Bat Removal in Minnesota

Our Best Bat Removal Tips

Locating all entry points and potential entry points is the key to getting rid of bats. After entry points are located, one way traps are installed and potential entry points are sealed. Proper bat removal techniques are important.

Bats Are Beneficial

Bats area considered highly beneficial creatures and like bees it’s hard to imagine life in Minnesota without them. They are the only mammal capable of flight.

These magnificent creatures use echo location to locate insects and navigate through the night air. Bats have great vision and see especially well at night. Minnesota bats feed exclusively on insects including mosquitoes, beetles, and moths.

Bats Can Be Dangerous

There are 7 different species of bats found here in Minnesota. While bats are highly beneficial, in some situations bats pose a significant threat to human health. Histoplasmosis is a disease that grows in bat guano or droppings.

The greatest health risk associated with bats is rabies. Humans become infected by rabies when bitten by an infected bat. Also there are many parasites associated with bats including fleas, lice, mites and bat bugs.

Bats are protected by law and you should never attempt to fix a bat infestation by killing the bats, it will never work and it is illegal. The only way to remove bats and guarantee they cannot return is by sealing all entrance points on the home and installing one way traps so the bats can leave the home and cannot return.

Bat Emergencies

Bats are nocturnal and fly outdoors at night posing little risk to people. Bats flying indoors or during daylight hours, flopping on the ground or landing on or near a person should be avoided this behavior is considered unusual and could be a sick or infected bat. Not all infected bats display unusual behavior so all contact with bats should be avoided.

Any bat suspected of having contact with a person should be captured and submitted for testing. When trapping a bat use thick leather gloves, a net such as a butterfly net, or a box or container you can use to scoop the bat in and cover the container. If a bat bite or physical contact occurs, wash the area with soap and water immediately. Bat bites and scratches are very small and often go unnoticed. Once rabies symptoms appear usually within one to three months it is almost always fatal.

Inspection

We receive calls concerning bats 12 months a year, most calls involve complaints of a loud often seemingly large creature running through or climbing up walls, ceilings, floor voids, chimneys, soffits, and attic spaces. Some calls involve a bat flying through peoples living quarters. These areas can be inspected if possible to look for evidence of bats or resting bats.

If a bat is found inside of the home it almost always means bats have infested your home. On the outside of the home check for small openings around soffits and fascia, chimneys, roof vents, gable vents, dormer areas, around doors and windows, any place two different types of building materials meet, such as brick and metal soffit, and the corners of the building often allow for small openings bats can use to gain entry.

Areas used for bat entry will often times have guano present around the opening, other times there are smear marks left from bats entering and exiting repeatedly.

Removal/Control

Complete Ground Controls approach to bat infestations is what we call bat exclusion or bat proofing. This involves sealing all exterior openings that could cause future infestations. Leaving main bat entrance exit points open and installing a one way trap on these areas.

This allows bats to exit the home at night as usual preventing re entry. Be wary of quotes made over the phone or in advertisements every infestation is unique and specific to the home and the size of the infestation.

We recommend you hire a licensed pest control company and a guarantee should always be included on the work performed. Bat proofing requires great attention to detail and experience matters.

I want to stress the importance of proper safe bat removal and the value of these creatures to our eco system.

Bat removal work is not easy I have seen dozens of failed promises from bat removal companies and failure isn’t pretty, dead bats, rabies shots, and terrible odors can occur when bats are trapped inside.