Bat Mating Season: What to do and when!

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bat infestation in roof tiles

Removing Bat Infestations After August 15th

If you think bats are living in your office building or home, now is the time to check your attic, eaves, chimney, and roof tiles. You will soon be able to take action to remove and exclude them.

Bat mating season starts April 15 and extends through August 15, and during this time, it’s illegal to block or remove bats from their roost.

Florida is home to roughly 13 different bat species, including listed species such as the Florida free-tailed bat.

Some times bat species will roost in artificial structures, not excluding offices and houses. Even though it has become illegal to kill bats in Florida, legislation has been developed, stating that legal bat exclusion has to occur outside of the maternity season.

Bats can be beneficial to humans and have become an essential part of the ecosystem. Floridas native bat species help keep insects under control, with the average bat consuming hundreds of insects every night and benefiting people by keeping mosquito and other insect populations under control for anyone enjoying the outdoors. The value of insect control by bats to U.S. agriculture has been estimated to be in the billions of dollars annually.

There are multiple ways Florida residents can help native bats:

  • Preserve natural roost sites, including trees with cavities and peeling bark.
  • Put up a bat house.
  • Implement proper exclusion techniques to prevent bats from roosting in your home or business

The Dangers of Bat Guano

Bats may carry dangerous diseases such as rabies. Even infected bats may not become aggressive, like most other wild animals. Even if they may bite to defend themselves if handled. It’s inadvisable to touch or go near any wild animals, especially one that is behaving abnormally.

bat guano

For more information about rabies, you can visit the Florida Department of Health website at FloridaHealth.gov.

Bat guano and the excrement of rodents can look very similar. One way to tell the difference between the two is when they are crushed. Bat droppings tend to break down into dust, whereas rodent droppings will not do the same unless it has been sitting for quite some time. Rodent droppings can be equally dangerous, and proper care should always be taken when cleaning up the feces of any pests or wildlife.

How to be Positive the Bat Infestation is Gone

Most property owners tend to feel that the danger is gone when the bat infestation has completely been eliminated. Unfortunately, bat guano remains dangerous, mainly if it is in a home or any other space where people may touch contaminated surfaces. When bat guano is disturbed, it releases fungal spores that may infect you with a potentially deadly disease. If bats are a problem around your property, remember that a few things must be done for a bat removal job to be successful:

  • You must ensure that the bats have left the building
  • Exclusion work must take place so that they cannot re-enter the structure
  • A proper clean-up of the bat feces and urine must take place by a wildlife removal expert

Bats love to roost in the roof tiles of homes and other structures. They enter through gaps in the roof tiles, and broken tiles, or the bird stops toward the end of your roof that may have rotted or shrunk over time, creating entry points for bat infestation. We always professionally seal these gaps to prevent the bats from entering through other openings before we vent them out of the roof structure using nets or bat cones.

There is a Right Way to perform Bat Removal and Bat Exclusions Services

bat infestation in roof structures

Many wildlife companies just vent bats out but don’t seal the rest of the house’s roof. When this happens, the bats will return home and simply enter through another opening and any remaining gaps in your roof tiles, spreading the infestation. A bat operator’s job is to eliminate all potential new entry points in the roof before forcing them out. Over several good weather nights, the entire colony will have left the house looking for food and will not be able to find their way back in. You will see them clinging to the exterior of the structure or living in nearby palm trees until they find the next unsealed roof to call their home.

The guano’s smell can attract other bats that will try to infest your structure in the future. Depending on the colony’s severity, which can be determined by age and size of the infestation, your roof may end up needing to be pressure washed and chemically treated before exclusion.

Schedule your Bat Removal and Exclusion As Soon as You’re Able

Second to none in the industry, Wildlife Removal Services warranties our bat exclusion services for up to 5 years. So don’t go wasting your time with a bat removal company that is unwilling to guarantee their work.

bat removal and exclusion

Give us a call a 561-212-9255 and have your bat problems become a thing of the past.