Bats are incredible animals and a vital part of the local ecosystem. They only become a problem when using an attic or other section of a building as a roosting or nursery colony. Most people don’t tolerate that idea well, as bats’ proximity to humans can be dangerous for both parties. As a result, it becomes necessary to contact professional bat removal in Whitby services and repair the structure to prevent these critters from entering in the future.
What Are the Signs You Need Bat Removal Whitby Services?
Once bats find an entry into your residence, they use two locations as their living space: the attic and the walls. Most people believe they don’t have to worry about an infestation if they don’t see a bat in the attic, but this is, unfortunately, not true.
Since bats are nocturnal and, for the most part, quiet animals, they often use attics for years before the odour from the build-up of droppings alerts you to their presence. Bat droppings, called guano, have a distinct ammonia-musk scent that a bat control Whitby professional will immediately recognize, though homeowners may not.
While you may smell guano, you probably won’t see it unless you look. Since bats stay in the walls, their feces accumulate on rooftops, in crawl spaces and along floorboards.
In addition to foul odours, the following are signs of a bat infestation:
- Squeaking in the walls and ductwork
- Stained holes leading to the attic
- Scratching in the early morning and late evening
Why Do Bats Go Into Houses?
Like all wildlife, bats look for a place that offers the following:
- Protection from predators
- Access to food and water
- Shelter from the elements and low temperatures
Unfortunately, your home satisfies these requirements.
While all bats look for safe places to sleep, the drive to do so is stronger in pregnant mothers. Bats are incredibly persistent and may hang around your home, looking for a way inside, long after other animals have moved on. It’s understandable for expectant mothers, as finding a suitable nest means life or death for their pups. If a pregnant bat is desperate enough, she’ll find a way into your attic to create a warm, secure place to give birth.
Baby bats are born in the early summer; they’re typically tiny, with little fur. Their mobility increases around late summer and these curious creatures like to explore when their mothers go out to feed. However, unsupervised pups are at risk of getting lost due to their lack of experience. As a result, they sometimes fall into gaps inside the walls or fail to find their way back to the nest.
What Bat Facts Should Every Homeowner Know?
Two bat species can infest your residence: little brown bats and big brown bats. Little brown bats migrate between rural structures, where they spend the spring and summer, and caves, where they hibernate for the winter. Unfortunately, little brown bats have nearly gone extinct as white-nose syndrome has killed millions across North America.
The white-nose syndrome results from a fungal growth that attaches to hibernating bats in caves and abandoned mines. The infection forces them out of hibernation, causing them to expend winter fat reserves prematurely, resulting in their deaths.
If you live in a built-up area such as a city or subdivision, you’re highly unlikely to have an infestation of little brown bats. Instead, you’ll probably deal with big brown bats, which are hearty enough to live inside buildings and homes year-round. Since they don’t migrate to caves and mines for winter, they haven’t come into contact with the deadly fungus. Big brown bats, which account for the majority of the infestations, prefer to nest in the walls rather than the attic due to the sustained temperature.
While bats can be a big problem indoors, they’re vital to local ecosystems. Since their diet consists of bugs, they keep insect populations under control, which is good news if you like to sit on the porch during the summer. Their presence can also benefit your garden as they consume ants, beetles and other bugs that might harm your plants.
The little brown bat and big brown bat don’t feed on fruit or nectar, but plenty of species do. These critters are essential pollinators; some plants, such as the agave, wouldn’t survive without them. Fruit-eating bats also spread seeds through their guano, as the hard shells allow the seeds to survive their digestive systems.
How Do Bats Get in a House?
People seldom notice small gaps on higher buildings, but a 1/2-inch crack in a mortar joint 30 or 40 feet off the ground becomes a superhighway for bats. These critters only need a tiny opening to access an attic, so any small gap between building materials could be an entry. Regardless of the age or condition of the home, the potential for bat entry exists.
On very rare occasions, bats may mistakenly fly through open windows when hunting insects. These are often isolated incidents and don’t necessarily mean there’s a roost near the property. However, it suggests a colony within the local area, which means your home is susceptible to future infestations.
Of course, if you repeatedly have bats in your home, it’s probably not an accident. Most likely, there’s a nest in your house’s internal structures, and the bats end up in your living spaces on their way in or out.
It’s important to remember that bats who make their way into your bedroom or living room don’t want to be there. There’s no food for them to eat, and it’s not nearly dark or cozy enough for them to roost. Instead, they’re simply lost, as their way of navigating is very different from humans.
As an attic cools down at night during the summer, cool outside air gets drawn in through cracks, and the bats follow these air currents to familiar exit holes. Air conditioning can lead bats astray, making it more common to see bats accidentally entering living spaces during the summer. The cool air from your home can escape into the attic through cracks and holes, and the bats follow the currents on instinct.
Running the AC can also affect bats’ comfort, leading them to seek new spaces to roost. Bats are very sensitive to temperature variations, and the repeated rise and fall of your home’s thermometer can drive them up and down the walls as they try to find a suitable climate. When this happens, bats sometimes get lost and end up in your living space. As a result, bat control specialists always see a spike in bat calls whenever the temperature rises quickly over a short period of time.
When bats get really lost, they can end up in the basement, especially in unfinished sections. Because all the pipes go up and down through the walls of your house, there are gaps between the floors, which bats use to travel. When they follow them continuously down, these critters naturally end up in the basement.
Your ductwork is another fast-travel method for bats. Since they reach every room, they allow bats to access your entire house. Due to their convenience, bats may build their nests inside ductwork, which can be especially dangerous since it can spread guano particles all over your home.
Why is knowing this important? Understanding basic bat behaviour helps people realize what causes these critters to enter their living quarters. Seeing a bat suddenly swoop down at you can be surprising and even frightening, but the old saying is true: It’s more afraid of you than you are of it. Instead of searching “how to get rid of bats” yourself or getting out a broom and trying to shoo them out the door, it’s crucial to contact wildlife removal professionals for a thorough inspection.
Why Call Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control for Bat Removal Whitby Services?
You should never try to catch a flying bat, as you may inadvertently injure it, making it difficult for the animal to survive in the wild. There’s also the risk of getting bitten, as frightened wildlife often bites out of survival instinct.
Sometimes, young bats will become exhausted before finding their way outside. They may try to land on curtains or crash into furniture or the floor. While you may feel concerned for the bat’s safety, you shouldn’t approach it or let family members or pets get near. Bats can carry harmful viruses and bacteria that can transfer to other mammals through touch, making them health hazards.
Bat removal experts have the knowledge and equipment to remove wildlife safely. Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control does so in a way that doesn’t harm the bats, allowing them to find more appropriate places to nest and continue benefiting their local habitat.
Of course, removing the living bats is only part of the wildlife control process. Accumulations of guano can cause health, odour and insect problems, necessitating speedy and safe removal. Wildlife control experts can also clean up nests and the remains of any bats that died inside your walls.
Once every trace is gone, wildlife control experts will examine your house for potential entry points. Since they’re familiar with bats’ favourite ways to sneak indoors, they can spot holes you might have overlooked. They’ll then secure these gaps to keep animals out, ensuring you don’t have to make a pest control call next year.
Do you suspect you have bats in your attic? If so, it’s time to contact Whitby bat removal professionals. Protect your home from bat invasions by calling Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control today or visiting the website.
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