KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Jim Webber has lived in his home for more than 20 years.
He and his wife noticed some guano by the side of a garage door but they weren't sure what it was at first. He said because there are a lot of wasps around that area that maybe it was the debris from them.
Webber hadn't seen anything else that would indicate there were some uninvited visitors hanging out at his home.
"Then my son was staying at our house this spring, watch my dog over the weekend," Webber said. "He goes, 'We got bats!' He goes, 'You guys have bats!'"
Webber's first instinct was to hire a professional. He said he researched the internet to look up how one can get rid of bats. His biggest concern was safety.
"They eventually could get into inside the house, and then we'd have a real mess with the bats because they bring disease, the bat guano smells," Webber said.
He found Alpha Wildlife, which helped him identify his problem and animal correctly.
Brandon Majors, Alpha Wildlife operations manager said they look for signs of droppings, the guano, to make sure they are dealing with bats.
Then they look for entry points, and in this case, the bats were not in the attic. According to Majors, they were actually in the soffits. As far as the exclusion of the bats, Major's hands were tied during pup season.
"We have to follow all state and federal guidelines when it comes to the bats," he said. "Bats are mammals, and we cannot exclude them until after Aug. 1, just because the pups can't fly until that time."
Webber was now stuck with this creature that not only had a bad reputation but also had the possibility of carrying disease around.
Chris Ogle, biodiversity surveys manager of Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, said less than one-half of 1% of bats carry rabies but it is an issue. He said it's always best to get in touch with the health department.
Yet, there are some misconceptions surrounding bats.
"They don't attack. It's not like a bird with a nasty little swoop you," Ogle said. "The only reason it seems like they might be attacking is because they're trying to get out of there and you're [in] their way."
Another myth, as Ogle calls it, is whether they get into hair, lay eggs and make people go crazy. He said, they're mammals so they don't lay eggs, but the myth may have started from hairspray products that used to contain a little sugar in them.
"So, you spray the sugar in your hair, it attracts the insects, which then attracts the birds, and so that was kind of a myth or misnomer that they're trying to get into your hair," Ogle said. "They're just going for insects. But nowadays, hair products don't contain sugar."
In a way, bats can guard your home and plants and they provide a service for the ecosystem, according to Ogle.
"All of our bats are insect-eating bats and so they eat a ton of insects every night," Ogle said. "So if you see the bat population go away, you're gonna see the insect population explode."
Webber wants to keep bats outside his home and he is mostly worried about diseases.
"It freaks my wife out too," Webber said.
Webber hired Alpha Wildlife to help him not only to clear the exterior from bats when it was time but to also seal thin cracks where bats fit to crawl inside.
Majors said it's important to have someone check your home if you're worried there are spots that compromise entrance.
"I would suggest you call a professional simply because they're going to look at the areas that can be intruded," Majors said.
For many people it can be hard to recognize the signs and whether they have bats or not. According to Webber, the bats he has are at the exterior of his house. He also said they make squeaky sounds but it was mostly from what he would find around his patio floors.
"Just be aware around your house, look for the droppings," Webber said. "I really just don't want bats living in my house."
He has been looking forward to Aug. 1 when pup season is over. TWRA said bats most likely will go away and if they don't, they will leave by October.