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Original poster

Bats in the house we are buying!

49 replies

Buda · 14/11/2009 11:18

Just had the survey through. There are bats in the roof! I am PHOBIC. Yuck. Yuck. Double and treble YUCK!

Just re-read this thread where I have posted that I would have to move if there were bats in my house! And now they have obviously come to get me. Aaarrgh!

So. We can get rid of them yes? If we do it nicely and properly and when they are not looking after babies etc etc. We can. Can't we? Could be a dealbreaker otherwise.

OP posts:

hupa · 14/11/2009 11:26

I know that bats in the UK are protected by law. This site has lots of information. I don´t think that legally you are allowed to get rid of them - sorry.

Quattrofangs · 14/11/2009 11:29

I have bats. I rather like them actually. Flittering about at twilight. But hupa is right - you can't do anything about them.

GrendelsMum · 14/11/2009 11:30

To be honest, if your phobic about bats, I think that you'd better not buy the house.

If you block up the entrance holes letting them into your roof (which is presumably what you want to do, although I suspect it's illegal?), I suspect they will just move next door and continue to fly around your garden.

But are there really bats in the roof, or are there signs that there have been bats in the roof in the past? We were told that there were bats in the roof, but although we have bats in the garden, they no longer live in the roof. (I love bats, so would be very ahppy to have them here, but they've moved down the road to the church.)

Skip this next bit if you'd rather, as it might make you a bit nervous.

Bats into our garden do come towards the patio, particularly when we're sitting out there having a meal on a summer evening with the patio lights on, as of course this attracts the insects. They swoop very low and close to people, and I have had friends jump rather. So I'm afraid that you might end up in a situation where you were reluctant to be in your garden in the evening.

Original poster

Buda · 14/11/2009 11:33

Oh God GrendelsMum. Yes that makes me nervous.

I like the bit where you said yours moved down the road to the church. So they obv DO move. I just need to make them want to move.

OP posts:

GrendelsMum · 14/11/2009 12:24

Ah, but making them want to move would be illegal. And, as I said, they might move out of your house, but there's no way you can move them out of your garden, which is where their lovely food source is.

I think the problem with trying to get them out of the house by blocking up all the entrance holes is that you would have to use a firm of builders who are less than reputable, as they will be knowingly breaking the law, and it won't be particularly cheap, or necessarily effective. Also, your attic space may very well need the ventilation it has to prevent damp (I'm assuming it's an old house) - so you may be causing damage to your house plus paying for dodgy builders. It's not a great starting point for buying a house.

Have you thought about going at the problem from the other end, and getting hypnotherapy to deal with the phobia? It might be cheaper and more effective!

Original poster

Buda · 14/11/2009 13:10

I think it is sodding well ridiculous that bats take precedence over humans tbh.

I think even if I wasn't phobic - and I am not sure I am, I just REALLY don;t like them - I would not want them in my house. They carry disease FGS.

I have emailed the surveyor back to ask can we get rid of them. Will see what he says.

DH wouldn't be bothered by bats but even he doesn't want them in the house.

OP posts:

Original poster

Buda · 14/11/2009 15:30

Bumping in home of miracles. This could be a deal-breaker.

OP posts:

GentleOtter · 14/11/2009 15:51

Oh Buda.

We did not have too much of a problem with our bats this year - it was a bit cold and wet for them. That said, something flew out of our bedroom last night which gave me a fright.

There is nothing you can do and the bat people are strict. You are forbidden by law getting rid of them - either by moving the colony or otherwise. There has been a large colony of bats in this house for at least 50 years.

I'm sorry but there is no way in hell I would ever move to another house with bats in. And there is the guano problem....the bat people don't think of that one.
Bats are also moving with lice.

Original poster

Buda · 14/11/2009 16:50

It seems so ridiculous that there is nothing you can do.

Will see what surveyor comes back with. Still .

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GentleOtter · 14/11/2009 18:28

One thing I forgot to add is their habit of clambering into clothes/shoes or on towels.
You know the spooky screams people hear from old houses - well that is why.

We had to put a mosquito net over the baby's cot because of the bats AND always have the windows open for them to fly out.

aJumpedUpPantryBoy · 14/11/2009 18:45

We had bats in our last house. The council 'bat-man' came to look and we were allowed to board up part of our attic so they were confined to one end of the property.

If I left that bathroom window (velux)open after dark they would fly in and lie in the bath.

They moved out (some into batboxes that DH put up)just after we got wireless broadband - I don't know if it was a concidence tho'

JollyPirate · 14/11/2009 18:49

Buda - I know this is not what you want to hear but "you lucky thing" . Seriously I would love a house with bats (have lived in one before) and just loved seeing them flit about in the evening.

Never gave me any problems and I don't recall any of them coming in to the bedroom/bathroom although sure they can. Perhaps look elsewhere for a house - unless of course this is a dream house otherwise for you.

MammKernow · 14/11/2009 18:58

When we moved here, survey said 'evidence of bats in roofspace'. Not seen any in roof (def not in house - def not had the probs GentleOtter has experienced!). They do flit around the garden of an evening but we are in the country so kind of expect it.

Buda if this house is in an area you like, would you not have bats (at least in the garden) whichever property you choose? Do you know if it is a large colony, or only a few?

