How to Clean Up Bat Guano

Posted on August 30, 2019 by admin

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 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.

Common Crops That Benefit From Bats

Posted on August 12, 2019 by admin

This summer, farmers all across the state are thrilled with the results of their yields. But did you know that local bat populations might have something to do with the excellent quality of all the fruits and vegetables you love so much? Not only is it possible, it is very true! Continue reading to learn how bats are helpful partners for Kentucky farmers, including which crops tend to benefit the most from bat interference.

Louisville Bat Removal and Control 502-553-7622

Nature’s Pesticide

Bats are known to be threats, not just because of old movie and scary tales, but also because they can actually be a nuisance to residential and commercial properties since it is common for colonies to take shelter inside attics and similar hidden areas, and inflict a long list of structural damages and sanitation concerns.

However, aside from being a potential nuisance to property owners, bats provide a wide range of advantages, both ecologically and economically. They deliver such benefits to our local economy and surrounding ecosystem in a number of ways, but the top two are pest control and pollination.

Pest Control and Pollination

Bats are insectivores, and primarily eat flying bugs like mosquitoes, flies, gnats, moths, and more. A single bat can consume more than it’s own body weight in insects. In fact, in just one night, a single bat can eat more than 1,000 flying insects! Think about a colony of 100 bats darting and diving for insects each night. Now that is some excellent pest control!

This type of “nature’s pesticide” benefits local farmers because their growing crops are less affected by pest outbreaks and infestations. Bats are also excellent pollinators, which helps keep crops growing healthy and strong, season after season. Not only does this reduce the amount of money and labor put into pollinating crops each season, it also increases the results of seasonal bounties.

Best of all, this level of added pest control and pollination is free, so farmers are saving money! This actually rolls into how bats help the local economy too! Since farmers are saving money on raising better-quality crops, more crops are grown and sold at the market, keeping the local economies stimulated on both ends of the sales transaction.

Kentucky Crops Aided By Bats:

🌽 Corn
🍚 Rice
🌿 Tobacco
🌱 Soybeans
🌾 Wheat

Got Nuisance Bats Around?

If bats are a nuisance in or around your property, contact 502-553-7622 for safe and non-lethal bat removal and control in Louisville, Kentucky. We are DNR licensed and insured bat control contractors who use safe, non-lethal methods of extraction and exclusion. We serve both residential and commercial clients, and at the most competitive prices in town. Emergency 24 hour service is also available. Request a free estimate, today.

Instructions for Installing a Bat House

Posted on July 17, 2019 by admin

Bats can certainly be a nuisance problem if they find their way into our homes and buildings. However, bats also serve a highly important ecological purpose that benefits us, our society, other animals, and the entire surrounding ecosystem. Not only do they consume millions on flying insects (like mosquitoes and gnats) each night, which serves as excellent pest control for us and our crops, their guano helps with pollination, soil fertilization, and more. In turn, the benefits bats offer support our local farming and agriculture enterprises in our communities, and enhances the local economy. They also reduce the quantity of mosquito bites we get on a late summer evening.

If you want to do your part to support local bat populations in your area, you can choose to install a bat house on your property. Continue reading to learn the proper guidelines and recommendations for bat house safety, including instructions on how to install a bat house.

Louisville Bat Removal and Control 502-553-7622

Obtaining a Bat House

You can purchase blueprints online and build your own bat house, but only do so if you are a highly familiar with wood work and building. There are many complex and vital factors that must be taken into consideration when constructing a bat house, so it requires a higher level of skill and experience. If you are not a seasoned carpenter, it is recommended to simply purchase a pre-constructed bat house, online or at your local home and garden store. These are already constructed in adherence to all best practices and humane awareness in the industry.

Installing a Bat House

It is important to never install a bat house near your own house or a neighbor’s house. Furthermore, never mount bat houses directly onto trees. Bats, especially pups, are too vulnerable to predators and other dangers if roosting on the side of a tree. Also, the house does not get enough sunlight to keep it warm inside since it is blocked by the tree’s canopy, and tree limbs can get in the way of a bat’s entry and exit point. Instead, mount your bat houses on metal poles, wooden posts, pivot poles, or on a side of a building, like a shed or barn.

