9 Smart Ways to Keep Bats Away From Your Porch

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For most of us, our porches are like sanctuaries of relaxation. They’re the perfect spot to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon and enjoy a quiet evening. 

But what happens when unexpected guests of the winged variety invade your tranquil space? Bats, those nocturnal creatures, can quickly turn your cozy haven into their nesting grounds, and, let’s face it, discovering bats on your porch can be more than a little unsettling.

However, that doesn’t have to be the case. While the presence of these flying critters can be daunting, there are countless effective strategies to keep them away from your home. 

If that sounds interesting, then you’ve come to the right place. In this article, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about keeping bats away from your porch. 

From getting rid of the pests on your own to hiring professionals, I’ll cover it all. Let’s begin! 

Why Do Bats Like Porches?

Before I jump into the ways to get rid of bats, there are a few details about the pests you should know. For starters, you have to understand what’s drawing the flying creatures to your porch. 

This will make keeping them away much simpler. First, some porches are very convenient roosting spots for bats because of their setup.

Your outdoor area may have an overhang where the bats can hang upside down and roost. This gives the pests an excellent spot where they’ll have some shelter.

Besides that, it’s usually a pretty convenient location for bugs. Your porch light will act as a beacon, attracting many tiny insects from every direction. 

So, you’ll often find bugs crawling all around the area. Since these critters are a bat’s primary food source, it’s no surprise that the flying pests gather there. 

The good thing about having the bats around is that you’ll have fewer mosquitoes to worry about near your home. In contrast, the downside is that you’ll have spooky pests hanging out in an area that you likely need to pass through fairly often!

Regardless, this doesn’t mean you can’t change things up and make the porch area less appealing to the local bat population!

Keeping Bats Away From Your Porch

Now that you know why bats are flocking to your porch, I can move 

1 – Keep the Porch Lights on

As I mentioned, bats are nocturnal creatures. That means they don’t enjoy spending time in the light. Luckily, you can use this fact to your advantage. 

It may be possible to deter bats from wanting to come around by using your porch light.

Some people have had great success keeping bats away by simply leaving the porch lights on during the night. This should disturb the bats and make it so they can’t fall asleep.

In short, your porch isn’t going to be a convenient spot for them to roost any longer. Of course, this could wind up not making a significant difference depending on where the bats are roosting. 

Sometimes, the flying pests roost on the porch between cracks or nooks and crannies. In that case, they’ll be able to hide from the light inside their nest. 

When that happens, your porch light won’t be of much help. This means you may need to find another way to eliminate the pests. 

2 – Fix Cracks

Bats are incredibly nifty creatures. They can turn any space, no matter how small, into a cozy, comfortable home. The critters are just looking for dark spots where they can find shelter from predators. 

For instance, bats are exceptional at making nests inside of cracks. Because of that, fixing any fractured wood or fissures on your porch should be your number one priority. 

So, take some time and give the outdoor space a good once over. Look for cracks on top of your porch or in areas near the structure that can benefit from your attention.

If you find holes that the bats can burrow into, you’ll need to fix them.

You can make it so that the cracks are no longer an issue by sealing them up. It’ll take a bit of work, but you should be able to close any openings you find on the porch or near your house.

It’s best to ensure that the flying pests aren’t in the cracks or holes before you seal them up. You wouldn’t want to trap a bat inside and kill it since that could lead to various problems.

Thankfully, sealing a hole or crack on your own isn’t going to be all that difficult to do. All you need is a bit of epoxy or wood filler and a little elbow grease. 

Yet, if you’re not confident with your construction skills or you’d rather skip the hassle, you can call a professional to get the job done. 

A local company that specializes in renovations and home repairs will be able to resolve the issue quickly. However, this option can cost an arm and a leg.

3 – Spray Bat Repellent

One of the best ideas is to consider using a removal method such as a special bat-repellent spray. There are various products on the market that you can look into.

Some bat repellents consist of natural ingredients that the critters find unpleasant. Others will be chemical-based sprays that are specialized to deter bats from coming around.

As you can imagine, the repellents that use natural ingredients are better in various ways. For starters, you won’t have to worry much about them being harmful to any plants that you may have near your porch area.

