Bats
What puts bats together in this group is the combination of true powered flight and a persistent habit of treating human attics, chimneys, and soffits as high-rise nurseries. If you hear scratching above the bedroom ceiling or spot dark, crumbly droppings near the exterior walls, you are dealing with nocturnal mammals capable of flattening their bodies to squeeze through tiny gaps no wider than a coin. Unlike mice or rats, they never chew on electrical wires or wooden studs, and unlike birds, they wait until dusk to emerge and leave behind glittery insect-part scat instead of chalky splatters.
Telling bats apart from rodents or birds comes down to noticing what is missing from the scene, because you will never find gnaw marks on structural timbers or messy nesting debris made of twigs and paper. While discovering an accumulation of guano on the insulation points directly to a colony overhead, confirming the exact species tucked behind your siding usually requires professional equipment and careful handling, since many different native varieties share the same preference for your roof.
Explore bats
Questions about bats
Research sources
This page was researched with publications from these institutions, then written and reviewed by The Pest Guide Team:
- University of Florida IFAS Extension
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- University of Wisconsin Extension
- Internet Center for Wildlife Damage Management
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln
- Pesticide Environmental Stewardship