I can't think of any reason whatsoever to get rid of them. As scary as some of us find them they really do eat lots of mosquitoes which are now spreading terrible diseases to equines and humans alike. I have had bats living in my eves for years and worried about it but have never had one in the house. In another home I had one and if it ever happens you simply need to open a door and try to direct them to it - they will find it and be happy to go!

There are bat houses you can set up on your property which alot of people do because they are so good to have. I don't know if you can encourage them to leave one home for another however.

I have never heard of bats chewing on things like rats and squirrels do. (Maybe they come in tired and just go straight to sleep? ;-) )I think if it was me, I would leave them alone and just try to get used to the fact that they are there. As you say, they do a lot of good!

And, although rabies in bats truly is NOT that common, make sure any children around your house know not to touch any bat they may find on the ground.

We have a bat nest in the area around the wood stove pipe. Not in the pipe but in the space around the outside of it. A piece of ceiling tile that blocks that area came off and we had a few baby bats in the house through there. We saw one hanging down one evening. That's how we know where they came from. We have since closed it off so they can't get into the house, but I'm concerned about what will happen when we start burning in the stove in the fall.

Do bats migrate to hibernate in warmer climates in the fall? Are the babies big enough to leave the nest at night? If we waited until they all left at night and then started up a big fire, would they move on when returning to that heat? I think bats are great. I just don't want roasted dead bats in the roof.

Sorry, bats urinate and leave their feces in their nesting places. Bats do carry Rabies. We just had a notice in the local paper about a rabid bat being found in town. A family I know all had to take the Rabies shot series after Rabid bats were found in the house. Not a nice shot to need.

All your pet should be vaccinated for Rabies, so they can't pass it on to you if they should catch a bat. Even the animals who are only in the house.

So for me, I don't wish to share the house! I would want bats removed, gently, peacefully if possible. They need to nest outside. I would put up bat houses, make locations they could nest safely to eat bugs around our home.
I like bats, just don't want to share the house. I catch our bats with a tennis racquet, which they don't seem able to get an echo from to avoid. I gently stop them and quickly pin them down on the floor, slide a newspaper under and let them go outside. All have flown off, undamaged. We seem to get a couple in the house each year, amazing how they can hide when you hunt for them.

I would try to caulk up any small holes, seams in my siding, around chimneys, to exclude their being able to get back in. This would be a spring and fall job, when there are no babies. Probably an evening job, after they leave the nesting area so none are left inside to die.

Here in MI, they talk about bats migrating north for winter hibernation in caves. Locations are kept secret because bats are so vulnerable when sleeping or nesting in hibernation. Some jerk always ready to wreck things which harm no one. I think the local ones have winter nesting places. Sometimes you see one in winter, kind of dazed acting from being awake when he shouldn't be. Could also be sick, I just avoid them.

Again, I would not want them in the house. Years of pee and poop had to be hard on the structure of the home. Smell isn't good for your lungs either. Same reason you would get rid of infestations of Asian/fake ladybugs or wasps inside your walls. Not good for people. Some folks we know found those infestations, had to totally rebuild the whole wall of homes. Just INCREDIBLE amounts of waste, nests, and insects on the rotten wood and building materials, quite expensive and time consuming. Caused asthma attacks in the family.

We had one inside the house this summer, and now I'm pretty sure we've got atleast one in the walls now. Which dosent make since cause they hibernate right? Not sure what I can do? Except maybe knock a whole in the wall. Maybe it'll just die in there, sure creeps the wife out though.

You are lucky to have them.

Make sure there are screens across the vents to keep them out of the attic. The main way they get into houses is down chimneys, so have a bird cap on your chimney or stove pipe.

The only times I've had them inside the house, I've put on heavy leather gloves and simply picked them up and carried them outside. They are very docile.

But you can also put a coffee can over them, slide a bit of cardboard under and carry them out that way. If they are flying, open the door and they will usually go out. They don't want to be inside the house.

Keep your pets' rabies vaccinations up to date, make sure the kids know not to handle them.