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Bats are the only mammals capable of flight. They are a crucial part of our ecosystem. Bats are responsible for pest control like mosquitoes from getting out of hand. Bats are known as destroyers of fruits. No matter how useful they are, they have a bad reputation. They are referred to as “flying rats.” They are seen as frightening pests but the reality is they are very beneficial. Why do bats seem to be frightening? Some people say that they are blood suckers. Only three out of thousand bat species suck blood from mammals. Rest of them are not even aggressive. Most of the fruit bats live in the tropics as well. Bat Pest Control companies and other repellents and ultrasonic devices claim to remove bats from your home, without any harm to you.
Though they are useful for our ecosystem and control pests, they can cause a lot of damage. They can become a reason for deadly diseases in humans and pets. A disease called “rabies” is spread through the bite of a bat. A fungus present in the guano of bats can spread lung diseases. These diseases should be treated immediately else the situation can become problematic. What if you get a bat infestation? What are the things you should know if you are in such a situation? Before going for a bat pest control there are a few things you should know.
What you should know if you have a bat infestation?
There are a few things you must know about bats and bat removal if you have got a bat infestation in your home. Bats love to live in old houses. The reason is they have so many entrances such as soffits, loose screening, holes, chimneys and cracks as well. In such houses it’s not easy for bats to relocate once they occupy a home of a building. Unless they are exterminated by use of proper bat exclusion methods. It is better to not go for DIYs. Removing them through the help of an expert is a good approach. If you decide to do it yourself, they can cause more harm to both you and the bats because they can die in the process.
Because of the way they live they are classified as pests. As a result of the problems people face, most of them wish to have the bats colonies removed from their buildings. You should be aware that this is a service that requires specialized care from qualified individuals .You may find more than 25 bats in a colony however occasionally the number can exceed even more than one hundred.
So you have got a bat infestation, you should know about their habits and kinds. This will help you in getting rid of them.
Habits of bats
Bats mostly leave their home at dusk and return around dawn. They drink water before they feed themselves. For this they first stop at a stream or pond to drink water. Female bats of most species only reproduce one pup, but some species can give birth to two to four pups. At the time of birth, a baby bat weighs up to 25 percent of its mother’s weight. Male bats do not take care of babies only the females do.
Bats are useful for pollination. If you have a garden nearby, you may find bats colonies as well. They feed on insects that visit flowers and also feed on various types of fruit that helps disperse seeds. Bats are known as natural pest controllers as they feed on insects and reduce their population. Never ever try to kill bats. Reducing their population can create many problems for us.
There are over 1000 species of bats found all over the world. They have different likes, dislikes and habits. A few species which are common all over the world are discussed below.
Bat species
There are multiple bat species found till date. These species can inhabit your home; each has different habits and habitats. The most common bat species in North America are the big brown bat, the little brown bat, and the Mexican free-tailed bat.
Big brown bats:
A female big brown bat usually forms her nursery colony with other pregnant females in the spring. During this time the male roosts somewhere else. They usually roost alone or with other males. These bats can become an issue around the home. They commonly build colonies in attics, shutters, chimneys etc. In short, in any dark and small area. This species of bats is able to fly up to 40 miles per hour. This is the fastest speed reported for any bat. They are medium sized as compared to other bats. They feed themselves on insects like beetles, ants and flies. When migrating, big brown bats travel short distances and hibernate in small groups in hollow trees, caves and buildings. What do they look like? What is their appearance?
Big brown bats are dark in color. They have a pale colored stomach. There is no fur on their wings. They have 32 small teeth for feeding. Where are they commonly found? Big brown bats are common in southern Canada and the United States.
Little brown bats:
One little brown bat is able to catch up to 600 mosquitoes in an hour. They alternate feeding flights with rest periods, where they return to their nests to digest their meals. The little brown bat’s flying habits are erratic, with flight speeds averaging 12.4 miles per hour unlike the big brown bats. Female little brown bats will form nurseries in the spring after hibernating throughout the fall and winter months. They have more teeth than big brown bats. The number of teeth they have is 32. Where are they commonly found? They can be found in Alaska, Canada and in the United States.