To install your bat house, simply follow the manufacturers instructions provided. If you are building your own bat house, follow these tips:

☑ Choose an area that faces either East or South, and receives 6 to 8 hours of sunlight.

☑ Keep the bat house at least 20 to 30 feet away from obstructing branches and tree limbs.

☑ Place the house in a spot near a natural body of water, like a stream, creek, or pond.

☑ Be sure the bat house is 10 to 20 feet off the ground or tallest plant.

Louisville Bat Removal and Control

Call 502-553-7622 for Louisville bat removal and control you can trust. We are DNR licensed and insured bat control contractors who use safe, non-lethal methods of extraction and exclusion. We serve both residential and commercial clients, and at the most competitive prices in town. Emergency 24 hour service is also available. Request a free estimate, today.

Kentucky Laws About Tampering With Wild Bats

Posted on June 18, 2019 by admin

Here in Kentucky, certain species of wild animals are protected under state law. This means that you can be penalized on several different levels if you are caught and convicted of such conduct. This is important information for those who are dealing with nuisance bat problems since it is possible to break the law without having any actual intention. Basically, what seems like an act of protecting your property may actually be against the law.

This scenario is made even more serious considering 3 of Kentucky’s native bat species are federally endangered, and thus, protected on a federal level. This means that a person can face felony charges for tampering with one of these species. If you have nuisance bat activity around your property, be sure to educate yourself on what you can and cannot do within the limits of the state and federal laws governing bats.

Continue reading to learn the Kentucky laws about bat tampering, as well as, how to get rid of bats safely and legally.

The Laws Surrounding Wild Bats

According to KY.Gov, the official website of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, all bats in the state are protected by law. What does this mean for you? It means that it is illegal to trap, domesticate, breed, harm, or kill a bat. Furthermore, there are no intoxicants, or repellents, that are legal for bat control applications. There are exceptions to this law, for instance, in the case that it is proven that bats are damaging a property.

Possible Penalties

If an individual is caught tampering or harming bats, they can face both criminal and civil penalties. This includes jail time, hefty fines, restitution, community service, banishment, loss of professional licenses, loss of gun privileges, and more. It depends on the severity and scope of the incident.

To Get Rid of Nuisance Bats

There are several ways to manage nuisance bat activity on and around your property without harming or jeopardizing the well-being of the local bat populations. In fact, there are several ways you can be bat friendly, while also protecting your home from bat damages. Talk to a DNR licensed and insured bat control company for help dealing with bat problems. They have the knowledge and resources to remove bats safely, bat-proof your home, and more.

Louisville Bat Removal and Control

Call 502-553-7622 for prompt and professional Louisville bat removal and control you can trust. We are DNR licensed and insured wildlife rescue and control professionals with more than two decades of experience working with bats. We offer residential and commercial abatement services, including minor attic restorations for bat damages. Request a free estimate, today.

Should I Be Threatened By the Presence of Bats?

Posted on May 28, 2019 by admin

Local bat populations serve a vital ecological importance, which in turn, provides us with several economic benefits as a society. However, when bats get too close, they can inadvertently become a nuisance. If you have notices an exponential presence of bat activity around your house or business, it is important to ensure your property is safeguarded against intrusion and safety hazards.

Continue reading to learn which types of risks nuisance bats pose to you and your property, as well as, how to get rid of them in accordance to local ordinances and best practices.

Louisville Bat Removal and Control Services — Bats should only be handled by licensed professionals.

Disease

The most important reason why you do not want bats too close to your property is the risk of disease. Not only are bats known carriers of the Rabies virus, which once contracted is 100% fatal, they can also possess and transmit several other types of diseases, health complications, and outbreaks. Such risks include Histoplasmosis, which is an upper respiratory disease contracted as a result of toxic spores that grow on bat guano. See our blog, “What is Histoplasmosis?” to learn more about this disease, including who it affects the most and how to prevention tips. Additional risks include lice, mites, ticks, fleas, and other parasites.

Structural Damage

Bats in the Kentucky regions are very small. So small in fact, most can squeeze themselves through an opening as little as 3/8ths of an inch, or .037 inches. To give you an idea of how small this is, consider a dime, which is around .053 inches thick. This means that the tiniest opening in window screens, siding, roof shingles, crumbling mortar, and more, can be an open door for bats to come inside and roost. Furthermore, bats are not solitary, so where there’s one, there’s typically handfuls more. Once inside, bats soil every surface with their droppings, which can result in stains, leaks, wood rot, and all types of costly structural damages.

