What do I do if I have bats in my attic in Springfield?
By Jacob Ingledue
Table of Contents
By Jacob Ingledue
If you have bats in your attic in Springfield, the most important thing to do first is nothing drastic. Do not seal holes, do not burn anything, do not put out repellents and do not go up there swinging. Bats are protected animals in Missouri, the right fix is to let them out and then close the doors behind them, and the timing depends on the time of year. The calm sequence is to confirm they are there, find where they come and go, wait for the right window, and then have them excluded and the openings sealed.
That sounds slower than most people want when they hear scratching overhead. It is also the approach that the Missouri Department of Conservation itself lays out, and it avoids the two outcomes that turn a nuisance into a real problem: trapping young bats inside, and breaking a rule that protects the animals.
This guide is written for a Springfield homeowner who has just noticed something. It covers how to confirm it is bats, what to do tonight, what to leave alone, how the season changes the plan, and what a professional exclusion involves.
Several animals make noise in attics, and the fix depends on which one it is. Bats are quiet compared with squirrels and mice. They squeak and chirp, mostly around dusk when they leave and around dawn when they return, and they rustle a bit, but they do not thump and gnaw the way a squirrel does.
Look for these signs.
If what you hear is heavy, daytime thumping, the animal is more likely a squirrel, and our guide to squirrels in the attic may be a better match. Scratching inside walls at night more often points to mice or rats, covered in rodents in walls.
Missouri has about fifteen bat species, but only a few commonly use buildings. The one you are most likely to find in a Springfield attic is the big brown bat. The Missouri Department of Conservation says it is one of the state’s most commonly encountered bats, and that it often roosts in attics and walls in towns and suburbs. It is a good-sized bat, between roughly three and three-quarter and five inches long, glossy brown, and weighs about half an ounce to just over an ounce.
In summer, female big brown bats form nursery colonies in warm, protected places, which can include attics and chimneys, and the conservation department notes that colonies can range from a few dozen to as many as two thousand animals. Males tend to roost alone, often behind siding or shutters. So the “colony” in your attic is mostly mothers and young, and that is what drives the timing of everything else.
Species matters for a second reason. Some Missouri bats carry extra protections, so we identify the species before any exclusion and coordinate with the Missouri Department of Conservation if a listed species turns up. That is uncommon, but it is the sort of thing a homeowner cannot judge from the ground.
You do not need to evict anyone tonight. You do need to avoid making things worse. A short checklist:
That list is enough for a very good first phone call, because it tells whoever you contact where to look.
A bat colony in summer is a nursery. The Missouri Department of Conservation says that a female big brown bat gives birth to one or two young sometime between the end of May and late June, after a gestation of about sixty days, and that the young can fly at about three to four weeks. Its bat control guidance says young may be present during May, June or July depending on the species, and that you should delay any action until they can leave with the adults.
We do not perform full exclusion on an active colony while young may be in the roost, which in Missouri is generally May through July. The reasoning is simple. If one-way exits go on while flightless pups are inside, the mothers can leave to feed but cannot get back to them. The pups die in the structure, which is cruel and produces a long-lasting smell in your walls.
So if you find bats in June, July or early August, the plan is not to evict them now. It is to document, seal up what can be sealed without trapping anyone, and book the exclusion for after the nursery season. If a company offers to do a full eviction in the middle of summer, that is a reason to ask pointed questions.
Waiting does not mean doing nothing. A summer visit can still include our inspection: we identify the colony, document the entry points and species, and prepare the exclusion plan. Some of the prep work, such as closing off secondary openings that bats are not using as their main door, can sometimes begin during the nursery period. Single bats that wander into living space can be dealt with at any time of year, because one stray bat is not supporting a crowd of pups.
If one does appear in a room, do not touch it. Close the door to the room if you can, keep pets out, and call. If anyone was asleep in that room, or if there is any chance of a bite or scratch, that is a question for your doctor, and the local health department can advise about the bat itself.
When the season allows, the method is humane and fairly simple in concept. The Missouri Department of Conservation describes watching the building in the last half hour of daylight to see where the bats exit, and then installing a way for them to leave but not return. Their do-it-yourself version uses loose heavy cloth tacked over the openings, with a wait of two to three days before repairs. Professional jobs use purpose-built one-way devices.
