How to Kill Bats in the Attic - Does Poison Work?

Okay - If I hope to accomplish just one thing with this website, it is this: to educate the public about how lousy bat poison is! Bat poison is illegal, immoral, ineffective, every bad thing! I have seen some attempts by ignorant pest control companies, or exterminators as they are also called, using the same techniques for bats as they do for termites - tenting the entire house and spreading poison. What an ignorant horrible tragedy! Bats aren't bugs! Tenting a house like this is a high-money job for the pest control companies, but if any company ever recommends this, report them to the EPA immediately! In such cases, not all the bats die, anyway. Some of them crawl around in agony in your attic and around the ground, and some live and keep the colony going into the future - bats can live up to 18 years, and despite being small, are survivors. And poisoning doesn't address the root problem, of the holes and gaps in your house that allowed bats inside in the first place. So do it right - exclude the bats alive (not during the summer!) and seal the entry holes shut. Read about the correct bat removal method, and voila, the problem is solved. The pest control and rodent poison industry wants you to use their product. Don't.

How To Kill Bats In The Attic – Does Poison Work?
For many people, the first reaction upon seeing any unwanted wildlife in their attic is to kill it. While you may think that this will get bats out of your attic the fastest, it is only a temporary solution and not a good one at that. Unless you take care of the root of the problem, which is how the bats are getting inside, you will find yourself with an endless stream of bats to kill.

Poison Is Illegal And Dangerous
There are multiple issues with using poison to kill bats in your attic, including that it won't work, is illegal, and is dangerous. You won't find any poison or fumigant that was designed for bats in particular since these are illegal. If you use poison designed for another animal, like rodents, the bats won't eat it. To get them to actually eat the poison, you would have to poison their food source, which is insects, but then those insects would die instead.

That being said, there are a few types of spray fumigants that may kill bats in high doses but these are very bad ideas. They aren't legal to use in any situation in the United States because they are so harmful to the planet and dangerous. In order to for a fumigant to be strong enough to kill bats, it will have serious health risks for humans, putting you at risk of all sorts of medical complications. If you use these products, you are likely to be heavily fined for using an illegal substance and will probably receive extra fines for harming the environment since they will kill other wildlife and contaminate your area.

Finding The Dead Bats
Let's say for a minute that there was a safe, legal poison that could kill bats, which is not the case. Even if this was true, you would end up with another problem: finding the bats. You would have to search your entire attic and walls to find each of the dead bats and then carefully remove them before their bodies start decaying, smelling, and attracting flies or other wildlife. It can be nearly impossible to find a single dead bat, let alone an entire colony.

Glue Boards Are Cruel And Ineffective
Some people will be tempted to use the glue boards sold to trap rodents as a way to trap bats, but these are also cruel and ineffective. In fact, glue boards are inhumane for any animal, including bats and rodents. They won't kill the animal instantly; instead, they trap them and leave them to suffer a painful, slow death. In addition to being cruel, you are unlikely to catch very many bats using glue boards since few will land on them. These animals prefer to stick to the roof or rafters.

Other Methods Of Killing Bats
Of course, you could also get creative with your methods of killing bats in your attic, particularly if you feel skilled in a certain area. You can try to kill them with a tennis racket, garden tool, or something similar, but unless you have excellent aim, you will not be successful. You are much more likely to anger the bat and get bitten or scratched, even if you are wearing protective gear.

Disposing Of The Dead Bats
Imagine that you do manage to kill the bats in your attic. Now you have to deal with the cleanup process and get rid of them. You would have to find and dispose of all the dead bats, something which is challenging considering killing bats is illegal. This means you can't just throw them out with your regular garbage, even double bagged.

Killing Is Illegal And Inhumane
When it comes down to it, killing bats is a horrible idea as it is not only illegal but inhumane. There is no quick, effective way of killing these animals and they are actually protected by laws across the country because of the important role they play in controlling insect populations and other ecosystem functions. Additionally, bats are fairly intelligent and can live for over ten years with ease. Killing them simply wastes their life, making it an inhumane option.

Use Exclusion Instead Of Killing
Just because you can't kill the bats in your attic doesn't mean you have to deal with them. A professional can help you get rid of them once and for all with a method known as exclusion. You start by finding all of the entrances the bats use to get inside your attic. Seal all of them except the main one, which will have the biggest buildup of grease. Place an exclusion device or one way door over this entrance and wait a few days. Once you are sure the bats are gone, remove the exclusion device and seal up the final hole. Make sure you keep up with home repairs so more bats or other wildlife don't enter your attic.

Other information about bats:
What to do after a bat bite: risks and treatment

How to kill bats in the attic - no matter how much you may hate bats, it's a heck of a lot easier and more effective to just do a proper bat exclusion. You have the added benefit of not having to deal with bat carcasses or rotting bat odor in your house.