Bats are one of the most common household pests that infest homes in Cornwall. Each summer countless Cornwall residents will discover a bat flying around their home. At times like this it’s nice to know that there are bat removal and control specialists available to help.
Cornwall’s proximity to the St. Lawrence Seaway means that there are plenty of marshes and wetlands in the area that are perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes – a staple of the bat diet. During summer, when bats are at their most active, they play an important role in helping to reduce mosquito populations.
Bat’s frequently make their home inside the walls and attic spaces of houses. Houses provide them with a secure place to have and raise babies as well as stable temperatures. Bats are not solitary creatures, they prefer they roost together with other bats. If you’ve had a bat inside your house, chances are it came from a colony living inside the walls.
A bat hanging from a window screen
Bats are common carriers of rabies and sharing your home with a colony of bats puts you and your family at greater risk for being bit.
When homeowners realize they have a bat problem one of the first things they want to know is how the bats are getting in. Bats are small mammals capable of entering a hole the size of dime. Training and experience is often needed to identify bat entry points on a house.
How do bats get into houses?
The first step in determining how bats are getting into your house is to perform a thorough inspection of the exterior of the home. During summer, bats exit their roosts at night on a regular basis to feed and return before dawn.
To enter a home bats usually land on the structure and then crawl into an opening or gap they find between building materials.
Through their activity they leave behind subtle clues, including droppings and staining from their fur. This is the evidence professional bat removal specialists use to identify bat entry points.
Common bat entry points include:
Gaps between the brick and the soffit
Soffits are used to connect the overhang of a sloped roof to the side of the house. In many cases soffits aren’t installed completely flush against the home’s brick exterior and a gap can exist that is over an inch wide – plenty of space for a bat.
This gap is often ignored by contractors and homeowners because it is protected from water by the roof overhang. Most people fail to consider that gap as a potential future entry point for wildlife.
Bats aren’t able to fly straight into the space between the brick and the soffit but bricks have enough texture that bats are able to land and cling on to them so that they can crawl into the gap.
Gaps between the roof and the soffit
Another gap that allows bats to get into houses occurs where soffits meet roofs. As with gaps between the soffit and the brick, these gaps are protected against water so they are frequently ignored by builders.
Bats simply land on the roof and then crawl into the open space. The soffits open up to the attic so once inside bats have complete access to the interior.
Roof and gable vents
Most attics have vent openings to allow for proper air flow. These vents are rarely designed to keep wildlife out and can allow bats to slip in while letting air escape.
This vent’s bug screen was damaged by birds allowing bats to enter the attic
Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control
Identifying how and where bats are entering your attic can be difficult. If you have had a bat into your home this summer you can bet there’s a colony living in the walls and attic.
Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Technicians having the training and experience needed to identify how bats are getting into the house. Once they’ve inspected the home from top to bottom they will design a customized removal and exclusion plan that’s guaranteed to keep you bat free.
Call us today – 877-222-9453! Proudly servicing Cornwall and surrounding area.
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