Here is how our process works. The inspection takes about an hour to an hour and a half and includes watching the colony emerge at dusk. A written plan comes before any work. Secondary openings get sealed first, which typically takes a few hours, so the bats cannot simply use another door. One-way devices go on the active entry points and stay for about five to seven days to make sure every bat has left. The final openings are then sealed, and guano is cleaned up with protective gear. Bats find their own new roost, since the company does not transport them.
The reason for the sealing step is one most people overlook. Bats can slip through remarkably small gaps. The state’s guidance recommends caulk for cracks, repair of damaged siding, trim and molding, quarter-inch hardware cloth over larger openings such as vents and louvers, and a cap on the chimney. If you exclude the colony without closing everything, you have only moved the door.
The city dates to 1834 and has historic districts and long-established neighborhoods, which means a lot of homes with original rooflines, wood soffits, decorative trim, brick chimneys and a long history of small settlement gaps. Those details are the kind of thing bats use. A chimney with a loose cap, a gable vent with a torn screen, or a gap where an addition meets the original roof can each be a front door. Older houses also tend to have more of these spots than a newer one, so the sealing step matters more.
That is a general pattern, not a rule. Newer homes get bats too, often at roof returns, ridge vents, and the gap behind a loose piece of trim. What counts is the specific building.
Bat droppings are why exclusion is not the end of the job. We do the cleanup with protective equipment, and heavily soiled insulation may need to be cleaned up or replaced by a restoration company. Do not try to sweep up a large deposit yourself, because stirring it up spreads it. Histoplasmosis is the disease most often discussed in connection with accumulated droppings. If you are worried about your own exposure or someone in your household has a health concern, that is a question for your doctor, and the Missouri Department of Conservation notes that accumulated waste in attics can endanger human health.
Not every attic bat story starts in summer. The Missouri Department of Conservation says big brown bats are year-round residents that migrate only short distances, and that in cold weather they look for protected places to hibernate, including cooler human structures. A colony that seemed to vanish in autumn may only have gone quiet, and a stray bat showing up on a mild winter day is not unheard of.
The practical point is that the calendar is not a simple summer problem. If you spot signs outside the nursery period, the question to put to a professional is whether anything is still in the building, and how they will confirm the structure is empty before closing the last opening. Titan’s process is built around observing the colony and then watching the one-way devices for several days, which is how you find out the answer instead of guessing it.
Whatever month it is, the same early steps apply. Document what you see, keep out of the attic, and let the person doing the work decide when exclusion can begin.
Properties that have hosted one colony often suit another, so follow up. Check the sealed spots each spring, look at the roofline at dusk in early summer, and replace any caulk or screening that has failed. Titan lists ongoing monitoring under its Titan Wildlife Defense plan. For the method in more detail, our guide to getting bats out of an attic walks through it step by step.
When you are ready for a professional look, start at the bat removal page, and see the Springfield pest control page for the rest of what the company handles locally. This is general information and not legal advice. The rules on bats are the Missouri Department of Conservation’s to explain, so confirm current requirements with them before any work.
Can I just seal the holes myself right now?
Not before you know the bats are out. Sealing while they are inside traps them, and during nursery season it can strand young. Confirm where they exit and when it is the right time to close it.
When is the best time to have bats removed?
Outside the nursery period. We schedule full exclusion after the maternity window, which in Missouri is generally May through July. The conservation department says to delay action while young may be present.
Is it legal to kill bats in my attic?
All Missouri bats are protected, and some have extra protection. This is not legal advice, so check with the Missouri Department of Conservation. The practical answer is live exclusion, which is how professionals handle it.
Will the bats come back?
They can try, because colonies often return to the same roost year after year. Sealing every opening after exclusion is what prevents it, and a yearly check of the roofline helps catch a new gap early.
What if a bat gets into a bedroom?
Do not touch it, shut the door if you can, and call. If anyone slept in the room or may have been scratched or bitten, that is a question for your doctor.
Do bats damage the house?
Mostly through accumulated droppings and urine, which stain and smell and can soak into insulation. Cleanup after the colony leaves is part of the job.
