You Have Bats in the Attic if You Check Yes to Any of These Questions

Posted on March 28, 2022 by virginia

We have been checking yes or no our whole lives it seems, from grade school love letters and SAT questionnaires to county census forms, insurance applications, dating apps, and much more. Perhaps this is due to the fact that a yes-or-no survey platform is proven to work well when it comes to obtaining straightforward answers. When it comes to getting to the bottom of a possible bat infestation, the same type of approach can help you figure it out fast.

Continue reading to review a checklist of tell-tale signs of bats in the attic. If you check yes to even one, contact a licensed bat removal and control company in Virginia right away!

Bat Removal Richmond VA 804-729-9097 — Bat Guano on a Roof 804-729-9097

Checklist of Common Signs of Bats in the Attic

You will need to look for signs of a bat infestation in the attic from the inside, out. This means you will need to perform an outdoor inspection and an indoor one. Start outside, as most signs of intruding bats start there. Then make your way indoors to look for more common signs of bats in the attic or walls.

EXTERIOR CHECKLIST:

Oily Spots and Grease Stains ↔ Y▢ N▢

Do you see oily spots or dark, grease-like stains on your siding? This is a giveaway for intruding bats. Bat fur is a bit oily and dirty, and when they squeeze through openings in the roof or siding, it can leave behind a stain around the entry point, overtime.

Bat Guano Piles ↔ Y▢ N▢

Bats produce excrement just like all other living organisms. And like most animals being sought out or hunted, their droppings tend to be a dead giveaway of their presence. As for the outside of your home or business, start by looking around windowsills, door frames, and roof ledges. Bat guano usually piles up in these areas because it is where they like to perch during dawn and dusk hours.

Flying Bats ↔ Y▢ N▢

If you see flying bats outside of your property during sunset or just before sunrise, you can safely assume you have a nuisance bat threat. Whether or not you have bats in the attic would depend on if they targeted your place and gained entry. If you check yes to this after suspecting that you have bats in the attic, you likely do.

Dead Bats ↔ Y▢ N▢

Same with flying bats, if you find a dead bat on your property, you likely have a local bat population nearby, which increases the likelihood of having a bat infestation in your attic. Do not touch or tamper with a dead bat unless it poses a safety risk to people and pets. Let nature take its course or use a shoe box lid to move it to a safer location.

INTERIOR CHECKLIST:

Chirping Sounds ↔ Y▢ N▢

One of the first signs of having bats in the attic detected by homeowners is hearing chirping, squeaking, and fluttering from within their walls or ceiling spaces. Bats make noise like most animals, and you can hear their noises the most during sunset and sunrise hours.

Bat Guano in Attic ↔ Y▢ N▢

Just like outside, bat guano will accumulate inside if you have a presence of bats. Look inside your attic, if you feel safe doing so, and see if you can spot guano. If you do see bat guano, you can safely assume you have bats in there too. It is not recommended to check your attic if you suspect bats to be in there. Contact a licensed wildlife control professional for an attic inspection.

Stains on Walls and Ceilings ↔ Y▢ N▢

The stains that present themselves on the inside of your house are not caused by the same circumstances of the black or brown oily stains on your siding. Instead, bat urine and droppings will cause brownish, yellowish stains to appear on ceilings and walls. If you see these stains, you might have bats in the attic.

Ammonia Odors ↔ Y▢ N▢

Along with bat urine and droppings come odor. Lingering odors in the living quarters of the residence is a tell-tale sign of an animal infestation. For bats in the attic, their odors are generally described as having an ammonia aroma. Putrid and sour smells can also indicate a long-time bat infestation in the attic.

So, how many did you check yes to? Contact Virginia Bat Pros at 804-729-9097 for bat removal and control in Richmond, Virginia. We serve both residential and commercial clients in all surrounding counties and locations.

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Do I Have to Worry About Attic Bats in the Winter?

Posted on January 10, 2022 by virginia

Many homeowners believe that bats hibernate in the winter, and therefore, cannot pose any structural damage or infestation threats to their property. But this is not always accurate. Although bats do have a hibernation season around this time of year, and the need for bat removal service significantly declines through the winter, bats can still pose several types of hazards to your property.

This winter, learn what you need to do to protect your home or business from intruding bats in the attic. This is especially important for those who live near large bodies of water or forested areas. Bat populations tend to be much higher and more concentrated in prime habitat locations like these. If you do live in a location like this, you already know that wildlife can be a nuisance, which is probably why you are wondering about attic bats in the winter.

Continue reading to get started for some top tips for preventing and getting rid of the bats in the attic.

Bat Infestation Removal Richmond VA 804-729-9097

Common Bat Species in Virginia

Although there are nearly 20 bat species native to Virginia, the ones that are most likely to inhabit your attic space include the Big Brown bat, Little Brown bat, and the Evening bat. These are the most common types of nuisance bat species in Virginia, and they all can display different migrating patterns.