How to Safely Get Rid of Bats

As mentioned before, bats are important ecologically, which is why they are also protected under law. It is illegal to trap, harm, or kill bats in Kentucky. For this reason, it is necessary to hire a licensed and insured wildlife abatement company that provides non-lethal bat removal services in your town. Coming across a dead, dying, or abandoned bat is also common if you have bats around your property, so you should know how to respond if it ever happens to you. See our blogs, “What to Do If You Find a Dead Bat” and “What To Do If You Find a Bat on the Ground” to be prepared.

Louisville Bat Removal and Control You Can Trust

Call 502-553-7622 to request a free estimate for Louisville bat removal and control, today. We offer a wide range of safe and humane bat removal and control services for both residential and commercial properties within Central Kentucky, at the most competitive prices in town. That means you can get affordable bat removal and control you can trust. It was over 30 years of experience under our belts, you can feel confident in our results.

The Basic Principles of Echolocation in Bats

Posted on May 14, 2019 by admin

By now, you are well-informed that bats are not blind. In fact, they see quite well. Their echolocating abilities are more than just a visual guide; they are a biological instrument that provides an advantage in many areas of Microchiroptera bat life. Here in this blog, you will learn the fundamental facts surrounding echolocation and bats, including which bats are not equipped with natural echolocating abilities.

What is Echolocation?

Dictionary.com defines echolocation as, “the general method of locating objects by determining the time for an echo to return and the direction from which it returns, as by radar or sonar.” But in terms of animals, like bats, they better define it as, “the sonar-like system used by (…) animals to detect and locate objects by emitting usually high-pitched sounds that reflect off the object and return to the animal’s ears or other sensory receptors.”

In plain language, echolocation is like sonar, in that you let out a sound wave, wait for the sound wave to come back to you, and then use that data to define an environmental guide for whatever application you need.

Bats are not the only animals who use echolocation; dolphins and whales are well-known echolocating species, as well as, some birds and species of shrew, and possibly even hedgehogs, are suspected of using the same type of biological gift. For these animals, the primary purposes of echolocation are coordination and direction, evading obstacles, hunting or obtaining food, and interacting socially.

How Does it Work?

Although it is not yet fully understood by the scientific community how echolocation in bats works, but we do have a basic theory. Scientists and researchers have ultimately determined that bats have built-in vocal chords that vibrate when they move air past them.

They emit these extremely high-pitched sounds from their mouths (or sometimes noses) as they fly, which in turn, travel through the air as a sound wave. These traveling sound waves have energy that bounces off anything it comes into contact with.

After emitting these extremely high-pitched sound waves, bats listen carefully for their return, and use the time data to configure their surroundings more precisely. They use this to dart and dive for flying insects, better navigate obstructions, and more.

Dealing With Nuisance Bats?

Although bats are an important part of our Eco-system, and even our economy, they can sometimes pose certain threats if their colonies get too close. If you suspect you have issues with bats, or a bat infestation in the attic or other area of your home, contact our DNR licensed and insured professionals at 553-502-7622 for safe and humane bat control service in Louisville, Kentucky and its surrounding counties. We have more than two decades of experience working with bats, and offer both residential and commercial bat removal and control services, including minor attic restorations for bat damages. Request a free estimate, today.

Do Bats Live Near My House?

Posted on April 22, 2019 by admin

Are you concerned about nuisance bats? If so, there are plenty of precautions you can take to protect your assets from animal damage, as well as your loved ones from exposure to infectious diseases and injuries. But first, assess whether or not bats are actually a threat in your area. Chances are, there are local bat populations that exist within your community; however, whether or not they will actually affect your home or property largely depends on your environmental surroundings.

Continue reading to learn how to spot bat activity in and around your property, and what you can do to protect your home and loved ones from nuisance bats.

Environmental Factors

As mentioned, whether or not bats are indeed a possible threat depends on certain factors, namely environmental ones. You see, here in Kentucky, bats are insectivores, which means they eat a diet of insects, mostly flying sorts like gnats, flies, moths, and of course, mosquitoes. They also eat termites, beetles, and several others types of insects, but the flying bugs will easily give away a bat’s location.

