Vinke,

I think we're referring to different types of netting based on your picture. I am referring to the 1/2 or 1/6 inch plastic netting you can get from Wildlife Control Technologies, Inc. (in CA) or from WCS (in CT). That materials is very stiff and comes rolled or folded unlike a bird style netting (aside from Nixalite) that comes waded up and needs streched before installation.

Adam,

First, make sure you have the proper netting. Velcro will not easily support a woven net due to its weight. Next, look at what material you will be adhering to. If it doesn't have a smooth surface or there is material that will not allow adheasion (grit, sand, pesticide application, etc.) don't expect it to work. For cases like this, especially with stone or brick I use hercules putty instead.

I like to use industrial strength velcro (which can be purchased about anywhere) which I then cut into 1 - 2 inch strips. I adhere the felt side to the structure first then hold the netting in place while pushing the hook piece into the felt to secure it. Based on the building materials you may have to put a piece every couple of inches. You can see netting installed with velco here WCT Group. You can just make out the velco on the sides and top holding it against the building.

Stuff I use is very expensive uv rated,,,,,(sold by the pound)... primary use is in the commercial fishing industry

aprx 20 feet wide and up to 750 ft long

Looks like we are going to use the "sudden and violent" approach. Yours truly is the designated bat beagle. Then I will go back and check their seal-up job and proceed from there. When and if they are all out then I get to do the clean-out.

Looking at the video above was very interesting. They behave alot like ants. I wonder how much they use scent to find openings. Has anyone tried using the bat lure they sell at WCS make a trail out of an exclusion device? I guess there is a fine line between a trail out and a trail in.

I will say a prayer for your customers. At least the bats will be fine.

andyva,

I personally don't believe that insectivorous bats specifically use scent to mark openings or travel pathways and I've yet to find any research work proving that they do. That's not to say that I could be wrong, just that in my observations and such that I don't feel scent is that greatly developed in them especially when compared to other animals. Nature has a reason to either develop or not develop an attribute for survival. With insectivorous bats, the primary hunting sense that has been developed is echolocation but they also have good auditory senses as well as decent to excellent eye sight.

What the video is showing is the very end of 40 minutes of bats leaving the opening and reacting to the netting. Some of them fell straight down and went right out while others "paniced" and began looking for an escape. While most exited at the bottom, several exited out the sides. One of the last bats to leave the netting was actually the second or third bat to exit the opening that night. It would crawl around for about 30 - 45 seconds coming close to the edge but would then back away and rest a bit before moving again. What was really interesting was the number of bats that actually went up instead of down or sideways looking for an opening.

What has been scientifically proven with bats is that they have great memories (can't think of the scientific term used to describe this in them right now) and are able to return to favorable areas after being briefly introduced to them.

I'm sure that Justin will chime in here if he knows of some research that I'm not aware of.

I concur with you Eric, many folks for example with bat boxes think that spreading guano on them would be enticing. This has been proven to
be ineffective in this regard and again goes to what Eric eluded to about primary hunting mode and traveling mode. While there are a heap of unknowns what is known is that they have amazing homing abilities, these are published and well documented.

How bats find a new roost after being excluded probably is a mix of visually seeing a structure that looks similar, whether for tree bats using exfoliating bark, or cave bats looking for a new entrance, or house dwelling that see a similar dormer, soffit, chimney, etc....

Again much of this is "habitat selection" too. Like a raccoon giving birth to a litter in a chimney as a good den site, and then her offspring doing the same as they recognize that structure as "den" versus chimney.

All critters right down to the petri dish, select where they live based on a variety of factors that suit them, with bats it is thought to revolve around thermal dynamics or suitability, predator avoidance, social structure and others.....

Ok, I threw salt over my shoulder....and sent prayers.

Well Justin, I guess you probably could conquer with Eric too but I think the word you're looking for is concur. ( I just love doing this to all you college grads. I have three of them and I get some kind of perverse pleasure out of correcting them. I'm sure a Shrink would call it jealousy )

Dang it!

Good thing my grammatically correct wife didn't see that! Ha!

Good catch Paul!

They have been warned of what to expect if things go bad. And they realize that the roofers may not make it batproof. They also have been advised that no cleanup should be done until we are positive that the structure is batproof. From what I have seen, I think that the roof damage might have made it too drafty for bats to winter there.

Don't worry Paul, sometimes you don't need papers to prove that you are a mental giant. Unless you're not!