How do I get rid of bats on my porch?
Noah Mitchell
Published Jan 10, 2026
This doesn't mean that you can't change things up and make the porch area less appealing to the local bat population.
- 1 – Keep the Porch Lights on. ...
- 2 – Fix Cracks. ...
- 3 – Try Spraying Bat Repellent. ...
- 4 – Bat Nets. ...
- 5 – Place Bat Houses on Your Property. ...
- 6 – Try to Eliminate Food Sources. ...
- 7 – Use Ultrasonic Repellent Devices.
What keeps bats away from porch?
While do not offer services to prevent bats from roosting on the front porch, you can try a few options. Bats need a rough surface to grasp and hang out. Consider attaching Plexiglas or other smooth material over the usual roosting spot. Sometimes a well placed obstacle, such as wind chimes does the trick.
What will repel bats?
Bats don't like the smell of mothballs, white phenol, cinnamon, or eucalyptus. Install bright lights to help deter them. Bats also don't like objects that reflect light, so you can hang strips of aluminum foil, mirrors, mylar balloons, or even old CDs.
How do I chase a bat off my porch?
You could also try to use moth balls to scare the bats away. Get a piece of cloth and fill it with moth balls. Tie the cloth together to form a small sack full of moth balls. You can then hang this sack from the ceiling near the area where the bats like to be.
How do you get rid of bats outside your house?
How to Get Rid of Bats Outdoors
- Cover Fruit Trees – If fruit bats are present in your area, placing netting over any fruit trees on your property will limit their access to food. ...
- Keep Lights On – Bats dislike bright lights. ...
- Install Noise or Visual Deterrents – Stillness and quiet are ideal for bats.
What smells do bats hate?
Since their noses are much more sensitive, strong scents tend to scare them off. There are many essential oils available, but the ones that are popular among those who want to get rid of bats are cinnamon, eucalyptus, cloves, mint, and peppermint.
Do moth balls keep bats away?
Somewhere along the way, mothballs became associated with bat prevention. The smell of naphthalene, the active ingredient in mothballs, is disliked by the pests. However, using them to keep bats away is impractical.
How do you stop bats from roosting?
One of the most common ways to keep bats out of your home is to introduce their natural enemies, like owls, near the bats' roosting place. Simply buy a fake, plastic owl and mount it as high as possible, while making sure it's close to where the bats are roosting on or near your home.
Does light keep bats away?
Bats don't like light. Although they don't rely too much on their poor sight, they can see, and they prefer dark areas. This is why bats are notorious for roosting in caves. Because you lose a little light with each bend in a cave, you'll often find them roosting deep within, but that's only the case in nature.
Does cinnamon repel bats?
Cinnamon has a strong fragrance that bats cannot stand and so if placed near their roosts may irritate into leaving. Peppermint is an aromatic herb that irritates bats. Placing either leaf or oil close to the bats' entry and exit points is bound to make the bats leave the house.
Is it hard to get rid of bats?
Bats are a critical part of the ecosystem, controlling the insect population. It's impractical, inhumane, and probably illegal to kill them, so you have to go through a live exclusion. If the infestation is large or has been recurrent over years, call in a pro for both exclusion and cleanup.
How do you poison a bat?
Bats are not insects. There are no registered or manufactured poisons designed to kill bats. If you do use an insecticide, like tenting your house for bats, not all of them will die. Many will crawl down the walls and find their way into the house.
How do you make cinnamon spray for bats?
Mix powdered cinnamon with water in a spray bottle and spray any area of your home you have noticed bat activity. You can continue to do this as often as needed, however we should note that this method will likely need to be used with other methods of bat removal.
Are there sounds that repel bats?
Yes. An ultrasonic bat repellent can emit sound waves that can pass through walls and ceilings. This is why you need to get a long-range device, like the one we recommended. Ultrasonic bat repellents use both ultrasonic and electromagnetic waves.
Are bats attracted to porch lights?
No, bats are not attracted to porch lights they are attracted to the insects that are around your porch light. Bats are often feared for their association with vampires. For some, they can be scary creatures that one does not want to come across in the dark of night.
What are bats attracted to?
Bats are attracted to an area if it meets their need for food, water, and shelter. The presence of a fairly large source of fresh water, especially a stream, river, or lake, is one of the key indicators of good bat habitat. These areas provide not only fresh water, but also an excellent supply of insects.
Do bats come back to the same place?
Do bats come back to the same place? Some bats leave for the winter, but most hibernate in their nest. In April, these same bats return to their nesting places. If the bats have a nest in your home, they will return to the same spot, year after year.
Will ammonia keep bats away?
Ammonia has been used for years as a way to both remove bats and keep them away. The vapors of ammonia are toxic, and it isn't safe for the bats to stick around as the vapors fill the air. Unfortunately, ammonia is not an effective enough form of bat repellent for anything other than a temporary solution.
What time do bats go back to sleep?
Bats are largely nocturnal, meaning they are most active after sundown. Specifically, little brown bats emerge from their dark roosts two-to-three hours after dusk to feed. After feeding, they return to their roosts to sleep out the rest of the night and day hanging upside down.
Do bats hate the smell of mothballs?
Mothballs are toxic and strong-smelling. They will effectively repel bats and other pests, but are not always safe for household pets and children. Mothballs can be extremely dangerous to those with breathing problems.
How do you use peppermint oil to repel bats?
How to make the bat repellent:
- Add 3 cups of water to the pot.
- Bring the water to boiling.
- Add 1 capful of peppermint oil.
- Stir for 3 minutes.
- Let the mixture cool to room temperature.
- Pour some of the mixture into a spray bottle, depending on how much volume your spray bottle can hold.
What smell gets rid of bats?
Bats have a keen sense of smell that they use to find food sources and locate their young in a crowd. You can take advantage of this trait and repel bats by using scents they hate such as peppermint, spearmint, menthol, rosemary, thyme, eucalyptus, cloves, and cedarwood.
Do bats hate peppermint?
Bats, and other rodents such as mice and rats, detest the smell of peppermint, and you can use that to your advantage. By strategically infiltrating a nesting site with peppermint oil, you can rid yourself of those unwelcome guests.
Does Rat poison work on bats?
If you use poison designed for another animal, like rodents, the bats won't eat it. To get them to actually eat the poison, you would have to poison their food source, which is insects, but then those insects would die instead.