What should I do with a bat after I catch it in my house?

The Problem with Bats

You'll quickly want to remove bats when they enter your home. Not only do these animals spread diseases, but they leave their droppings everywhere. This leads to smells, stains, and even structural damage.

That's why you brought out a trap or some other device and tried to catch the bat.

After the Catch

Once you've caught the bat, you have to decide what to do with the animal.

Killing the Animal

Some people might try to kill it. That way, the animal can't ever bother them again. It's also the easiest way to get rid of a bat. Yet this method is inhumane, ineffective, and illegal.

Killing the bat is cruel, and it has no benefits as the animal's death doesn't solve the underlying issue that led the bat into your home in the first place. Killing bats is also illegal in most states, as governments seek to protect this already endangered animal.

Releasing the Animal

Because killing bats is illegal, it's recommended you carefully release the animal outside. Don't throw the animal or anything else, as that would just upset the creature and convince it to attack you. Instead, gently place the animal on the ground and release it. Let it get up and leave on its own.

Unfortunately, this isn't a perfect solution either. Even if you travel several miles away and release the animal into the wild, it'll be able to find its way back to your home. That's because bats have an incredible sense of direction, and they're incredible at navigating.

Alternative Solutions

If killing the animal is illegal and releasing the animal is ineffective, what should you do?

The problem lies in your first step. Trapping bats isn't a good idea, to begin with, and it's actually illegal in some states. That's why you should search for alternative solutions to the problem.

Bat Houses

Bat houses are a great preventative measure.

You'll build a small shelter for the animals in your yard, so bats can use that structure instead of entering your home. It's easier and more accessible for them, so many bats won't even try to enter your house.

Yet this method won't do you much good if you already have bats in your home.

Exclusion

Exclusion is perhaps the best way to get rid of any bat problem. This approach has you repair parts of your home in a way that allows the animals to leave your house, but which stops them from coming back in.

• Find and seal holes: Your first step is to find all the entries bats use. These are small, so you'll have to search carefully for them. Then once you've found them, you should seal them up with the material of your choice. Just make sure you leave one entry open.
  
  

• Install exclusion devices and wait: Once most of the holes are sealed, you should install an exclusion device — typically a net or funnel — over the last hole. This lets the animals go out hunting at night but stops them from coming back inside in the morning. Then simply wait for all the bats to leave. Just make sure there aren't any baby bats when you do this step, or you'll end up starving the animal.
  
  

• Repair and clean the area: With all the bats gone, you can remove the exclusion device and repair the final hole. Then put on a mask and gloves to safely clean and disinfect the area. Make sure you use a strong cleaning agent to kill any remaining germs in the area.
  
  

Professional Help

Calling a professional is another excellent solution. Most professionals will use exclusion themselves, but they'll typically have more experience and better equipment to do the job. That means they'll get better results quicker, and they'll even save you a lot of trouble along the way.