Every August the calls about bats start, and every September they peak. Bat droppings on a patio, squeaking in a wall at dusk, a bat in the living room at two in the morning. The Wildlife Guys handle bat exclusion across Indianapolis and Hamilton County, and fall is when the work happens, because it is the first time since spring that it legally and practically can. This is how a bat exclusion is actually done, from the inspection to the last sealed gap, so you know what you are hiring when you call.
Why the work waits until after mid August
Bats in Indiana are protected, and from late spring through mid summer the females are raising pups that cannot fly. Excluding the adults during that window strands the young inside the house, which is both illegal and a much worse problem than the one you started with. Once the pups are flying, exclusion opens, and it runs until the bats leave for winter roosts or go dormant when the cold arrives. That gives Indianapolis homeowners a window from mid August into the fall, and it is the reason a call in September gets scheduled quickly.
The inspection finds every entry point, not just the obvious one
A bat needs a gap about the width of a finger. On an Indianapolis house that is usually where the roof meets the fascia, at the gable vents, along ridge caps, behind loose siding, at the chimney flashing, or where a dormer joins the roof. The inspection is a full exterior survey of the roofline and attic, often at dusk to watch where bats emerge, and it maps every opening. Sealing the one gap you noticed while three others stay open just moves the colony a few feet down the roof.
One way exclusion devices
Bats are not trapped and are not poisoned. The method is exclusion: a one way device is fitted over each active entry point so bats can leave at dusk to feed and cannot get back in at dawn. Every other opening on the house is sealed at the same time, so the only way out is through the devices and there is no way back in. Over several nights the colony leaves on its own. The devices stay up long enough to be certain, then come down and those last openings are sealed.
Sealing the house
This is the part that determines whether the bats are gone for good. Once the exclusion is complete, every gap along the roofline, every vent and every joint that a bat could use is closed with materials that hold up outdoors: sealant, mesh, flashing and vent covers as the spot requires. The Wildlife Guys back the exclusion with a two year warranty against animal re-entry, which only makes sense because the sealing is done thoroughly rather than quickly.
Cleanup and what guano leaves behind
A colony that has used an attic for a season or more leaves droppings in the insulation, and guano is both a smell problem and a health concern that should not be disturbed without protection. After the bats are out, the attic is assessed for cleanup: removing contaminated insulation, treating the space, and replacing insulation where needed. Attic restoration is scoped separately from the exclusion, based on what the inspection finds, so you are not paying for cleanup a light infestation does not need.
How long the whole process takes
An inspection, the exclusion install and the sealing usually happen across two visits: the first to inspect and fit the devices and seal the secondary openings, the second a week or so later to confirm the colony has left, remove the devices and seal the last openings. Cleanup, when it is needed, is scheduled after that. The whole process typically runs one to two weeks from the first visit, which is why September and early October calls get done comfortably inside the season and late October calls are a race against the first hard cold. A colony that is not fully out when the temperature drops will stay, and the exclusion has to wait for spring, so an early call is worth more than a perfect one.
What to do while you wait
If you have found a bat inside the house, keep pets and people away from it and do not handle it. A bat in a living space is a possible exposure question for anyone who was asleep in the room, and the local health department can advise on that. Do not seal openings yourself before the exclusion is done; sealing bats inside makes them come into the living space looking for a way out. Do not try to wait it out, because a colony that overwinters in the attic is still there next spring, and next spring is maternity season again.
Bats in Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville and beyond
The Wildlife Guys work the same exclusion process across the Indianapolis metro, including Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield and Zionsville, where newer homes with complex rooflines have plenty of the joints bats prefer. The inspection is the same everywhere: find every opening, exclude, seal, and warranty the result.
Scheduling before the window closes
Exclusion season in Indianapolis is open now and closes with the cold. If you are hearing bats or finding droppings, reach out to The Wildlife Guys for an inspection, and read why bat removal waits until mid August if you want the full explanation of the season rule.
Indiana's rules on protected wildlife come from the Indiana DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife.