Bats are very unique, they are specialized sonar guided mammals that can fly and the only mammal at that, that can take flight. Couple that with the fact a lactating female can eat almost her body weight in bugs in a night, shows how remarkable they really are. Over 3 dozen species exist in the U.S. with some being threatened. Here in Illinois bat species have a few endangered species amongst the list. They do not have the best eyesight and the saying “blind as a bat” doesn’t come out of no where. When you have very poor eyesight and are so small you have to safe during the day, or get eaten by a predator. Unfortunately for you, sometimes this means bats in your home or chimney causing you to wonder, how do you remove bats! Do not feel intruded upon they just want to be safe just like you and I. I mean come on, who can blame a nearly blind animal that works all night keeping mosquitoes in line. The proper thing to do is relocate the bats to a new area unharmed and seal up your home from bats. And you can have this done with out touching a single bat.

Just like skunks and even dogs, they can contract rabies. The honest truth about rabid bats is, although they are a carrier of rabies, only about 1% of the population actually has the infection. The reason the hype with rabies is so large is because it still is a threat to humans and the majority of people know so little about bats that is usually just the warnings that stick in their mind. Make sure your distance from them stays far enough so no accidental contact can happen and im pretty sure they will do they same. Histoplasmosis, a disease derived from histoplasma capsulatum is a fungal spore in bat guano, when kicked around or blown this airborne spore can cause lung disease, this is also present in pigeon droppings. Guano tends to fall apart at the slightest touch, so once its made into dust it doesn’t take but a small gust of wind to get it kicked up into breathing area. Bat guano removal has a very specific protocol for safe clean up and no air born stir up or fungal spores. Extracting guano should only be done by guano removal professionals with experience in removing bat feces. Bat bugs, a bug carried by bats is something like a bed bug, these bugs infest beds, hair and clothing if not specifically targeted and exterminated by a bat bug specialist. They can and will infest in a home if not killed. Just because they are “like” bed bugs, they are not bed bugs and will not die from bed bug treatments. They are a different type of pest that has to be tended to in their own specific way for total removal of bat bugs.

There has never been a homeowner I’ve run across that has hundreds of thousands invested into a home and dont mind the the fact that they are a cause of loss of value from urine stains ceilings or roofs, guano stains, odor and disease such as histoplasmosis spores in their attic space or screaming and screeching of bats in home.

When Illinois bat removal services are called for, as well as Wisconsin bat removal services, young at times can not yet fly and leave by themselves. So you don’t have dead bats in your home or dead bat odor in your home, bat control and exclusion is done the last few weeks of August when the young start to fly independently. Bat entry points into homes usually are high up into soffits, roof and peak vents, un-screened attic fans, opened eves, gaped chimney creases etc. All of these areas are time consuming, yet easy to close up for future bat colony prevention.

They are all night loving nocturnal animals, the size of bats in Illinois and Wisconsin range from the little brown all the way to the big brown. Their wing span can be up to a foot in length. They munch on insects all night helping to drastically reduce mosquito numbers in some areas where bat boxes are places for just that reason. They can eat over 300 an hour. Bats breed in the fall months. Maternity colonies of pregnant females form until the spring time when the little babies are born. The babies nurse for several weeks until they are able to take flight on their own.

Colonies are always found close to water. Little brown bats like to group in colonies while big brown bats are solitary creatures. A little brown bat infestation is a seasonal structure problem, while a big brown bat will enter the structure and stay all year if allowed to.

There are a bunch of websites that break down what to do if you get a bat in your home and how to safely remove it with out injuring the bat of yourself. batcon.org is the best I have found. When the bat removal process is started, all entry points must be found and one way valve systems are put up over holes that let bats out of your house with out the ability to re-enter (again this is done when young bats can take flight). Once bat exclusion process has been done, all bat entry points are closed and sealed off to eliminate bats in the future from entering your home.

Bat Extermination, meaning to remove by lethal efforts is illegal, killing bats is un-ethical and a crime. Setting out bat poisons or glue traps is ineffective in trying to attain bat control, a pest control license only given by passed exam is mandatory to dispense toxic pesticides. Bat repellents are also ineffective to bats. Exclusion and repair is the only guaranteed measure to bat removal.

If you have questions regarding bat removal or have any questions please feel free to contact U.S. Wildlife Removal Service. If you are not in Wisconsin or Illinois, let us help you find an accredited bat management company with the proper experience to handle all bat problems. Bat management can be expensive because it is a specialized profession and must be done right as well as a big task protecting your heath and home value. Leave it to the professionals, you’ll be glad you did.