Mexican free-tailed bats:
You will mostly find them in large populations. They like to live in larger colonies. They are raised by the female bats. The flying speed of Mexican free-tailed bats is typically about 10-15 miles per hour. But they can reach speeds of up to 25 miles per hour. If needed, Mexican free-tailed bats will fly up to 50-150 miles in a day. Moths tend to be the favorite meal of the Mexican free-tailed bat. This does not mean they do not eat other insects. They feed on other insects like ants and beetles. The amount of food they can eat is ⅓ of their body weight. They are about three-inches long and most of that is their tail.
Mexican free-tailed bats build their colonies based on where they are located. They build colonies in structures. For instance, houses or churches, along the West Coast of the United States. But they like to live inside caves from Texas to Arizona. In order to hibernate, the Mexican free-tailed bats living from Texas to Arizona will relocate to Mexico. How do they appear? They vary in color from dark brown to dark grey. They have 32 teeth. Where are they commonly found? They can be found throughout the southern United States to the west coast.
California myotis:
These bats are small in size. They have pale fur on their bodies. You can often see them at dusk. You may also notice them before dawn feeding on flies, moths and some other flying insects. They like to hide during the day in trees, rock crevices and sometimes in parts of buildings.
Where Bats can often roost in homes?
Many bats like to roost in high places. These places should be dark and small. These include many spots in a home such as chimneys and attics. They often find their way underneath eaves and hide away in attics. They find open spots in roofs, or slip through small holes.
Often, a bat can get stuck in your home accidently. They fear humans. They don’t enter your home intentionally, feel insecure and get stressed after entering your home. Bats may also cause stress for you and your pets as well. Though they don’t wish to harm you but because they are panicking, bats can cause a lot of problems for homeowners. Take a look at some major problems bats can create and why is it important to remove bats?
What problems do bats create for you?
Damage Property:
Bats can damage your property and health. Though they do not do this intentionally. Bats can cause property damage in many ways. They can damage the bricks while roosting. Bat droppings leave stains. They can stain your walls, floor or the area they live in.
Intolerable Smell:
Their urine can leave a terrible, lingering stench in your home. Also bat droppings have a strong unbearable smell.
Spread Diseases:
Guano and bat urine can invite bacteria and germs into your home. If we talk about how they affect our health, their fecal matter can contain a fungus known as histoplasmosis. It can cause lung diseases and breathing problems in humans. The disease should be treated immediately. Though bats are not aggressive but if they bite you by any chance, it can cause rabies. Rabies is a deadly disease.
These are just a few but MAJOR problems bats create for you if they are residing in your home. What to do in such times when you get a bat infestation? What should be your first step? The first step should be to properly investigate each and every corner of your home for bat infestation. So that you can estimate the number of bats. This way it will be easy for you to come up with a feasible solution. You can also contact companies which provide bat pest control services. Let’s learn about what services these companies provide?
Bat Pest Control services
What happens when you call a pest control company? When you call a pest control company to get rid of bats in your home or building, they will come and mostly they will do a three step process. Firstly, they will carry out an inspection to know the scale of bat infestation. Secondly, they will offer consultations and decide a way to remove the bats. The last step will be cleaning and disinfecting your home properly.
Some pest control companies do a poor job as they use poison to eliminate bats. This is not a good approach as we don’t want to kill bats and have to save them for our environment. Poison also has dangerous effects on the people living in the house, so the companies doing these poison treatments should be highly discouraged.
How do the Bat Pest Control companies do their work?
As mentioned earlier, they follow a 3 process step. Let’s read in detail about the process below:
Inspection
There are several ways to inspect the area where bats are present. Bat pest control companies have specialized tools for estimating the number of bats present in a specific area. Sometimes, it can be very easy, by just having a look, they can have an idea about the bat infestation. Usually the walls below the area where bats live have dark brown stains. Also a large amount of guano can be seen under that area. This helps in identifying the areas.
How do they estimate the bat population? It is very important to have an estimate about the bat population. This helps in deciding and choosing the method they should implement to get rid of them. The experts that come to your home have proper tools which gives an estimated number of bats inside the area. After proper inspection, the second step is to remove bats.
Removing bats
Before removing bats, bat pest control companies conduct discussion sessions with you. They fully make you aware of the pros and cons of each and every possible bat removal method that can be implemented. They do everything with your permission. Most of the time, the bat pest control team goes for bat exclusion. The reason is that it is safe for your home and your health. Though bats can bite but the experts are trained for such situations. In this process, all of the entry points are closed in such a way that bats are only allowed to exit the place. Re-entry of bats is restricted. Once a bat leaves cannot enter again. Within a few days or weeks, your home will be free of bats. That depends on the number of bats in the area, more bats demands more time.
