Problem with bats

keith969

My Mum put her house on the market recently - its too big for her on her own to maintain since my Dad died. She had an offer but the surveyor found bats in the loft, and the purchaser dropped out (as his wife was scared of bats).

Question is how much of a problem is this likely to be? The house is 23 years old so fairly modern, no idea how they are getting in but being a protected species things must presumably be left as is?

timmyt

bats are quite common, you never know you have them. re-sell you'll be fine.

they must be left alone, do not do anything yourself.

Owain_Moneysaver

Ideal for chiropteraphiles, the property benefits from a colony of bats which are included in the sale at no extra charge.

Kyrae

You just need some nature loving buyers!! I'd see it as a bonus to have bats in the loft!!

GDB2222

I can't believe that all bats are protected. Aren't some of them pretty common?

Edit: Apparently, I'm completely wrong - http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/bats_and_the_law.html
That page even includes a link: "How to report a bat crime" daduddaddaddad...

Look, can't you just get a cat?

elfen

Leave them! All nesting sites are protected and you can be charged up to 5k for EACH bat you disturb....Bats are brilliant, it means your home is a conservation site for bats

dopester

There was a video on YouTube (I was looking at best ways of blocking such creatures getting in... copper-mesh is a good one for blocking up gaps, and whether those sonic repellers work), and the mess the bats made in USA attics. Yuck.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcIo-kkVRPM

I guess it partly depends how many bats you have as to the extent of the problem it might be - added to which the possible protected species thing mentioned in this thread.

elfen

You can't unhome bats unless you have arranged somewhere else for them to go (and it has to be agreed and sorted and such and such). A bat has 3 different nesting places that they use throughout the year so they would only be a problem for 4 months at most.

Personally I'd love to have bats in my home. Much better than squirrels

fifipat

Contact someone who does bat surveys. They will be able to advise you on what you can do. You cannot block up any holes. Bat boxes need to be put up in suitable trees close to the house. Your local council should be able to advise you. People who carry out bat surveys need to have licences, innoculations, insurance, etc. My pal does this but she is based in Scotland.

Geenie

I have been living with bats for 20 plus years in various properties. They are a pain in the butt in some ways, as they poo for England, and the attics become unusable! When opening the hatch, a shower of bat poo descends, and it isn't worth using the attic to store anything because of this, no matter how well wrapped the items are.


That said, they are the sweetest thing once you get over them swooping near your head at dusk on a summers evening whilst outside! :eek: They use to freak me out when I first moved to the country, but having had them in my childrens rooms and other various sites of the house over the years, they are the cutest thing and nothing to be afraid of........ so my husband says, whilst I hide in another room.

As already stated, they are protected. The fact they have taken up residence in such a new house does surprise me, but use it as a selling point. Their sh*tting has increased our loft insulation to new levels, and green insulation doesn't get any better then tons of bat sh*te in the attic keeping the heat in below.