Could be worse: i'm arachnaphobic, we get some monsters down here and its not like there are spider-free areas we could move to!

Ingles2 · 14/11/2009 19:05

I think you better give this house a miss then Buda.
We have bats in the attic and tiles and tbh I really like them. They are fascinating to watch and when they sweep low over your head at dusk, it's because they are hoovering up the mosquitoes, which as far as I'm concerned is a good thing.
However we have had the bat conservation people out and we can't do any repairs to the roof etc during May-Oct I think...
Don't read this bit Buda...
At the moment, I have got a dead bat stuck in the beam above my back door. The poor thing has obviously tried to squeeze into a tiny space and got stuck. I can't get it out for love nor money.

GentleOtter · 14/11/2009 21:02

Am shocked at the fine of £5000 per bat or six months in jail.

So if there were several hundred bats then that would be ...

Original poster

Buda · 15/11/2009 08:43

It has taken 2 years of looking to find this house. I really don't want to let it go.

Had some friends over last night and general consensus was that there had to be some way of getting rid. Another suggestion was to put onus on current owners.

Will see what surveyor says about how many there are and if he has any advice.

OP posts:

namechangedmoi · 15/11/2009 09:03

We have 2 in our house - I love them as you only get the positives (lovely swooping in the early evening and less midges!) and we don't get any guano smell etc. I could see the problem if you're phobic though...x

Ingles2 · 15/11/2009 09:47

Buda... there is no way to get rid, it's totally against the law.
If you are determined to have this house ,I would have thought it easier for you to have hypnosis/therapy to overcome your phobia.
Was talking to DH and he mentioned the Natural History museum did something about Bat phobias. Have no idea if this is current but it might be worth looking into.

Original poster

Buda · 15/11/2009 10:49

I still don't want bats in my house Ingles. And it may be against the law but the law is an ass! And if there are not too many bats and we decide to go ahead the bats WILL go!

From looking at the survey again there are some loose tiles in the roof which the surveyor says needs to be repaired and some other issues with the roof - all of which NEED repairing. So am assuming that these issues are where the bats are getting in. There is no way the mad-bat lovers can stop you carrying out essential repair work to a roof. And if in the course of those repairs we block off access then so be it.

And if I have to get lawyers on the case to prove the stupidity of the sodding law I will do!

Sorry but I am angry about it all. Reading GentleOtter's original thread made me angry when I read the law - I am angrier now!

It is totally ridiculous.

I am hoping there is an easy way around this. There must be. I am sure that lots of people get rid of bats.

OP posts:

GentleOtter · 15/11/2009 10:58

The Bat Preservation people can insist on some sort of legal ruling to prevent essential building work. They have a lot of power.

The bats here have their own bloody bedroom because the colony live in the disused chimney. The window is always open for the waifs and strays to escape so it is always cold.

You do get used to them and I've seen some nights when we have been too tired to 'encourage' them out our bedroom window so they fly around. Switching on a light stops them flying.

They do not get tangled in hair/ beards. I'm trying to be positive for you.

GentleOtter · 15/11/2009 11:09

SNH advice

Sorry it is a PDF file but if you scroll down then SNH states that you are allowed to block off some holes or put deflective boards up to stop them coming in to the house.

(Our house is too rickety to do this)

GrendelsMum · 15/11/2009 11:51

Well, this is all at the moment rather academic, isn't it?

You're now suggesting that you would happily spend a lot of money on legal feels, but you don't actually have any idea whether there really are any bats, how many, etc etc. As I said, our survey said there had been bats there, but there are none there now.

You may have no bats, two bats, or 500 bats. It sounds as though the most sensible thing would not to start legal procedings, or to start lookign round for builders who are willing to break the law, but to actually get some kind of specialist bat survey to find out what the real situation is, and then plan your strategy around that. Otherwise, you may get very stressed and upset, spend a lot of money on the law and on dodgy builders, for something that turns out to be entirely unnecessary.

Arrange for a proper bat survey and make your decisions based on known facts.

Original poster

Buda · 15/11/2009 12:13

I know it is all a bit academic at this stage GrendelsMum. I have said a few times during the thread that I have emailed the surveyor to find out a bit more and until we get a reply from him all we know is that there are some bats. I will hopefully find out a bit more tomorrow.

And I am really not planning on employing dodgy builders or solictors at the moment. I would be more likely to go down the legal route than the dodgy builder route anyway.

I am ranting a bit because even before this issue was likely to affect us, I found it incomprehensible that bats are SO protected that human rights seem to be ignored. I remember talking to DH at the time of GentleOtter's thread and saying how crazy it was.

I am also ranting because it has taken us 2 years to find this house and now we have a problem that may be beyond our control to sort. It's frustrating.

I am worried about getting a proper bat survey. Then we would be on the radar. I want to be armed with a bit more concrete information before we do that.

OP posts:

dilemma456 · 15/11/2009 12:44

Message withdrawn

Quattrofangs · 15/11/2009 12:47

I know it's disappointing and therefore causing emotional stress, but you need to take stock and make decisions based on known facts as GrendelsMum says.

I'm bit worried about the comment you made about planning to "go down the legal route"? What do you mean? If you are referring to trying to get the law changed - despite knowing nothing whatsoever about this field of law - I'd strongly advise you to do no such thing. If you mean acting within the law, then yes, of course. That's the right thing to do.

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