The natural bat’s habitats of caves and trees are quickly getting replaced by urban structures such as attics, chimneys, soffits and etc. There are many churches around the world where bats set roosts at and come back every maternity season. With that in mind, bats are slowly becoming a problem for many people for a variety of different reasons. Bats carry different types of infections, and their droppings are hazardous, while the awful smell if left uncleansed, could cause major damage to a person’s property.

Furthermore, removing bats from your property could be a difficult matter considering the laws protect them. Injuring or killing a bat as well as destroying its roosting place are a criminal offense which could sanction you to serious consequences including the possibility of a six-month prison sentence.

Options of Removal

With that in mind, you could always obtain a license to remove them; however, you would still need to ensure their safety in the process. The most efficient way would be to exclude them through a one-way opening device which will allow them to leave but restrict their re-entry in the premises. That means you would have to cover absolutely every last single one of the possible entry points, potentially costing you a lot of in the process.

Protection Alternatives

Considering all of the difficulties that come with having bats roosting in your property, many homeowners are looking for ways to hedge the risk, leading them to buy a homeowner’s insurance. However, insurance will not always cover the damage done by a bat. There are many factors around the matter, determining whether or not insurance would be beneficial to people in that given situation.

It does depend on how big the bat colony is, what the circumstances of your property are, how much is the damage done by the bats and so on. In general, insurance policies cover the costs revolving around the damages done to the property by the bats, however, do not take care of the costs for their removal and cleaning. For further, more in-depth information on the topic you should contact your insurance agency and negotiate specific conditions.

Most of the homeowner’s policies in the United States, for example, are referred to as all-risk policies, which create the common misconception of being an insurance policy which covers all risks, and all potential harm that comes out of them. Obviously, that is not always the case, thus it is important to have a good talk with your agency and acquire as much information as possible on the topic, in order to protect yourself in instances of bat troubles.

Bats causing actual physical damage to your property are highly unlikely, while the costs associated with their removal and cleaning process afterward could come at quite an expensive price, meaning that the insurance would only be of use on very rare occasions.

Read the How to get rid of bats page for helpful information and to learn more about Will Homeowner’s Insurance Pay for Bat Damage?