Why? Well these insects typically group together in large swarms, which are very visible during dusk. And where do these bugs like to fly? Around water, like streams, creeks, ponds, lakes, and rivers. So if your home is located near a body of water such as these, you can be sure there are bats living nearby that eat up all the swarming insects each night.

To see for yourself, go outside right before the sun sets, when the light is still bright, but receding. Then look above an area of water for a swarm of insects. Be patient, and wait for any signs of bats. If you see a bird-like animal swooping down and darting through the swarm of insects, you are witnessing a bat eating its dinner! They are actually the world’s greatest built-in pest control because a single bat can consume more than 1,000 mosquitoes in just one night! You can thank them for your comfortable backyards and picnic areas.

Want to learn other ways to spot bat activity in and around your house? See our blog, “Top 5 Indications That You Have a Bat Infestation” to develop a checklist that can be investigated for clues.

Safe and Humane Bat Control in Kentucky

Call 502-553-7622 for Louisville bat removal and control you can trust. We are DNR licensed and insured bat control contractors who use safe, non-lethal methods of wildlife extraction and exclusion. We serve both residential and commercial clients, and at the most competitive prices in town. Emergency 24 hour bat removal service is also available. Request a free estimate, today.

How to Solve Nuisance Bat Problems in Winter

Posted on January 29, 2019 by admin

Bats are extraordinary mammals. Not only do they serve a vital ecological role, they help support our local economies. Furthermore, there are several interesting and impressive facts about bats that will open your eyes to their amazing ways. For instance, did you know that bats are the only mammals on Earth that are capable of true flight? That means that bats are the only mammals that can actually fly like birds. There is much more to learn and love about bats, but there are also certain warnings you should be aware of, especially if you live near woods or a year-round body of water.

Bats can also be a nuisance animal to homes and buildings. Not only can they squeeze into tiny openings and cause structural damages to properties, they pose a long list of health and safety risks to both people and pets. Basically, bats are wonderful in nature, but you do not want them to become a nuisance problem around your house.

Continue reading to learn what you need to know about abating nuisance bats this winter.

Hibernation, Histoplasmosis, and More

Bats in the Kentucky regions hibernate for the winter. Their hibernation period generally begins around mid-October, but can sometimes be delayed until the temperatures begin to remain under 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Once in hibernacula, bats remain in a torpor-like state until spring emerges with warmer weather. So how does this affect you as a homeowner?

Bats look for warm, private, safe areas to hibernate for the winter, and our homes are a common target. Bats are small, and can fit through openings as little as 3/8^th of an inch, giving them access to attics, rafters, walls, roofs, garages, crawl spaces, basements, and more. Torn screens and vents, loose shingles, missing chimney caps, damaged weatherproofing, thin layers of insulation, crumbling mortar, and rotted siding are common entry points for bats. Once inside, they will soil everything with their droppings, which is not only unsanitary and structurally damaging, it also poses the risk of Histoplasmosis.

Histoplasmosis is a fungal disease caused by inhaling airborne spores that grow on bat guano. These spores can get into ventilation systems and travel through the interior living quarters of the home, putting everyone at risk of developing this serious respiratory disease. Furthermore, bats are known carriers of several infectious diseases, such as Rabies. They also carry and spread pests, such as lice, mites, ticks, and fleas.

What to Do About Nuisance Bats

To abate bats in the winter, you need to implement preventative maintenance before they go into hibernation. This includes having your home inspected and sealed by a professional Louisville bat control company. But if you already have a bat problem on your hands right now, it is not too late to deal with it effectively.

Call 502-553-7622 for prompt and professional Louisville bat removal and control you can trust. We are DNR licensed wildlife control contractors who provide residential and commercial bat removal services at competitive prices. Whether you have one bat or an entire colony, we are fully equipped to manage any job regardless of size or scope. Request a free estimate or advice, anytime.

Our Local Bat Control Experts Have Terrific Deals for Mid-Summer Bat-Proofing Service!

Posted on July 16, 2018 by admin

Although summer has already taken off for the season, it is not too late to bat-proof your home or commercial building. Trust our expert bat control specialists for the best prices in town!

