| Re: Stinky bats
Thanks, Woodman and Mycoranger.
The flies do appear to be Cluster Flies. It seems that my neighbours also have problems, which is not surprising given that we are a small hamlet surrounded by extensive forest and arable land. I've just got two more holes to fill in between the roofspace and habitable rooms where pipes have recently been removed, so hopefully they will exit by the route/routes that the bats use, and won't come into my rooms in nuisance numbers. Apparently they do also have a smell, but not like a gent's urinal which is the dominant one here, but they could be adding an overtone.
I've recently had a partial rewire and a replumb, and all the tanks and pipes up there have been removed. I don't think the electrician or plumber got caught short up there .... The plumber did manage to knock over an almost empty tank, which did wet the insulation, but that has been dry a few weeks. It was in the area of the bats droppings. The smell is definitely of urine though ...
I will contact the Bat Helpline. I'm interested to see what bats they are, and how many, and when they are here. I think there has been a roost for many years. This insulation was intalled in 1995, and underneath was 1 inch insulation, and there were signs of completely disintegrated droppings on that, in that area, but not in other parts of the roofspace. And also a small amount between that and the plasterboard ceiling.
I do need to put in an airbrick or two as the roofspace is not ventilated, and it needs ventilation for construction purposes, particularly as the insulation is about to be increased to current standards. I'll find out what permissions I need.
I do believe in sharing my house with wildlife, though there are limits ... I have to admit I'm not too keen on sharing my habitable rooms with 100s of flies .. a few are ok ... I'm sure the bats and I can live in harmony, once I've found a good way to manage their waste products ....
My other roof space which doesn't have bats or flies but does get over-wintering field mice. I was going to use one of those plug-in ultra sound devices in the autumn to discourage them (as they had virtually destroyed the pipe insulation, though they had left the electrics alone). But that could well have implications for the bats, even though the roofspaces are completely separate. Not sure how far the sound travels. I guess that also depends on when the bats use the space too. There may not be a bat presence then, anyway.  |