Bats can be out of your house within about a week, with no harm to them and no guesswork about the rules. It starts with one question.
Services: Bat exclusionBats in the atticBats in walls and chimneysA bat in the houseBat guano cleanupAttic restoration
The most common case. Look for a pile of dark droppings under one spot, stains around a gap in the trim, and bats streaming from a gable vent or roof corner in the half hour after sunset. Do not go up and disturb them or the droppings: dried guano can carry histoplasmosis spores.
The fix is exclusion, below, timed outside the maternity season. While you wait, seal any gaps from the attic into your rooms, which is allowed any time.
Scratching behind a wall at dusk, droppings on a sill below the siding, or fluttering in the fireplace. The roost is out of sight, so the exits have to be found from outside before anything is sealed. Never seal a gap or cap a chimney with bats still inside: they die in the wall or find their way into the house.
Keep the fireplace damper shut and do not light a fire to smoke them out.
If a bat was in a room where someone was sleepingor with a young child, or anyone who cannot be sure it did not touch them, do not let it go. Bites can be too small to notice. Contain it if you can do so safely, wearing thick gloves, and call your local health department today. Rabies treatment works when started early. Never handle a bat with bare hands. (CDC, NY State Department of Health)
If you are sure nobody was touched, close the room off, open a window wide, turn the lights off and give it an hour. One bat indoors, especially in late summer, often means a colony somewhere in the house.
Exclusion lets the bats leave on their own and then closes the door behind them. No trapping, poison or killing, all of which are illegal on bats in several states. This is how a typical job runs.
Roof, trim, vents, chimney and siding are checked for gaps as small as a quarter inch, which CDC says is enough for a bat, and droppings show where the roost sits.
Someone watches the house from sunset for about an hour to see exactly which gaps the bats use to leave.
Every gap that is not an active exit is sealed with sealant, mesh or flashing that suits the house.
Tubes, cones or mesh go over the active exits. Bats crawl out to feed and cannot get back in.
Devices stay up for at least four warm nights and usually a week, longer if it turns cold, windy or wet.
Once the roost is confirmed empty, the devices come down and the last exits are closed permanently.
More detail on devices, materials and warranties on our bat exclusion page.
Bats raise their young in buildings in early summer. Shutting the mothers out then leaves pups to starve inside, so most states close exclusion for part of the year.
| Months | What the bats are doing | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| March to April | Returning to summer roosts | Exclusion allowed in most states |
| May to mid-August | Maternity colonies; pups cannot fly | Wait. Seal gaps into rooms only |
| Mid-August to October | Young are flying | Best window for exclusion |
| November to February | Some leave, some hibernate in place | Seal empty buildings; restricted if bats remain |
A general pattern for most of the lower 48. Dates shift with latitude and species, and warm southern states start earlier.
| State | Rule | Also |
|---|---|---|
| FloridaFlorida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission | No exclusion April 15 to August 15 | Devices up at least four nights, lows forecast at 50°F or above |
| New JerseyNew Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife | No exclusion May 1 to July 31 | Also restricted October 16 to March 31 unless bats are shown absent |
| OhioOhio Division of Wildlife | No exclusion May 16 to July 31 when five or more bats are present | Also restricted October 15 to March 31 if any bats are present; devices up at least a week |
| WisconsinWisconsin DNR | No exclusion June 1 to August 15 | A health exemption form exists for genuine risk to people |
| North CarolinaNC Wildlife Resources Commission | Avoid sealing or exclusion May 1 to July 31 | State guidance |
| VermontVermont Agency of Natural Resources | No full exclusion mid-May to mid-August | Little brown bat is state endangered |
Read 5 November 2026. Rules change, and other states have their own; check your state wildlife agency before any work.
A colony that has used an attic for a few summers leaves a layer of droppings and urine-soaked insulation behind. Apart from the smell, dried guano can grow Histoplasma, the fungus behind the lung infection histoplasmosis. For large accumulations NIOSH advises a powered or full-face respirator, disposable coveralls and HEPA vacuuming rather than sweeping (NIOSH), so heavy cleanup is a crew job.
Cleanup always comes after exclusion and the final seal. Where insulation is soiled it is removed rather than topped up, the wood is treated to kill the odor that draws bats back, and new insulation goes in. That last stage is usually called attic restoration.
Sealing is what stops a colony coming back next spring. CDC advises caulking any opening wider than a dime; good contractors use durable sealant, mesh and flashing matched to the house rather than expanding foam, and warranty their work. Read more on bat guano cleanup.
$500 to $8,000
Typical guano cleanup, depending on how much of the attic is affected. Restoration with new insulation adds $2,500 to $5,000+.
Price depends mostly on how many bats, how many ways in, and how high the work is. A one-story ranch with a single gap is cheap; a three-story Victorian with a tile roof is not.
Ranges drawn from three national home-services cost guides, checked November 2026. National figures in US dollars; local prices vary. A guide, not a quote.
| Job | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Inspection Finding the roost and every gap; often credited against the job | $75 to $400 |
| One bat inside the house Removing it and finding the gap it used | $100 to $450 |
| Exclusion, under 50 bats Exclusion devices and sealing | $400 to $1,500 |
| Exclusion, 50 to 200 bats Several exits, more sealing | $2,000 to $8,000 |
| Exclusion, over 200 bats Large colony, often several roosts | $5,000 to $8,500+ |
| Guano cleanup Removal, HEPA vacuuming, disinfection and disposal | $500 to $8,000 |
| Attic restoration New insulation and repairs after cleanup | $2,500 to $5,000+ |
Most routine jobs cost about $230 to $750. A colony under 50 bats usually runs $400 to $1,500, 50 to 200 bats $2,000 to $8,000, and guano cleanup adds $500 to $8,000. See the bat removal cost guide.
In much of the US, yes. Several bat species are protected by state law, and the northern long-eared bat is federally endangered (US Fish and Wildlife Service). Exclusion, which lets bats leave unharmed, is the accepted method.
Outside the maternity season, when there are no flightless pups. In most states that means early spring or from mid-August into fall. Check your state wildlife agency; the table above lists several.
The work on the house takes a day or two. The one-way devices then stay up for about a week before the final seal, so allow one to two weeks start to finish, plus any cleanup.
If someone was asleep in the room, do not let it go. Contain it safely and call your local health department, which can arrange testing. More on our bat in the house page.
They return to the same roost each spring and will try to get in. If every gap was sealed, they cannot, and they move on. Ask for a written warranty on the sealing.
Usually not. Most policies treat animal damage as maintenance, though a few cover sudden resulting damage. It is worth asking your insurer.
Owners can usually do their own exclusion outside the closed season, but finding every gap at height is hard, and you must never handle a bat. Ohio requires anyone paid for the work to be licensed (Ohio Division of Wildlife).
Start with your ZIP code. Contact details come next, then a few taps about the bats.
We are an introduction service, not a bat removal specialist. We pick one who works near you, tell you their name, and share your request only once you agree.
If a bat was in a room where someone was asleep, keep it contained if it is safe to do so and call your local health department today.