Some thoughts on Bat Exclusions and the performance of bat exclusions by one of our professionals in Cincinnati, Ohio and nearby Kentucky.
Charles Holt Advantage Wildlife Removal 513-553-1888
We seal all areas a bat could use to reenter the customers home then install escape valves. And if we have missed an area the bats will show us our mistake (they are our best teachers). Bats are just the symptom of a construction problem with the home. AS far as where they go after exclusion they are not our bats or the customers bats they are the state/ federal governments or who ever wants to claim them bats. The areas we work for bats are large neighbor hoods all with the same style home (brick cape cods)and all of them have the same construction gaps as the one we are excluding and are an excellent harborage for bats compared to a bat house. My job is to get the bats out of my customers home and keep them out. When they colonize another home I can address that one as well. We send out a letter (just like they used to do for termite control) informing neighbors we are going to perform a bat exclusion, it has digital photos of entry points common to the homes in the area and suggest that they address these areas to prevent POSSIBLE bat entry at any time in future. No fear tactics are used. We even tell them what product to use to bat proof so they can do it on there own. Do we get calls from these? You bet. And as a business owner that’s what I want.
Some thoughts on alternative Bat Extermination Techniques by Bat Conservation International
“Traps and relocation are not BCI-approved exclusion techniques. Removing large numbers of bats from a building may seem impressive to a customer, but it is unlikely to be effective. Traps can be fatal to bats if left unattended or if overcrowding occurs. Bats have excellent homing instincts, so relocation attempts are unlikely to succeed. The bats will simply attempt to return to the original capture area upon release. Capturing bats at an exclusion site is not encouraged, although it is acceptable to capture a single bat for species ID or to removal an individual bat from a living space.”
Bat Maternity Seasons
Many state laws prohibit the removal of the bats in a colony during their mating season, specifically when baby bats are present. Pest control experts say if the adult bats were removed, the baby bats, who do not yet know how to fly, would end up starving to death. This period is designated by each state and starts as early as April in some sates and ends as late as September in other states. Please check local laws.
Mother Bats Generally Have One Bat Pup Per Year
In most species of Chioptera, or Bats the female bats usually have only one offspring per year. A baby bat is referred to as a pup. Pups are usually left in the roost when they are not nursing. However, a newborn bat can cling to the fur of the mother and be transported, although they soon grow too large for this. It would be difficult for an adult bat to carry more than one young, but normally only one young is born. Bats often form nursery roosts, with many females giving birth in the same area, be it a cave, a tree hole, or a cavity in a building. Mother bats are able to find their young in colonies of millions of pups. Pups have even been seen to feed on other mothers’ milk if their mother is dry. Only the mother cares for the young, and there is no continuous partnership with
male bats.
Many laws are in place or being put into place in order to protect the continuation of bat species. For many years very little law or regulation was in place and we have seen a decline in bat populations die to bats being removed from homes and their young pups left to die unable to fend for themselves. Maternity periods are related to the latitude or how far north your state is in North America. Typically southern states start earlier and northern states start later.
Choosing to go ahead and have bats completely removed or excluded from a home during maternity season is a very poor decision. Motherless pups wander homes in the absence of their mothers searching for them and usually end up all over the homes attic and wall voids and die. Imagine large someone sticking five pounds of ground beef in various spots around your home rotting and the expense of replacing the walls, insulation and deodorizing your home. Removing all bats, and their young during a maternity season is at most a dice throw and the homeowner often becomes the loser and at a considerable expense.
Listen to your bat professional, let them inspect your bat infestation and determine the best time of year (Before April-May and After July-August) . State laws often dictate safe periods but a visual inspection and counting flights is often the best guide to determine when the pups are flying.
Example: A bat colony which typically has fights of 90 or so bats leaving a home nightly begin to jump to numbers closer to 180. This would indicate a maternal colony of 90 and then a pup for each mother flying. Actual numbers will fluctuate daily and a week or so after an increase in flight sizes is normally the best time to have a complete exclusion of your home. An inspection by a professional is always best before attempting any exclusions.
What is a Bat Exterminator?
Actually the term bat exterminators is a little archaic. It is both illegal and unnecessary to ever have some one kill, or exterminate any bat species in all of North America and in many parts of the world. The professionals on this site actually use gentle, humane techniques. These techniques involve a method where the bats fly out but can not figure out how to get back in. Bats get in a space of approximately 3/8ths of an inch and once bats have been in a attic a home must be properly sealed up or bat proofed.
Do You Need Emergency Bat Removal Now ?
First close off all access points into one room use towels and blankets to seal under doors,never touch a bat with bare hands always wear gloves (Rabies Carrier) . If you are uncomfortable with removing the bat from your room please feel free to call one of our operators listed here.
Bat Myths & Facts
Bats are one of the most misunderstood mammals in the world today. I can’t even begin to put into words the value bats offer our ecosystemand the proper handling of them is very important. However, bats do not belong in our homes and buildings and this web site is designed to help you understand bats and discern yourself from the many myths about them and finding a qualified professional from the many snake salesmen out there with gimmicks to take your money and laugh all the way to the bank. We know how to get rid of bats by bat proofing your home, building or structure. Facts: 1. Bats both large and small are insectivores. Each bat on daily night flight can consumer about 1000 insects an hour or roughly 6000-8000 insects each and every night. This is simply the best natural pest control we have on earth and every bat if handled properly can be returned back to the wild and help us keep all the bug populations down. 2. Bats are not vampires and there is no reaosn to fear them. Myths have been running around for centuries that they can become entangled in your hair and it is far from the truth. Bats have a built in sonar like capability called echo location and can in mid flight remove a tiny mosquito flying. They also know exactly where you are and will avoid any contact with you. They may get close to your face but they are not trying to harm or frighten you. 3. Bats are flying mammals and live in colonies if you see a bat resting I am confident a colony is also near by in y9our attic, soffits, behind shutters or even the hollows of a tree. 4. Bats will bite if handled. They have tiny razor like sharp teeth and should only be handled by a trained professional wearing gloves and exercising care in their handling. 5. Bats are not blind. They are however very light sensitive and are nocturnal mammals.