Salem and Portland Bat Treatment
How to Identify A Bat Infestation
Bats are nocturnal creatures, which means that they are awake when we are asleep. So, it may be initially hard to realize that you have a bat problem. However, finding bat droppings or even seeing a single bat can indicate the presence of a colony of bats in your home.
You can recognize bats by their appearance and behavior. In terms of appearance, bats are extremely distinctive looking. They can vary in size depending on species, but tend to average about 5 to 20 cm. in length (head to tail) with a wingspread of approximately 15 to 40 cm depending on is the age of the bat. Bats’ bodies are covered with hair varying in color from a light beige to black. Their leathery wings stretch across skinny arms and finger bones. In Waldorf will you most likely see big brown bats in your homes and yards.
Bat’s behavior also helps a rodent control professional be able to find and remove them. A bat roosting will always hang upside down. Most bats are insectivores, feeding on insects at night, which means that they will typically be roosting during the day. Bats typically prefer roosting in our attics here in Waldorf.
Because insects are their main food source, bats will often frequent lighted places outside where insects fly in warm weather. Bats can actually help with mosquito problems, as that insect is a favorite for most bat species, but you still do not want them living in your house. Some bats prefer fruit, but those species of bats are not abundant in Waldorf or the United States—think Australian vampire bats.
Why You Might Have Bats
Bats tend to enter homes for safety and warmth. The bat species in the United States are the winter hibernating type, but that just means that they will be looking very hard for a warm space to hibernate for the winter. Thus, you are more likely to find bat problems occurring in the colder weather when it is harder for them to find a warm, safe place to live and breed. On the other hand, many accidental bat entrances happen in the summer months when bats are active and flying around in different areas of your home.
Bats are typically drawn to homes with awnings, accessible chimneys, dark attics, or other areas of the home in which to hide. If you live near a water source, have a pool, or have a lot of trees or bushes on your property, then you may find bats taking up residence as well.
Reasons To Treat Your Bat Problem Immediately
While bats are helpful in reducing the insect population by feeding on them, there are health risks that come with having bats in your home. Bats are sometimes carriers of fleas and ticks. Plus, they can be infected with the rabies virus without showing any symptoms, which means they can spread the disease to humans like you.
Another problem with bats is the damage to your home’s structure that they can cause. Once inside your attic or chimney, bats will relieve themselves, and the resulting bat droppings and urine are a health risk for you and your family. A large bat population means lots of droppings. These can eat away at the structure of your house, weakening it or feed fungus that then releases dangerous fungal spores.
Should you find bats in your house, we at Barefoot Pest Control provides the best Waldorf professional bat control services. Call us today to start the bat control and removal process. We provide free bat inspections and estimates, and will not rest until we get these creatures of the night out of your home and back outside where they belong.
