How to Clean Up Bat Guano

When it comes to bat removal and control, getting rid of bats is only a part of the process. Bats leave behind horrible messes that are both structurally damaging and unsanitary. Everything from walls, ceilings, and floorboards, to attic insulation, electrical wiring, rooftops, and siding, are all targets of bat droppings and structural damage. Not only can this lower your total property value and jeopardize your investment, it poses several serious health and safety risks.

One of the most vital parts of cleaning up after nuisance bat activity or infestation is hazardous waste removal. Bat guano can develop a transmissible fungal spores that can cause a disease known as Histoplasmosis. You see, if the fungal spores enter the air ducts of a home or building, they can be dispersed all throughout a property. Upon inhalation, these spores can cause serious respiratory illnesses that may be fatal to young children, elderly, and those with weakened immune systems or existing respiratory complications. See our blog, “What is Histoplasmosis?” to learn details about this illness, including causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

For these reasons and more, it is wise to clean up bat guano in any scope, whether a small pile around your window seals and bird houses, or large accumulations in a formerly-infested area of your home. For large scale cleanup, it is necessary to hire a licensed bat abatement company that is equipped with the proper training and resources to accurately decontaminate and sanitize your property in adherence to city codes. However, if you are simply treating a small area, you can clean up bat droppings on your own so long as you do not have a weakened immune system or existing respiratory complications. Read our blog, “Can Bat Guano Hurt Me?” to understand these risks more.

Continue reading to learn how to clean up bat guano, safely and effectively.

Louisville Bat Removal and Cleanup Services
Louisville Bat Removal and Cleanup Services 502-553-7622

What You Need to Get Rid of Bat Droppings

In order to clean up a bat dropping pile, you will need some protective gear. This includes a long-sleeved shirt or jacket, rubber gloves, a face mask or respirator, and safety goggles. As mentioned, you are at risk of inhaling or coming into contact with dangerous spores. You will also need the following materials:

➡ Shovel or Spade
➡ Dust Pan
➡ Garbage Bags
➡ Hose or Spraying Water Bottle
➡ Full Coverage Clothing

Cleanup Instruction

To start, put on all your protective gear ensuring that your skin is covered.

Next, lightly spray the guano with water in order to reduce the likelihood of airborne spores and dust.

Using your choice of tool, shovel the bat guano into a garbage bag. Be sure to double bag all guano bags.

If it is just a small to moderate amount of guano, you can toss the bags into your own garbage or public dumpster for trash removal.

If you have a large accumulation of bat guano, contact your local health department to report the hazardous waste and request specialized waste removal. Or simply contact a licensed Kentucky Bat Removal Company for professional bat cleanup and restoration services in one.

Kentucky Bat Removal and Control You Can Trust

Call 502-553-7622 to speak a Louisville bat removal and control specialist about resolving all of your nuisance bat issues. We also offer a wide range of residential and commercial bat cleanup and damage restoration services for all of Kentucky, including decontamination, sanitizing, deodorization, fumigation, integrated pest management solutions for bat bugs, structural damage repair, insulation replacement, drywall repair, preventative maintenance, post checkups, and much more. We may also be able to provide bat damage insurance claim work depending on your particular policy and carrier.

Property Damage Caused by Bat Intrusions

Bats are commonly found in residential and commercial properties hiding in dark warm places, like attics and crawl spaces. Why do bats like to use our buildings and homes as their own? The most likely answer is the easy accessibility. Bats are so small; they do not need to chew their way into our properties, such as mice and squirrels. Bats can find access through the tiniest opening in our roofs, desks, garages, attics, and sheds. A temperature controlled environment with plenty of food resources surrounding them is an ideal bat paradise. Unfortunately, these particular spaces fit those criteria quite well.

Louisville Bat Removal and Control 502-553-7622

Louisville Bat Removal and Control 502-553-7622

Structural Damages

The most noticeable structural damages to a home or building where a bat colony has been living is caused by their droppings. Bat colonies can range anywhere from a few bats to hundreds, depending on the space they are occupying. With that in mind, overtime, the accumulation of bat droppings can become extensive. Bat guano and urine are extremely potent and noticeable. In fact, most people realize they have a live-in bat colony when they begin to notice the negative effects of their droppings.

For example, the urine and guano odor will eventually seep through the walls and vents, causing a foul odor in the home. Also, the droppings can accumulate enough to begin saturating sheet rock and insulation, leading to costly repairs and replacement needs. The saturation of the droppings will begin to cause the area to slowly deteriorate, leading to structural instability and weakness. This can even lead to a ceiling collapse.

Health Risks

Not only can the actual structures of a home or building become damaged, the cargo inside can become damaged as well, meaning the people! There are health-related issued associated with bat infestations and exposure to their droppings. There is a respiratory illness called Histoplasmosis that is caused from spreading spores in bat guano. Also, rabies is another common scare associated with bats. Rabies is just as common in any wild animal, not just bats; however, it is always better to be certain and avoid contact at all costs.

Another health threat caused by bat infestations is bat mites. These are tiny insects similar to fleas. They are often confused with bed bugs because they have the same effect and look. If there is a situation where an exterminator has to come back several times to get rid of bed bugs, it is probably not bed bugs at all. Bat mites stick around, so long as there is a colony living nearby. Be sure to get the right information before treating these little nuisances.

