Bat Control Problem

Bat Control Problem

There are currently 16 species of bats found in Washington State. Vampire bats are not found in the United States. Bats natural habitat is caves and trees, but many are found in attics: dark, secluded roosting areas. In the winter or cold months, bats tend to migrate south, usually around the first frost; although some will hibernate in caves, houses, etc. Bats feed towards evening, or around dusk, eating insects: they leave their roosting area & usually fly towards a water source to drink. Bats typically give birth from April through July, usually producing just a single young, which are able to fly within 3 weeks. These mammals can often live for more than 10 years.

HEALTH HAZARDS: “RABIES” is considered the most important health hazard related to bats, all bat bites should be considered as potential exposure to rabies. NEVER touch a bat with your bare hands, bats need to be captured , placed in a container, within a cold environment & taken to the nearest testing location. “HISTOPLASMOSIS”: is an airborne disease that is caused by microscopic soil fungus that affects your lungs. Anyone intending to remove bat & bird feces from their attic spaces, without the proper respirators, clothing, etc put themselves in risk of infection.

Signs of bats can be feces and stains near eves, entrance areas & below roof lines. As a colony grows within your attic space they will damage insulation & the sheet rock, from their urine & feces. Bats can squeeze through tiny cracks some openings are no wider that the diameter of a dime. Most often bats can be found in attics between roof & ceilings, also in dormer areas. Log Homes & homes with metal roofs are also attractive structures for bats. In these homes they can get up under the ridge cap, or they can go in the end of the logs & work their way up into the attic space. The flashing around the fireplace area, soffits, & unscreened roofline vents are also a preferred roosting places & entrance points. If you get a bat in your home first try opening all the windows & doors leading to the exterior of the home, they will normally find their way out by detecting the fresh air movement. Please note there isn’t any current documentation of bats attacking people even when chased or provoked.

EXCLUSION: this is by far the best proven method to keep bats from returning to your home. It is the “soundest, long-term solution since bats will use the same obscure holes in buildings through which heat is lost.” The best time to have this done is after the bats have left in the fall, or before they return to your space the next spring.

Contact us for your bat concerns & estimate of exclusion services, insulation removal, installation of new insulation, complete clean up of feces & odor control/ sanitizing.