Besides that, natural repellents are far gentler than the other varieties, which means they’re safer for you and your family. 

Some of the best and most popular products contain several natural compounds. That includes ingredients such as peppermint essential oils and spearmint essential oils. 

These two components give off powerful aromas that deter bats from coming too close and work surprisingly well overall.

Moving on, it’s also good to know that the bat repellents that use natural ingredients like this don’t harm the bats. Because of that, they’re a good, humane way to keep bats away from your home.

People often spray bat repellents near areas where they’ve seen the flying pests. This will do an exceptional job of telling the bats that they should find somewhere else to roost, and you won’t have to worry about the issue moving forward!

However, if bats are a common problem in your area, then it is beneficial to continue to spray your porch and other portions of your home regularly. That should keep bats from suddenly becoming an issue later on.

4 – Deploy Bat Nets

Bat nets can also work well to keep the pests from being able to use your porch as a roosting spot. Essentially, the mesh fabric will cover the area where bats would enter your porch so they won’t have access to it.

The holes in the nets are small enough that bats will get hung up when they try to fly through. That confuses and scares the critters, which should lead them to fly away.

You can easily place these bat nets in spots where you want to prevent the bats from roosting. 

When installing the mesh fabric, you should hang it a few inches above the entry point. This will leave some space for the bats to get out at the bottom.

Yet, they won’t be able to fly back in. That’s because the pests aren’t smart enough to realize they can get back in by flying under the bottom of the net. 

Besides that, most of the popular bat nets on the market are made out of polyethylene. This means that they’ll last for quite a while. 

Plus, they’re designed to be UV-resistant and should do a good job of helping you keep the bat situation under control.

The only disadvantage of using nets is that they may alter the aesthetic appeal of your home. Some people find the mesh a bit unsightly, but it’s up to you to decide whether they’re worth using or not.

5 – Place Bat Houses

If you have extra room on your property, you can keep the bats off your porch by giving them another place to go. The basic idea here is that they’ll be more likely to use a bat house you place on your property rather than your porch.

These structures are perfect little roosting spots for bats to hide and sleep. The flying critters can use the houses to stay safe from predators.

Plus, the inside of the structure is incredibly dark, just as bats like things to be!

Some people may consider this to be a bit of an odd idea when the goal is to get rid of the bats. However, it does make sense that using a bat house will at least keep the bats away from the parts of your property that you use.

You see, many homeowners recognize that those flying pests can be quite beneficial to the environment. They keep mosquito numbers in check and typically don’t bother humans.

So, keeping the bats around at a remote location on your property may not be the worst idea. 

Aside from that, building a bat house is going to be fairly simple. You can buy kits that come with all the pieces you need to make the basic structure.

Once you’ve learned how to build the bat house, it’s necessary to place it at an appropriate spot on your property. Ideally, you should try to find a location that’s away from your porch and your house.

If you live on a large property, then the bat house shouldn’t be noticeable or too much of a nuisance. Yet, those with smaller yards may not find this to be an ideal choice, since it’ll take up space that they want to utilize in other ways.

6 – Eliminate Food Sources

Bats are less likely to want to stick around near your home if you don’t have as many food sources nearby. So, a simple solution is to eliminate feeding areas around your porch. 

Sadly, this is easier said than done. To help you understand this, let’s take a look at the pests’ dietary needs. 

For the most part, bats like to feed on both insects and various types of fruit. Yet, the exact nutritional needs will depend on the type of bat you have flying around your property. 

That’s because each species has a unique diet and feeding schedule. 

For that reason, it may be a good idea to identify what type of bat you have on your porch so that you can do a little research. Try to look for any special markings or identifying features that can help speed up your investigation. 

In all likelihood, the species of bat that you’re seeing around your property will feed on both insects and fruits. 

In that case, you may want to stop growing certain types of bushes or trees. At the very least, you could try to harvest the fruit early or clean up any fruit that drops onto the ground to try to limit food access.

Besides that, you can also take steps to try to keep insects such as mosquitoes away from your yard. Things such as citronella candles and other repellents have been known to keep the flying insects away and it may be good to try some other repellents, too.