Louisville Bat Control 502-553-7622

Here at Louisville Bat Removal.com, we are currently offering fantastic and unbeatable deals for bat control, removal, proofing, cleanup, and much more! As a DNR licensed and insured bat removal company, you can trust us for sincere customer support and high quality results.

Commercial and Residential Bat Control

Whether commercial or residential, we retain the latest technologies and resources to accurately identify, locate, and seal off entry and exit points used by nuisance bats. Bats can squeeze into a gap as tiny as 3/8ths of an inch, which means these openings can be very challenging to find without the proper training, experience, and equipment. As 20-year veterans in the industry, we have everything we need to efficiently tackle a nuisance bat problem from all angles, safely and humanely.

Safe and Humane Bat Abatement

We only use safe and non-lethal methods of bat abatement, and operate our business within established industry standards and best practices, as well as, in accordance with local, state, and federal laws that govern wildlife. So you can trust that bats are protected and safely transported to a faraway habitat where they can live out the remainder of their lives in peace. Once we extract bats from a property, we implement a concentrated series of tasks and services to prevent future bat intrusions, including environmental modifications, pest integration, property monitoring, and much more.

Cleanup and Restoration for Bat Damages

In addition to bat removal and control, we also offer comprehensive cleanup and restoration services for the damages they leave behind. We provide a wide range of residential and commercial bat cleanup and damage restoration services for all of Kentucky, including decontamination, sanitization, 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.

Louisville Bat Removal and Control You Can Trust

Louisville Bat Removal 502-553-7622

Call 502-553-7622 to request a free estimate for Louisville bat removal and control, today. We offer a wide range of bat removal and control services for both residential and commercial properties, at the most competitive prices in town. That means you can get affordable bat removal and control you can trust. It was over 30 years of experience under our belts, you can feel confident in our results.

These Household Spices Can Keep Bats Away!

Posted on August 14, 2017 by admin

If you have been experiencing some bat interference around your property, and you want a safe, non-toxic, and affordable means of keeping them away, look no further than your very own spice cabinet.

Louisville Bat Control 502-553-7622

Bats can be a serious nuisance for residential properties. They can cause structural damages to the interior and exterior of homes, as well as, pose several health risks to people and pets. For this reason, it is important to take action against a bat problem early on, before the situation gets out of control. There are various methods to keep bats away, including electronic sound machines and motion-sensor lighting; however, for minor bat presence around the property, your spice cabinet might be all that you need.

You see, there are several smells and spices that bats simply hate. If they detect these odors, they will stay far from them. Placing these mixtures around the outside of your home where you have spotted bats is an excellent method of safe and humane, DIY bat control. Continue reading to learn which spices to use and how to use them!

🌿 Mint

Because mint has such a strong odor, most animals will stay away from it at all costs. This includes bats. You can purchase mint extract, oil, or produce to use as a nontoxic repellant. Any type of mint works, including peppermint and spearmint. Place a few drops near the bat’s points of interest, and reapply every few days. You can also soak cotton balls in mint oil or extract, place them in a baggy with holes poked in it, and place it near the bat’s hang out.

🌿 Menthol and Eucalyptus

Just like mint, menthol is also delivers a pungent odor, making it a perfectly safe bat repellant. Use it the same way you would mint, too. Buy extract or oil and place a few drops near the areas where bat activity takes place. You can also soak cotton balls and then place them in a bowl, or in baggy that’s been pierced. If you cannot find menthol oil or extract, you can use a menthol-based vapor rub, crushed menthol cough drops, or fresh eucalyptus plant.

🌿 Mothballs

Just like the other items, mothballs are strong in smell. They are, however, toxic, and should be used with caution. Place them in a bowl and place it near bat entry points or in the attic. This can effectively repel bats, but is not recommended for homes with children, pets, and occupants with upper respiratory complications.

Louisville Bat Removal and Control

Louisville Bat Removal 502-553-7622

Call 502-553-7622 to request a free estimate for Louisville bat removal and control, today. Our highly-trained and DNR licensed wildlife contractors offer a wide range of bat removal and control services for both residential and commercial properties, at the most competitive prices in town. With over 30 years of experience under our belts, you can feel confident in our results.