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Exclusion
Bat Exclusion - Bats Removal From The Home
If you have bats in your living quarters, attic or business, you do not have a bat problem –
but rather you have a building problem.
We frequently take care of this type of problem, and it is one of our favorite wildlife control issues to deal with.
It doesn't matter if you have one bat or three thousand in your building -
the procedure and price to
evict them is typically the same. Breeding seasons vary by region, but in
Oklahoma, if you have bats in your home or business, it is important that we evict them prior to
when they give birth in the Spring. Time is of the essence - if we wait too long, we must
wait until around August 15th to exclude them forever. However, even if you have waited too long,
we
can still take temporary measures to
keep bats out of your office or living area.
Bats inside are dangerous, so take action immediately.
Scheduling prior to August 15th may avoid a full agenda.
If you do have bats in your house, especially if you've seen any in living areas, there are important
safety concerns you will need to know about - including how to handle both dead and live bats. We've devoted a
section to bat
rabies, diseases, handling and safety that you won't want to miss.
In Oklahoma, the main
types of bats you will likely encounter are
big brown, small brown, and Mexican free-tailed bats.
Once bats have invaded, don't waste time, colonies can grow 2 to 3 times larger each year.
Completion of the bat removal process is seasonally limited, but we can start to tackle the
problem now with building preparations and
interim living area proofing measures. Once the
proper season arrives, (not between late spring and mid-August) we can complete the removal
process, also known as a bat eviction or bat
exclusion. The seasonal eviction restriction
is because bat pups will die and smell if the mother is evicted.
Calls to us regarding bat problems usually start coming in during the middle of the winter –
these calls are almost always big brown bats.
Big brown bats "wake up" in the middle of winter warm spells sometimes,
and stumble into your living quarters or offices.
When spring comes around, bat eviction requests start to come in once again, and do not stop until
it cools off in the fall. Why? In the fall, your bats were breeding. In the spring, they start to
have their babies. If you are a parent, you know that you want to get away from
your children, well at least occasionally, that is what the bats are doing.
Bats cannot typically be excluded from the attic or home during the summer
because the babies will not leave on their own until mid-August. And baby bats must leave on their own accord.
The adult bats will exit, but because they do not understand that they will not be able to get back in,
they will leave their babies behind. This is not only bad because the babies will die, but also because of the associated smell.
One small brown baby bat will fill a 3,000 square foot home with a smell that compares to a human body sitting in the
sun for three days being plopped on your coffee table. This smell will efficiently relocate you, your family,
or office to a hotel, place of shelter or less desirable location.
If you've discovered bats during a time of year they cannot be evicted, not to worry.
You don't have to live in fear of the winged creatures until exclusion is completed.
This is because it's possible to proof a building to keep bats out of the
living areas during the interim waiting period - that way you can sleep better at night.
You can do the work, or we can. We treat your home, business
and pocketbook like it was our own, but it is up to you who performs this work.
We've prepared a proofing guide should you want to do it yourself.
Guide To Interim Bat Proofing The Living Areas Of Your Home Prior To Exclusion
Other Aspects Of The Eviction Process
Making The Exclusion Last. Before September or birthing season,
we can usually perform most of the bat exclusion process, up to, but not including installing the
device that will allow all of the now mature bats to leave on their own – and never get back in again.
We must seal almost every place on your home that is ¼" in size – we can evict them from the hole
they are currently using, but they will still want to get back in. Once excluded, the temporary
precautions that were done indoors, such as the tape and plastic, can be removed. But, we cannot install
the bat "check valve" until we know that no babies will be left behind.
A lot of people ask us "
how much does a bat exclusion cost"? The answer to this
question can vary because the situation is actually a
building issue, not a bat problem, consequently, prices will differ by home.
Your next door neighbor may have the exact same house – indoors and out – and the price may
different depending on the amount of work that is needed.
Many of the alterations required to make to your building bat free may also help
exclude squirrels, birds, raccoons and rats from invading your home. When we give
you a quote, we will also mention service upgrades that will allow for preventative
measures and to show you signs and proof if wildlife has compromised your structure’s integrity.
Even a Wildlife Management Professional cannot efficiently remove the bats one by one.
Bats will hide in areas that humans cannot reach with any tools or equipment, without
destruction. Many
watches have proven that over 300 total bats were in a structure - but
bat exclusion professionals were unable to locate their actual roosting area.
Sometimes bats will enter on one side of the house and live on the opposite side, in the wall.
Several insurance companies will pay for any damage done by bats. We can also remove
the soiled,
damaged attic insulation and install new insulation for you. Many insurance companies have
loopholes that allow your wildlife damage to be covered under your insurance policy.
Often wild squirrel and
rodent problems are considered “acts of God” and not covered.
Even if proper techniques and knowledge are utilized to
humanely evict bats, it can still fail if quality materials
are not used. We encountered this job at a client's home. Note the cloth bat "cone".
Note the guano below it. Note the dried up and cracked caulking that the bats re-entered. Note
the bats are entering via the cone that was supposed to exclude them. High quality supplies
and professional products, combined with experience and pride in your work are what will solve bat infestation.
