What time of year can bats be removed?

When bats can legally be removed depends on state law. State laws on bat removal vary from state to state and they can change. The best advice I can give you is to call your local department of AG or the department of wildlife and fisheries. The official “department” name also varies by state as to who is in charge so again, your going to have to look to state law.

In Louisiana, it’s the Department of Wildlife & Fisheries who hand out the law to residents and who might write up a violation however this is pretty rare as most professionals know the laws they are bound to.

A lot of times, the state will make recommendations. recommendations are just that and don’t usually result in a legal issue.

What you really need to think about is why a certain time of year is better than another. The time of year that is best to remove bats is when they first arrive, however they often go unnoticed when they first arrive.

The time of year is more better thought of in terms of the bats life cycle. If the bats have just given birth, evicting them could result in a tragic loss of life for the bats. Bats have a very low birth rate so the population is highly dependant on this. Worse yet, they adult might not abandon their young so easy and cluster all over the outside of the house while some will start to invade the interior and this now becomes a health issue for you!

Removing bats at the wrong time of year can create bigger problems. Basically you want to avoid the birthing season for the species involved.  The birthing season for bats varies by species and locality – and just to muddy the waters a bit is also dependent on the weather.

The birthing seasons are on a sliding timeline but do fall into the months of June & July.

I have seen an evening bat pup on the outside of a log cabin in mid May, so this tells me that the female gave birth much earlier than June.

Getting back to when is the right time, again the right time to get rid of bats is when they first get there. A local bat removal company (not your typical pest control service) can better assist you in knowing when the right time is. The reason for that is that they will know the types of bats you have locally, the laws pertaining to their exclusion, and their experience in dealing with local bats.

I find it hilarious when an out of town company comes to southern louisiana and thinks that since they know how to get rid of bats up north that they know what will work down here. They very often explain to people that a bat in the living space in december means that there is a colony hibernating in their walls and that they just woke up. They will also tell the customer that there is nothing they can do until spring. What a laugh, nothing truly hibernates here in the New Orleans area not even honeybees. The majority of our local bats migrate south in the fall and return sometimes as early as late december. So while it is true that you could have a colony of bats in the wall – you do not have to wait until spring. rest assured when it is cold out (like below 50 degrees) the bats will likely NOT leave and they could find their way into the living space, especially since we keep our homes warm. 

When you are ready to get rid of your bats, be sure to give your local bat exclusion expert a call. If you’re unsure of who that might be or need a recommendation please don’t hesitate to call. Like I said, I have extensive contacts around the country and I am always eager to help!