Professional Bat Removal Service

Louisville Bat Removal Kentucky

Louisville Bat Removal 502-553-7622

For more information on bat damages or how to repair structural damages caused by bats, call our expert bat removal and control specialist in Louisville, KY today! We are licensed and insured with over fifteen years of experience in the bat control industry. We are truly experts in our field. We use the latest technologies and state of the art equipment to remove bats, prevent bat intrusion, repair and restore damages, and much more. Call us today at 502-553-7622 and speak with a professional bat control expert right away.

A Bat that Roosts Inside Leaves!

There are countless bat species that are fun and interesting to learn about. But there is one particular species of bat that has earned themselves a reputation for being unique. That is because they live inside leaves of trees and plants!

These bats are call Spix’s Disc-Winged bats, and have many unique attributes that set them apart from other species throughout the world. Continue reading to learn more about this fascinating bat!

Spix’s Disc-Winged Bat

Scientifically named, Thyroptera tricolor, Spix’s Disc-Winged bat is a remarkable Microchiroptera species that was first discovered in 1823 by German biologist, Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix. And one of its most defining characteristics are the disk-like anatomical features on their thumbs and hind feet. Hence the name, “Spix’s Disc-Winged” bat. The discs on their thumbs and hind feet are supported by an internal cartilaginous plate and work like suction cups, allowing them to grip tightly and easily move across smooth surfaces.

Their color of their top coats range in tone, from reddish browns to incandescent blacks, while their underbellies are usually a pale white or yellow color. They are very small bats, weighing an average of 4 grams and growing no longer than 37 millimeters. Regardless of its small size, they are agile flyers and can navigate quite well, but never fly higher than 3 to 5 meters off the ground. Instead, they fly shallow, looking for suitable roosting locations.

And do you know where Spix’s Disc-Winged roost?

Spix’s Disc-Winged bats are mostly native to Neotropical regions of the world, like South America. But since the species is so widespread, it is recognized as a “least concern” on the bat conversation list. However, their population density largely depends on how abundant a region’s forests and lands are with plants and trees. This is because the Spix’s Disc-Winged bat roosts inside curled up leaves (furled leaves)! And without adequate roosting locations, the Spix’s Disc-Winged bat populations cannot reproduce in large quantities.

Yes, you heard right: Spix’s Disc-Winged bat roosts inside furled leaves! They use their concave suctioning disks to cling inside a leaf, head-up. This behavior is unlike most bat species that hang head-down in their roosts. Just another interesting fact about Spix’s Disc-Winged bats! They usually roost up to 5 bats per leaf, all in head-up formation. And every night they hunt, they look for new roosting locations. What’s even more interesting is that, despite their nomadic lifestyle, they live together for years.

Louisville Bat Removal Services

Call 502-553-7622 for prompt and professional bat removal and control in Louisville, Kentucky. We offer a wide range of non-lethal, safe bat removal services, as well as, bat proofing, preventative maintenance, bat cleanup, and even minor attic and crawl space restorations for bat damages. Whether residential or commercial, our DNR licensed wildlife control contractors are fully-equipped to manage any size animal removal need. Call 502-553-7622 for Louisville Bat Removal you can trust.

Are Bats Rodents?

At first glance, you may think a bat looks like a rat with wings, which might lead you to believe that bats could be rodents. But if you were to take a closer look, you’ll find that a bat is nothing like a mouse or rat at all! In fact, bats are mammals, just like humans, dogs, cats, primates, whales, and more! This means they are warm-blooded, and give birth to live offspring. Continue reading to learn more attributes that set bats and rodents far apart from one another.

Why Bats are Mammals

Bats are not rodents, they are mammals. And just like humans, they are a warm-blooded species that carry and give birth to live young. One of the most interesting facts about bats being mammals is that they are the only mammals capable of true flight! While other mammals may leap, soar, float, or hover, bats are the only mammal that an actually fly like a bird.

Also, bats are the only mammal in the animal kingdom known to consume blood for food. This species of bat is called the Vampire bat, but its scientific name is Desmodus rotundus. And contrary to popular stories and myths, they do not “drink” blood, but rather make a small bite and slurp the flowing blood from the wound. Cattle and livestock are popular targets for Vampire bats, but don’t worry, never humans!

Another primary characteristic that makes bats mammal is their reproductive and gestation process. Female bats generally produce a single pup, one to three times each year. They nurse their pup with milk until they are old enough to provide for themselves. This is very characteristic of most species of mammals.

Bat Problems

If you are a property owner that is experiencing bat problems in or around your home, contact a local bat control company for safe and non-lethal bat exclusion. They retain the proper permits, training, and resources to safely and humanely get rid of bats, clean up their mess, and prevent their return. Be sure to choose a licensed and experienced company, like Bat Removal Louisville!

Bat Removal Louisville

Louisville Bat Removal Kentucky

Louisville Bat Removal 502-553-7622

Call 502-553-7622 for prompt and professional bat removal services in Louisville, Kentucky and its surrounding counties. We are DNR licensed and insured with more than 30 years of experience! That means we can efficiently and effectively solve your bat problems, regardless of size and scope. We offer residential and commercial bat control services at the most competitive prices in town. Whether you need to get rid of bats in the attic, or require bat cleanup and restoration services, we are the professionals to trust for quality service at an affordable price. Call 502-553-7622 to request a free estimate for Louisville bat removal, today.