Bats in the chimney--and house

[mlincoln]

We have a fireplace with a heatilator around the firebox.  On either side of the firebox is a 10 inch by 8 inch hole, covered by a louvered panel, and inside the hole is a fan that sucks air in.  Then above the firebox the bricks run vertically instead of horizontally, and there are about 12 one quarter inch gaps between them where the warm air is blown out.

I have no idea how, but every now and again a bat gets down into the firebox / heatilator.  The chimeny has a raincap, the chimney clean out door is sealed up tight, and everything looks solid.  And yet somehow a bat gets in.  Once we found a bat there in the bedroom where my 6 month old was sleeping.  Last night one came busting out of the fireplace right in the middle of the dinner party and all the guests ran screaming into the bathroom.  Yes, this needs to be fixed.

We NEVER use the chimney.  Have used it once in the 11 years we've lived here.  I am thinking of just bricking over the heatilator holes and bricking over the firebox.  There is a big 1/2 inch gap up around one corner of the fireplace door so a bat could easily get through there.

In the short term, how do I stop another bat getting in?  Is the bricking over too extreme a course of action?  We NEVER use the chimney and have no plans of selling the home for another 40 or 50 years.

[CLETUS]

Stuff it with rags, cover with screen, spray foam... There are a lot of possibilities in the short term... If you had a pic, I could tell you what I'd do.

[EricU]

we never get bats, but we have gotten a couple of squirrels.  The last one was when I was gone, apparently the dogs had a good old time chasing it around until the elkhound caught it.  

I really want to take the chimney down.  The people that shingled our roof seem to have fixed the leaking though.  I had a cap on it, but the wind up there makes it pretty hard to fasten.  Maybe I should use concrete.  Seems like it would be no problem cleaning it out if someone wanted to use it in the future. In the frigid wasteland of Central Pennsylvania, an unused fireplace is a money pit.  You can feel it sucking the warmth from your body when sitting near it.  No insulation, it never gets warm until June.

[Snipe Hunter]

Hire somebody.

[mikefm101]

Agree with hiring someone.

If they are nesting in your house they won't go away, and there are more entrances.

We had them in the attic. Had an exterminator come out, who asked when the bats moved in. Turns out he had sealed the house next door just then, so the bats just moved to our house.

He installed one way gates in the roof caps and around chimneys. Any bats still in the house could get out but not back in.

Came back a year later and put in sealant, screening and some other stuff to seal everything. Probably keeps the squirrels out too, but they were not the issue.

Price was several thousand from everyone we got a bid from.

Anyway, they've not been back. No regrets.

Mike

[goaliedad]

Is the damper shut? It would keep the bats from getting all the way to the firebox. Also, how are the bats getting from the firebox into the heataltor? They should be totally separate- are the bats coming into the house and then going in the small openings where the air would exit the heatalator?
It sounds like you need a good inspection of the fireplace.

[woodhead]

Is the damper shut? It would keep the bats from getting all the way to the firebox. Also, how are the bats getting from the firebox into the heataltor?  They should be totally separate- are the bats coming into the house and then going in the small openings where the air would exit the heatalator?
It sounds like you need a good inspection of the fireplace.

This...The starting point!


Al

[Snipe Hunter]

Stuff it with rags, cover with screen, spray foam... There are a lot of possibilities in the short term... If you had a pic, I could tell you what I'd do.

There's got to be a better option than stuffing flammable materials in the chimney.

[Anak]

Without pictures, but making a guess at an option anyways, hoping I understand correctly that these are relatively small holes, I would be inclined to cut out pieces of metal mesh or screening to fit in the holes.  Could be 1/4" or 1/2" hardware cloth, or aluminum screen fabric.  Just cut pieces a fraction of an inch oversize and press them.  Tension alone would probably hold them in place.  A dot of caulking in each corner could provide extra insurance if desired. 

That should be an easily reversed solution.

[daddo]

You could try steel wool in small holes- works on mice and rats. Irritates them.