While the Big Brown bat prefers to hibernate close by, the small brown bat tends to migrate south towards warmer weather and more abundant food supply, but not all of them. Many Little Brown bats hibernate in Virginia, which is why they are often found roosting in attic spaces.

The Evening bat may migrate south for the winter, but usually they stay within the borders. Evening bats do not hibernate in caves, and instead look to rock crevices, hollowed trees, and of course, attics.

Bat Intrusions in the Wintertime

Because the top nuisance bats in Virginia do not typically migrate in large populations, they are often the culprits behind attic infestations. Bats look for warm, safe shelter to hibernate and reproduce their offspring in the winter. Factors like land over-development and habitat dispersal have impacted bat populations, forcing them into our urban and suburban communities. Attics, wall voids, crawl spaces, chimneys, barns, and sheds are common places chosen by Virginian bats.

Animal Proofing Prevents Bat Intrusions

So, although bats are likely to hibernate in the winter, that does not mean you are in the clear of a bat intrusion. In fact, you could be at an even higher risk. Animal proofing strategies are the best way to ensure your home is protected through the winter against wildlife infestations. Talk to a local Richmond bat removal company about sealing up your property to keep bats out. They can help you achieve this safely, humanely, and within a reasonable budget.

How to Check for Attic Bats

Unless you look for or spot the signs of a bat infestation in the house, it is not likely that you will catch it until spring. When bats emerge from hibernation, also known as torpor, they will begin to make a lot of noise, shuffling around, coming and going, raising their pups, and more. In fact, strange noises are one of the first signs of a bat infestation noticed by homeowners.

Here are additional signs that you have bats in the attic:

▷ Lingering Odors
▷ Wall/Ceiling Stains
▷ Guano Presence

Are you interested in learning how you can protect your home or business against nuisance bat damages? Perhaps you need to repair your attic after an infestation? Contact Virginia Bat Pros at 804-729-9097 for professional and affordable Richmond bat removal and attic restoration services for bat damages. We serve residential and commercial properties.

How to Make Non-Toxic Bat Repellent Spray

Posted on June 29, 2020 by virginia

In our previous blog, we discussed which products on the market are not recommended for controlling nuisance bats around your property. Although we gave you some advice on which spices you can use to ward off bats, it might help to learn a safe and effective recipe for a homemade, non-toxic solution that works effectively as a repellent against bats.

Continue reading to learn how to make this easy, humane, and non-toxic bat repellent spray using simple ingredients found around the house!

What You Will Need:

What To Gather Up as Supplies

You will need a clean, unused plastic spray bottle. You can purchase these for a few dollars at any local convenient store or department store. You can also find them at home improvement stores, dollar stores, craft stores, gardening stores, and online vendors. After you get yourself a plastic bottle, you might want to opt for some safety gear, such as rubber gloves or eye goggles. These will protect your skin, eyes, and mouth from anything irritating in the repellent.

As for ingredients, bats hate strong-scented spices, such as cinnamon, menthol, spearmint, peppermint, eucalyptus, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and garlic. Most of these items can be found in your pantry or spice cabinet. Otherwise, simply visit your local grocer and gather them up there.

How to Make and Apply Your Repellent

It is important to know that this repellent can irritate your skin, eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. This means it can also have the same effect on pets. So before using your solution, be sure you have a plan in place to protect your pets from the areas where the repellent has been applied.

To make your repellent spray, simple combine water with whichever ingredients you have chosen, and transfer the solution into your plastic bottle. Now just don your protective gear and get started with the application process. Here’s how:

Think about the areas where the bats are becoming a bother. Perhaps they are taking over your log pile, inhabiting a common tree on your property, or some other area that needs to be bat-free. This is where you want to apply the repellent.

When spraying the repellent, be sure to apply it 6 to 8 inches away from the surface to ensure even distribution. Continue spraying around the area, and then move onto a perimeter application.

Take a walk around the larger area that needs to be excluded of bats. Using the spray, create a boundary, and then remember where the boundary is with land markers. This will help you keep pets away from the area.

Permanent Bat Control Solutions

To truly get rid of nuisance bats, you may need more than just a repellent. Typically, environmental modification strategies must also be combined with a repellent to resolve your nuisance bat problem at its root. By abating bat activity on and around your property, you can further protect your outdoor pets from bat confrontations. Certain environmental changes coupled with professional bat exclusion services are the best strategies for abating bat activity. Contact a licensed Virginia bat removal and control company in your town for humanae bat exclusion advice and assistance.

Who to Call for Virginia Bat Control at an Affordable Price

Call Virginia Bat Pros at 804-729-9097 for safe and humane bat removal and control assistance in Old Dominion. We serve all of Virginia and its surrounding areas. We offer 24 hour bat removal, as well as, numerous residential and commercial bat exclusion services, such as bat cleanup and restorations for bat damages. We even provide insurance work! Contact us today for a free estimate.