August is an active month for bat infestations – WMTW NEWS 8’S JIM KEITHLEY

WMTW NEWS 8’S JIM KEITHLEY IS ON “BAT PATROL” TODAY AND HAS THIS REPORT.

Bats tend to move into the attic during the summer months, as they try to reach cooler spaces that often lead them into homes’ living spaces. WMTW News 8’s Jim Keithley reports.

BAT PROBLEMS – IT MIGHT SEEM LIKE THEY’RE ON THE RISE- BUT IN FACT THE BAT POPULATION IS DOWN….BUT AUGUST IS A VERY ACTIVE MONTH WITH HOMEOWNERS COMPLAINING ABOUT BATS IN THEIR ATTICS AND IN SOME CASES EVEN IN THEIR LIVING AREAS.

“Modern Pest Services to the rescue – they’re getting about 20 calls a week from homeowners who say – we’ve got bats.” Even though it’s a problem all year long, August seems to be a very active month. “This time of year in August, as this year’s young become active. We get a lot more calls because bats are moving from the attic that are a lot hotter this time of year. They try to get to cooler spaces that often leads them to actual living spaces.”

THIS VIDEO SHOWS JUST THAT…A PORTLAND COUPLE CAPTURES A BAT HANGING ABOVE A BEDROOM DOORWAY…THEY TRAP IT IN A SHEET AND TOSS IT OUT THE WINDOW …THE EXPERTS SAY THAT WAS THE RIGHT THING TO DO.

REMEMBER BACK IN MAY WE TOLD YOU ABOUT THE BAT INFESTATION AT THIS HOME? – HUNDREDS OF THEM..THEY GOT IN THROUGH A CHIMNEY FLASHING – AND CAUSED QUIT A MESS IN THE ATTIC..THIS HOUSE IS NOW COMPLETELY BAT-FREE.

“A bat sees a house as a cave, if they can get in and it’s comfortable conditions for them, they will go in.”

BACK AT THE FALMOUTH HOME – “ONE-WAY DOORS” MADE OF MESH WIRING WITH PRONGED EDGES ARE INSTALLED AND PLACED WHERE THE BATS GOT IN.

“They climb through, plopped right out, fly off, when they come back they can’t get back in.”

EXPERTS ESTIMATE BETWEEN 30 OR 40 HAVE TAKEN UP RESIDENCE HERE. TODAY THEY ARE CAULKING UP CREAVACES ALONG A CHIMNEY – ANOTHER LIKELY ENTRANCE POINT. THE BAT PROBLEM HERE WILL SOON BE REMEDIED…BUT THE BATS WILL FIND ANOTHER HOME- MAYBE THE NEIGHBOR’S – THE EXPERTS SAY “EVERY” HOME IS VULNERABLE.

“So whether it’s a complete infestation with hundreds of bats or a couple of dozen like in this case it can cost between 15- hundred and 10- thousand dollars to get rid of them. Luckily in most cases it’s covered by homeowners insurance. In Falmouth, Jim Keithley WMTW News 8.”