Bats do control the insect population, mosquitoes. All Pennsylvania bats are strictly insect eaters, and are extremely beneficial from an insect control perspective.

According to The Defenders of Wildlife, “Bats are the only mammals capable of true flight.  With extremely elongated fingers and a wing membrane stretched between, the bat’s wing anatomically resembles the human hand, Almost 1,000 bat species can be found worldwide.  In fact, bats make up a quarter of all mammal species on earth!”

Attics make excellent homes for our area bats. Bats need only a half inch or less of space to crawl through in order to enter.  But once inside, the colony grows until the homeowner notices the bats flying out of the building.

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, "homeowners occasionally find bats roosting or rearing young in their attics. When this type of discovery is made in the summer, it's best to wait until late fall to remedy the situation, according to the Game Commission. Trying to exclude bats from your attic in summer may lead to bats trapped in the attic. They may eventually work their way into your living quarters in their efforts to escape. Waiting until fall, when bats head to winter hibernation sites, eliminates this risk. Placing a bat box outside may help ensure the bats don't try to access your home when they return in the spring."