Bat Removal
Popular movies often portray bats as a sign or embodiment of evil. Furthermore, bats can carry rabies, threatening humans, which is a great reason to have bat removal from OMNIS. The good news is that, with the proper techniques, you can keep bats away from your home and family. We offer humane, safe bat removal services that are designed to remove bats from your home without causing harm to the animals.
Eliminating Bats
First, you need to know that Colorado considers bats a protected species. That means you need to avoid killing them. Instead, it would be best if you got them out of your space without harming them. Here are some things you can do to get them out:
- Use a gloved hand to grasp the occasional bat in your home. Then, release it outside.
- Provide an alternative to roosting in your buildings, such as a bat house or bat box.
- Use a naphthalene bat repellent indoors.
- Put bright lights in your attic or anywhere bats roost.
- Direct an electric fan towards the roost.
- Try ultrasonic devices designed to repel bats.
Finally, you can call a pest control company like OMNIS to help you eliminate the local bats. This solution works great, especially if you fear bats or cannot manage them on your own.
Bat Control
Bats can cause a nuisance and potentially a danger. Yet, bats also bring ecological benefits. For example, bats eliminate more harmful insects than other species do. At the same time, controlling bats in inhabited areas makes sense. After all, you want to protect your health and keep your buildings clean. Here are some ways to control your bat problem.
- Exclusion: The best way to remove bats from a building is to bar their entry with exclusion devices such as screens, caps, and chimney covers.
- Repellents: To keep bats away, you can also try a wide range of repellents, such as ultrasonic sound waves or strobe lights.
- Hazing: You can also employ humane methods of hazing bat colonies, such as bright lights or loud noises, to drive them away.
- Trapping: As a last resort, trapping is an option in some jurisdictions where it’s legal. Be sure to contact your local wildlife authorities
Preventing Bats
Bat-proof your building to prevent bats from coming inside. Plug up any exit holes when the bats migrate away for the winter. Or, if you have bats in your house now, take a different approach. Plug all the holes but one. Next, wait a few days. Finally, plug the last hole when the bats fly out for the night.
Try a bat-proofing valve for plugging holes. This device allows bats to leave but not return. Also, you can use plastic bird netting around any openings you cannot plug. Ensure you have no broken vents or other spaces where bats can enter.
Bat Biology
First, learning about bats can give you more insight into how to eliminate them from your property. The more you know, the more prepared you can be to avoid and manage bats. Consider these facts about bats.
Diet
Most bats eat insects. They prefer flying insects, such as mayflies, flying ants, moths, mosquitoes, and midges. Bats tend to find insects in open fields or around streetlights. So bat populations usually increase in the suburbs during the summer when mosquitoes are plentiful.
Habitat
Bats roost during the day and move around at night. Where do they roost? They roost in tree leaves, in caves, under bridges, and around loose tree bark. However, some species prefer living in or near buildings. They may make their roosts inside buildings, such as in attics or any cracks or crevices. Also, you might find them behind your shutters. Bats live in every part of Colorado, in both urban and rural environments.
Mating and Lifespan
Bats are warm-blooded mammals, the bat mates in the fall or early in the winter. During that time, bats gather in caves to hibernate. Although they mate near the year’s end, the sperm does not get fertilized until spring. The new bats arrive between May and July, and the mother nurses its young. The bats grow quickly and can fly as soon as four weeks after birth.
Often, bats with nursing colonies invade buildings where people live. Later, bats migrate up to 300 miles to hibernate again. This migration takes place starting in August, and they return in the spring.
Bats have relatively long lifespans. Most live less than 20 years, but some species live longer, up to 30 years. Interestingly, the world record for bat longevity stands at 41 years for a small bat in Siberia.
Dangers of Bats
Pest Threat Level 5/10
Bats pose several threats to humans and their property. First, they can carry rabies. Yet, this happens only rarely. Fortunately, bats only cause about one human death a year here in the U.S. Most Colorado bats are healthy. Besides fatalities, though, bites from bats that might be rabid can necessitate uncomfortable treatment. These non-fatal bats number in the hundreds every year in the U.S.
In addition, people can get histoplasmosis from bat droppings. This disease, carried in the air, causes lung symptoms similar to the flu. So, professional exterminators who work around bat guano usually use respirators or dust masks.
Finally, bats can cause quite a bit of property damage. The most visible example is the guano that accumulates under a roost. But they also chew insulation when nesting in attics or behind walls.
Signs a Bat Has Rabies
If you see a bat in or near your home, you need to pay attention to signs of potential rabies. Bats that seem unafraid of people may have this disease. Bats moving around during that day might be injured or have rabies, and bat removal needs to happen quickly. Later, rabid bats may have poor coordination or stop eating and drinking. Eventually, they become paralyzed and foam at the mouth. In any of these cases, the best solution usually entails calling OMNIS pest control experts. We will come in and assess the situation and safely capture and remove the bat. After that, we can arrange for testing to determine if rabies was present.
Pest Threat Level
5/10
How OMNIS Can Help
OMNIS can provide a valuable service with bat removal when bats are invading your indoor living space. First, we identify the type and number of bats on your property. Second, we find all the spaces they use to get in and out. Then, we create pest control plans designed to eliminate the bats and keep them away. Lastly, we carry out our plan, eliminating bats and preventing their return.
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