San Bernardino's Best Bat Removal

What property modifications will keep down bat populations?

It's not at all uncommon to hear weird sounds inside your attic at night, and when you do, it's quite likely that it is bats making those sounds. Bats are some of the most common houseguests in the United States, but that doesn't make them any more desirable. In fact, bats can pose quite a serious threat to you and yours, largely through their feces. Bat guano is a dangerous source of disease. It can be accidentally ingested by your pets, or even inhaled by you or your family, with life-threatening results. So you need to take preventive measures to ensure you never find yourself in such a situation.

So what can you do, in terms of property modifications, to prevent bats from visiting?

First of all, you need to understand that no one measure is 100% fail-proof. Nor should you rely on these alone to keep you safe from winged intruders. In fact, we recommend doing regular checks to make sure there aren't any bats or other creatures living on your property. Sometimes, a colony of bats can live inside your attic for months, even years, before you discover them (usually from the pungent stench of accumulated guano). But taking steps to bat-proof your home is a smart move, as a homeowner, because prevention is always much easier than removal.

Look for cracks.

In the wall, in the roof, in the foundation, even. Be thorough in checking your property for cracks and holes in the wall because we often tend to overlook small cracks, dismissing them as too small to make a difference. While they may seem tiny to you, they're not tiny to a bat. In fact, they may just be large enough for them to squeeze through and make a home inside your attic.

Pay special attention to the attic and basement, since bats prefer areas of the house that are dark and less inhabited because that reduces their chance of discovery. The trouble here is that, since you spend less time in these areas of the home (or up on the roof, for that matter), you're less likely to spot a hole, gap, or crack.

Of course, once you do find one, you will want to seal it promptly, ideally with material that can't be chewed or clawed through, like chicken wire. While it's not in a bat's habit to chew through things, other outside critters won't be so considerate and will easily spot a badly sealed crack in your wall.

Check for loose boards, shingles, etc.

Another common entry point for bats is through a loose shingle or board. Again, keep in mind that these creatures don't need a lot of space to get in, so even a slightly loose board can provide ample room for the bat to enter.

For this reason, you'll have to run a fairly thorough and extensive check of your property, to make sure you don't miss anything.

Clean regularly.

Bats, like other wildlife intruders, prefer messy homes and rooms, because they improve their chances of existing there undiscovered. And since a lot of people tend to use attics as storage rooms, this makes them ideal for bats. So if you want to discourage bats and other critters from nesting in your home, it might be a good idea to run a thorough clean every once in a while and dispose of things you no longer need.

Use repellents.

While there is some heated debate as to the efficiency of bat repellents, you can still try some out if you are particularly worried about bats in your home. For one, predator urine (commercially sold, of course) can be quite effective in keeping bats away from your home. Other bat deterrents include sound machines, and strong smells, such as garlic.