Winter thaw making Eastern Iowa batty

Don't be shocked if you see a bat flitting about your home during the next week.

Especially if you live in a drafty, older two-story home - preferred winter hibernation sites for Iowa bats, said Rick Miller, proprietor of Creature Control in Cedar Rapids.

Winter thaws, like the one predicted to continue for the next week, awaken bats hibernating in the walls.

“It's still too cold to go outside, and there are no bugs (their diet staple) anyway, so they start moving around the house,” said Miller, who was out on bat calls Thursday and Friday.

Typically, Creature Control finds the bats' portals - they can crawl through a crack less than three-fourths-inch wide - and plugs them, installing a one-way valve so the bats can leave but not come back.

Snowy, icy roofs this time of year can hamper that part of the operation, so often he just removes the offending bat and comes back later for the exclusion work, said Miller, who has been bat-proofing houses for more than 15 years.

Do-it-yourself bat removers are advised to wait for the bat to alight and then slip a coffee can over it and slide a piece of cardboard over the can opening so the bat, a beneficial animal, can be released unharmed.