Bats like it where it is dark, how about some bright lights?

Concerning the use of an air rifle. Our first house had a rough, unfinished basement and we had mouse problems that I tried to fix with a pellet gun. The difficulty was that if you wounded one (the vitals on a mouse are a small target) and he ran off and died somewhere, it really stunk-up the house. Newlywed wife was not impressed with that house at all.

Mike

Just make sure they're not Venezuelan Vampire Bats before going at them with an Air Rifle.

Yeah, but the stink goes away after a couple of weeks. I discovered that once after plugging a mousehole with steel wool. Mouse tries to eat its way thru that, dies back in the wall someplace. Odor goes away, so does mouse...

Just be sure of your aim...

Some bats are on the protected list so you may want to check with the local game warden before you start shooting.

My dad got bit by a bat last Friday morning. Lucky a friend was able to to catch the bat, as it was withing seconds of getting to the outdoors and freedom. A fast trip with my Dad and the bat to the health department when the bat was shipped out for rabies testing. The results came back Sat AM, and were negative, thank goodness. We were not looking forward to possible rabies shots. The 5 shot series beats the old 19 shot series, but I understand it's not a lot of fun.

Garlic? Crosses? These all work.

Little bitty wooden crosses? Silver BB's???

Kiddie play. Why screw around? I'm positive it was a plain old bat. No self-respecting vampire would get anywhere near one of these.

Less than half of one percent of bats have rabies. Be careful, but not paranoid.

Most bats can't take off from the ground, so they need to crawl up something so they can get airborne. If you remove a bat from the house (a coffee can and a flat piece of cardboard works well), place it on the ground beside a tree, or on a wide branch. A bat on the ground doesn't mean it's rabid.

Bat homes are usually never empty, so if someone says to just wait until they fly out at dusk and then seal the opening, you will be trapping bats inside.

Otherwise: How to Get Rid of Bats: http://www.howtogetridofstuff.com/pest-control/how-to-get-rid-of-bats

See what they like and then don't provide it.

Sue