7 – Use Ultrasonic Repellent Devices

One of the most practical ways to help solve a bat problem is to go out and buy an ultrasonic-repellent device. Countless gadgets on the market emit high-frequency sounds that’ll do a good job of annoying the bats and even scaring them away.

That’s because they produce sound at the same frequency bats use to communicate and navigate. This will make it much more difficult for the pests to settle down and roost. 

On top of that, the ultrasonic waves aren’t detectable by human ears. So, the repellent device shouldn’t affect you or your family in any way. 

Also, different types of devices work in distinct ways as well. Some bat-repellent sound devices will have different settings, while others only have one mode.

This means not all gadgets will be effective. 

Other than that, if you’re going to use this ultrasonic device indoors, it’s best to find one that’ll plug directly into a power outlet. That way, you can ensure the gadget is operational as long as you have electricity. 

However, many people prefer to use the outdoor ones when trying to keep bats away from their porches.

Thankfully, outdoor ultrasonic-repellent devices often rely on solar energy. Because of that, you can just stake them into the ground, and they’ll remain powered by the sunlight.

Finally, it’s effortless and humane to utilize devices this way as they do seem to get good results. They won’t kill the bats or anything such as that, but they’ll make it so they won’t want to stick around.

8 – Call Pest Control Specialists

It shouldn’t be surprising to hear that many people will choose to call in professionals to get the issue taken care of. You can contact a local pest control company that has experience when it comes to dealing with bats.

Businesses such as this will often come out to help people get the flying creatures out of attics. Yet, they can also help you remove bats from porch areas, barns, and any other structures on your property.

It’s good to consider calling for help if you’re worried or feel as if you’re in over your head. Some people won’t want to get too close to the bats because they’re afraid of them, but professional pest control specialists won’t have that problem.

The experts can find safe ways to humanely get rid of the bats that are occupying your porch. Plus, they’ll be able to suggest strategies that you can rely on to keep bats from wanting to come back.

The only real problem with this idea is that it’s going to cost money. Not everyone wants or can spend the cash to hire professionals to take care of their bat woes.

Hence, it’s best to avoid this option unless your normal deterrent methods aren’t 100% effective or you don’t have much time on your hands. 

9 – Increase the Temperature

As a species, bats prefer cooler environments. On average, these flying pests will look for an area that’s around 70℉ to 90℉.

So, to keep them away from your porch, all you’ll have to do is turn the heat up a little. Using an electrical heater or a similar device, increase the temperature around your porch to about 100℉. 

This should be high enough to make the area uninhabitable to bats. However, you’ll need to maintain this temperature for a few days or more. 

Sadly, that can take a significant toll on your electric bill. As a result, it’s best to rule out all the other bat-repellent methods before you resort to this one. 

How Long Will It Take to Get Rid of Bats From Your Porch

Depending on your method, it can take anywhere from a few days to a couple of months to completely get rid of a bat infestation. 

This is because most removal strategies involve the bats leaving on their own, rather than capturing and displacing them manually. 

Besides that, the duration of the removal process will depend on the size of the bat colony, the species, and the season.

It’s a good idea to note that it’ll be much tougher to get rid of bats during the winter than in the summer. That’s because it’ll be difficult to convince them to leave their toasty home when it’s cold outside!

So, if you’re short on time and need to resolve this issue quickly, your best bet is to hire a professional pest control company. 

Final Thoughts

To recap, if you’re trying to figure out how to keep bats away from your porch, there are a few strategies you can try out. 

You can keep your porch lights on, fix cracks in the outdoor area, or spray bat repellent. Besides that, you may want to opt for deploying bat nets, eliminating food sources from around your porch, or installing an ultrasonic repellent. 

There are quite a few different strategies you can rely on to help you keep bats away from your home, and it’s best practice to read all the advice above before deciding how to move forward.

Finally, just remember that these flying pests aren’t necessarily inherently dangerous. They’re likely harmless and can even help you keep annoying insects such as mosquitoes in check.

So, if you like the benefits of having bats near your property, then installing bat houses somewhere may be the best thing that you can do.

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