Bat pest control companies will make sure to remove bats from each and every corner. But sometimes, due to human err, they can also overlook some places as well. They will check again and again and keep on visiting your home for checking any signs of re-infestation. Once they are satisfied they move on to the next step, which is to disinfect and clean the area properly.
Cleaning
Without cleaning the area, the bats can come back. How can we say that? Because, bats love their own smell and are enchanted by it. After extermination of bats from your home, the first thing bat pest control teams do is change the insulation. All the guano, wall stain, attics and roof tops are cleaned and disinfected properly. The smell of bats has to go from your home.
It is better to clean your home regularly. Bats generally do not live in clean areas. They like a place no one pays attention to. So, it’s less likely that they come back after cleaning and changing insulation.
Bat pest control companies do this whole process over a period of months or more. They will pay you monthly, weekly, or may be daily visits, in case of heavy infestation, just to make sure that the job is done right. This process consumes a lot of time, and cost as well. These are specialized bat pest control companies, so they charge you according to their specialization and work. Let us tell you how much do these services cost you on an average?
Bat Pest Control cost
These services are definitely useful. Among other problems, one major problem is that they are a bit expensive. Not everyone can afford these services. The cost for just an inspection can cost you around $75. Depending on the area where bats are located, this cost can go up to $100. For removal of bats from a small colony, the cost is around $150. As the population of bats increases, the cost also increases. Removing bats from a large area will cost you from $300 and this cost can go up to $2000. The removal cost is for both steps, removal and cleaning, extra money for cleaning will not be charged. You can read more about costs, in our article “Bat Removal Cost“.
What to do if one cannot afford these services? Doing these by yourself is harmful and you should not try to attempt it. So what is the solution to this problem? Are you going to be living with bats for your whole life? Are you going to live with the stinky smell and to see your property get damaged by these small living creatures? The answer to all your questions is Ultrasonic Bat Repellent. You can read more about this in our article “Ultrasonic Bat Repellent“.
After proper study and research, “ET Bat Control” proves to be a device that can remove bats from your home. Let’s read more about this device and get to know about its working and technology.
ET Bat Control
ET Bat Control is an ultrasonic bat repellent. This repellent sends ultrasonic sound variable frequencies. These frequencies do not disturb humans because they are outside the audible range of humans and other pets such as dogs and cats, but are not bearable by bats. The variable frequencies disturbs the bats and eventually they leave the place. ET Pest Control gives you Direct Targeting Control. It targets insects as well. The area this repellent covers is 5000 sq. ft. This ultrasonic repellent can penetrate through the walls of your home. It uses the wiring within your walls. This helps the signals to penetrate throughout your home and eventually targets all the bats in every corner of your home.
What are the features this ultrasonic repellent offers? Let’s read more about ET Bat Control.
Features
Below are the features this ultrasonic bat repellent offers:
- Pest Direct Targeting (Target all the ET’s Power to either BATS / Insects or Rodents).
- High Impact Ultrasonic Sounds covering 5000 sq. ft.
- Electromagnetic High Impact Repelling (For Deep Inner Wall Repelling).
- Twin Scanning Technology (Helps Repel Pest with Greater Demand).
- Pest Confusion Selector (Hit pest with different Repulsive Sounds).
There are many other bat repellent ultrasonic devices in the market as well. But what are the advantages of using ET Bat Control over other devices?
Advantages
- It is safe to use.
- The frequencies are not audible by humans and pets. So they won’t even disturb them.
- Also, this electronic bat repellent uses only 5 watts.
- It does not require any special effort. It is very easy to use. You just have to plug it in.
Within some time, this ultrasonic bat repellent will repel all the bats away from your home. This is the most reliable and affordable option. It costs only around $50.00.
Conclusion
Removing bats from your home is a tough job. One should never try to do this himself. Bats can cause diseases and can bite in between the process. It is better to take help from a bat pest control team. Many companies have these services and trained experts for this specific job. One of the major drawbacks is that these services are expensive. Their services are out of budget for lots of people.
We have a reliable and affordable solution for you. ET Bat Control is an ultrasonic bat repellent. This repellent guarantees you to repel the bats away from your home. You just have to plug it in. This is the safest method available in the market which you can do yourself.