Do you hear noises in your home? Do you see droppings, and you’re not sure what they might be from, either bats or mice, and you’re not sure what to do about it? There are a few different ways you can tell if you have bats or mice in your home.
Bat Droppings vs. Mice Droppings
One way you can tell if you have bats or mice hiding in your home is from the droppings left behind. When it comes to bat droppings (also known as guano), it will look a lot like mice droppings at first, but if you were to put a glove on and smash the droppings (or guano) in your fingers, it would leave a shiny look to it. This coloring is a result of the bats eating insects and or bugs. When a bat eats, it does not digest the insects or bugs, so when you smash the droppings in your fingers, it will easily crumble and turn into a powder. It will even do this when the droppings (or guano) are fresh.
When it comes to mice droppings, you will sometimes see insects in the droppings, but that is not the primary food source that mice eat. Most of the time, mice will eat fruits, seeds, and grains. Mice droppings are squishy and slimy when they are fresh, and then when they are old, they turn hard and do not smash as quickly as bat droppings. Another way to tell if it’s bats or mice is that when it comes to mice, droppings will be scattered throughout the room, where bat droppings (or guano) will be found in piles.
When it comes to identifying different droppings, bat droppings are more extensive; they are also blackish in color; even old droppings look the same as fresh ones; they will have a glisten to them. The ends of the droppings are blunt and have no points to them. Also, the fresh droppings will break easily and crumble; just like old droppings, you will also see the shiny insect part very quickly.
When it comes to identifying mouse droppings, they are much smaller in size, and they are also black. However, the fresh droppings will be more of a black color, and the old droppings will have a dull color to them. Also, the fresh droppings will have a glisten to them due to it having a soft putty-like texture before it dries. Also, both ends will have points on them as well. The most crucial part is that with mice droppings, you will see rodent hairs in the droppings.
Differences in Noise
Another way to tell if you have bats or mice is the sounds you will hear in the walls or even on the floor. When it comes to hearing noises, you need to find out where it is coming from. Once you have located it, thump your wall or floor; if you end up not hearing anything, then most of the time, it will be mice only; they are super scared of sounds that they don’t know. So they will stop and not make a sound or even move until they feel safe. If you do end up hearing a noise back, it would be bats most of the time. Bats will continue to make noise simply because when they get into your home, and they come through a small hole, they will get stuck, so they will become disoriented and try to get unstuck. Another way to tell if you have bats or mice is at night. When it comes to mice, they are super quiet most of the time; you won’t hear them in the home, but when it comes to bats, they will make chirping noises at night. This is because bats are awake at night, so they make the chirping sounds to communicate with other bats.
Other Sings of Bats in Your Home
Coloring on Your House Exterior
Another thing to look for is any brown spots that you might see on the outside of your home. If you see an oil spot on the side of your home, then that would be a sign of bats getting into your home. When a bat goes into a home, they will start to leave an oil spot behind because when they rub their chest against something, the oil will rub off of them and end up on whatever surface the bat was on. When it comes to bats, they must drop down into flight; they cannot pick themselves up off the ground as most mammals can.
Chewed Wood
Another good sign to tell if you have bats or mice is if you start to see wood that looks like it has been chewed on or see shredded materials all over the place, that is a good sign that you are dealing with mice and not bats. When it comes to mice, they will chew on just about anything that they can get into. Compared to bats, they won’t chew on things; they won’t eat anything but bugs or insects. They don’t have a “nest,” bats will roost compared to mice.
Bat Bugs
You can tell if you have mice or bats; you will end up with “bat bugs.” When it comes to bat bugs, they will feed off primary bats, hence their name. The only time you will get them in your home is if you have bats. Mice do not carry the bugs. Or even attract the bugs. If you start to see these bugs in your home, you might think they are bed bugs because they look a lot alike. But once you look closer, you will be able to tell the difference between the two. When it comes to identifying the two, it can be challenging. But it has longer hairs on its upper thorax than those of a bed bug when it comes to a bat bug. The hair is so small that the only way you can tell is by using a microscope to see the hair.
So when it comes to knowing how to tell if you have bats or mice, you need to listen and see where the sound is coming from. And what kind of sound is it making? Does it stop, or does the noise keeps going? When you see the droppings, are they shiny or dull and slimy looking? Are the droppings all over the place, or are they more in piles? Do you see things that have been chewed up or have marks from them? Did you find a nest anywhere or what looks like the start of one? Once you have found out what you are dealing with, it makes your job much more manageable when you contact a professional to remove the anmial(s) for you. You want to catch it right away, whether it’s mice or bats. You don’t want it to get out of hand and end up with more issues than you started with.