photo by: Photo submitted by Natalie Mickelson

A bat flying outside a home in Northeastern Kansas. Ed Shearer, the owner and operator of Critter Control of Kaw Valley, said this is the busiest time of year his company gets calls for bat removal.

Picture a horror movie scene: it’s the cliche dark, stormy night, right around Halloween. The full moon is out as the protagonist inches towards the abandoned house with a flashlight when suddenly bats come flying out from the doorway.

In real life, it doesn’t need to be Halloween time for bats to make their presence known. In northeast Kansas, the most active time for bats is actually going to be in the summer months, around May to August.

That August timeframe is also crucial for people who find a bat in their house. Ed Shearer, the owner and operator of Critter Control of Kaw Valley, a local pest control company, said that he and his team receive between 100 and 150 calls each year for the removal of bats in homes. But because bats typically give birth to their young in May, the company faces a “black out season” where bats can’t be removed from homes yet.

Shearer said the team will work to ensure that the bats are kept far away from living spaces until they can start the removal process for the bats. While there are clear dangers from potential exposure to bats inside, Shearer said they are “neat creatures” and important to the fabric of the environment.

“They’re really good to have around; you just don’t want them in your home,” Shearer said.

Robert Timm, a curator emeritus of mammalogy natural history with the University of Kansas Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum and an expert on bats, said that across the state, there are 14 known species, but around Lawrence, the most prevalent ones are the big brown bats. Those are also the type most likely to get into someone’s home or barn.

Timm said all the bats in Kansas are insectivores, meaning they eat only insects. Many species target smaller insects, including mosquitos — so thank bats for fewer nasty mosquito bites, potentially. Others target moths, which can be a real pest to corn crops in the state.

Shearer and Timm both said how important bats are to the environment in the area, and other national experts back them up. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, bats play a crucial role in pest control, pollinating plants and dispersing seeds. Some studies estimate bats eat enough pests to save more than $1 billion per year in crop damage and pesticide costs in the United States corn industry alone. Across all agricultural production, it is suggested bats can help save $3 billion each year.

That doesn’t mean bats can’t be hazardous to human health. Shearer noted that bats are the second most common carrier of rabies in Kansas, with skunks being the top carrier. Additionally, a fungus found in bat guano, their fecal matter, called histoplasmosis can cause a lot of damage to human lungs if breathed in, Shearer said.

Despite the fact that bats are not “typically aggressive” animals, those harmful factors are why it is crucial to have professional removal and exclusion of them.

“If they are inside your house, they’re as panicked as the people are,” Shearer said.

photo by: Photo submitted by Natalie Mickelson

Some of the work done to fill gaps on a roof in a home in Northeastern Kansas. Ed Shearer, the owner and operator of Critter Control of Kaw Valley, said that is a crucial part in removing any bats.

Bats will most often find their way through gaps in old buildings, Timm said. Over time, little crevices that can open under a roof or a crawl space can be found by bats and can become a home for their colony.

Since bats are often born around late April or early May, it’s right around this time of year in early August that the babies start doing a few “exploratory crawls” and flights. When the museum gets a call from other places on KU’s campus about a bat this time of year, Timm knows what to expect.

“It’s always these youngsters that got lost,” Timm said.

Although this is the most active time of year, Shearer said his team gets calls for bat removal year round. Timm said another time when bats can enter homes is in January or February; often, these bats are adult big brown bats that woke up from hibernation and are searching for some sort of moisture.

Shearer said to remove bats, his team will first “make the house tight” by patching up gaps in the house. Then, they will install special one-way valves that will help remove bats from the home. If they get a call during the summer “blackout period,” they’ll just focus on keeping the bats away from the living space by sealing up any gaps and then return after the blackout period with those one-way valves.

photo by: Photo submitted by Natalie Mickelson

A one-way “bat valve” installed at a home in Northeastern Kansas.

Using those types of techniques protects not just the homeowners from the hazards of bats, Shearer said, but also ensures that any endangered species aren’t harmed as they leave.

“By using bat valves, we keep the bats alive and unharmed,” Shearer said.

There are ways to keep it from getting to the need for removal, of course. Shearer said the most important thing to do would be to maintain the building. If you’re getting the roof inspected regularly — about every five years — and sealing gaps, you’re much less likely to have an unexpected winged guest. Shearer said any time there is an opening, bats can feel the air flow, and if their echolocation senses a spot is hollow, they can enter it for a place to roost.

The hot month of August is the most active time for bats, as colonies that had separated after a hibernation period will eventually come back together and begin long journeys for their next hibernation. Timm said generally, some of the bats in the area will go north to caves in Minnesota or southern Canada to hibernate, while others head south to Texas or Louisiana for the winter. They’ll be in joined colonies before once again splitting between maternal and bachelor colonies in the summer, and start the cycle all over again.

And although the great cycle of nature will continue, it can be interrupted with the intrusion of a bat into a home. As it becomes the time when bats are most active, Shearer just reminds people that those bats have the same goal as any homeowner with the uninvited guests.

“They want to get out just as bad as people want them out,” Shearer said.

photo by: Photo submitted by Natalie Mickelson

A photo of a bat colony in a building in Northeastern Kansas. Ed Shearer, the owner and operator of Critter Control of Kaw Valley, said August is generally the busiest time for his company for removing bats.