheathing sealed a lot of entry points.
Were the bats unnoticed when the roof was off?
No help with the bats, but I'm sorry you're having to deal with this and hope to see the best possible outcome for you... Whether that's somehow reversing the deal, or them covering 100% of 'making it right' including any other inconveniences this causes you.
Unfortunately, they're more likely to just play the blame game and point fingers at each other. So I probably would have begun by starting a serious conversation with an attorney or two, just so that the homeowner, so-called 'inspector', sellers agent, and possibly even listing agency, all fully understand the gravity of the predicament they have collectively placed themselves in.
The house next door has decorative shutters around the windows and the bats like to climb up the backside to nest. The only way I knew they were there was the droppings under the shutters. I'm glad they live at his house as they really keep the bugs down in summer here in Ks.
"The house would pretty much need to be stripped to the studs."
Ummm...you mean the room/attic/area where the bats were sleeping?
Not sure an entire house needs gutted for bats congregating in one specific area. Unless it's a single story house and bats have been found all throughout the attic.
Artisanal guano farm?
BenB said:My mom had bats in her belfry, er..., attic a few years ago. Terminix came out installed a temporary one-way door at their exit point to keep them from getting back in. They were gone in two days and then they screened off the opening to keep them out for good. I can't remember what we paid but it wasn't unreasonable. In many areas it's illegal to kill or move colonies during certain months while they are have their babies. Here in central NC it runs from May until Sept, IIRC. Cleaning up the bat E36 M3 was a nightmare.
About a decade ago, our bat problem got really bad and we had this done, too. It was a different company- their ad pointed out they specialized in bats. They left the one way door for a week, and then sealed it up.
Even with an old house, it is possible- our home is from the '20's, and so far we've not had bats come back.
For a home where the bats are behind the drywall, clean up will be a bitch, but at least it's mostly removal of panels, clean, and replace.
BTW, in our county, if you have an encounter with bats when they wake you up, you have to assume they bit you, and assume rabies. So we've had all of the rabies shot fun.
SV reX said:Oh no!
Not much to offer, other than my sympathies. I know this house meant a lot to you! I've done a LOT of work in historic houses in GA and found MANY large infestations, but I am not knowledgeable about eradication. (Other than dealing up even small cracks- they can fly full speed into a crack less than 1/2")
That picture looks like someone made a (small) effort to try to keep them out, which means the previous owner knew about them (and probably should have disclosed)
Thanks for the nightmare fuel!
In reply to z31maniac :
I know it gets worse as we get older but hopefully your crack is less than 1/2".
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