Humane Bat Removal Services For Arkansas Homeowners

Dealing With Unwanted Bat Visitors in Your Arkansas Home

As an Arkansas homeowner, you may occasionally find yourself with some uninvited nighttime guests. Bats can find their way into attics, walls, and other crevices, especially during summer months. While bats play an important role in controlling insect populations, having them roosting in your home can create noise, odors, and health concerns from bat droppings accumulating. If you suspect you have bats, it's important to act quickly on bat removal, but make sure you use responsible methods that will prevent future problems.

Signs Of Bats In Your Home

Some of the most common signs of bat activity in a home include:

• Seeing bats flying around inside, especially at dusk when they emerge
• Noticing bat droppings accumulating in an attic or crawl space
• Hearing squeaking, scratching, or fluttering noises coming from walls or ceilings
• Detecting a bat-like odor in certain areas

Bats want to return to the same roosting spot over and over. So if you address the bat issue proactively and seal off potential entry points, you can usually prevent bats from re-entering once their current roost site inside has been properly evicted and cleaned up.

Health Risks Of Bat Infestations

While most bats don't directly attack or bite humans, having them living in your home does come with some health risks, including:

• Histoplasmosis infection from breathing airborne bat droppings
• Rabies if a bat trapped indoors bites or scratches someone while they sleep
• Parasites like bat bugs that can infest areas of the home

Children and elderly individuals may be more susceptible to health complications from bat infestations. Fortunately bats tend to avoid nesting in areas of the home with regular human activity. But attics, unused chimneys, wall voids, and attic soffits often provide attractive secluded spaces.

Bat Removal Tips

Attempting do-it-yourself bat removal can be difficult and puts you at higher risk of exposure to diseases or bat bites. It's recommended you hire a professional Arkansas bat control company. However, some basic tips include:

• Identify how bats are getting in, usually through small gaps in roof vents, openings where wires enter, cracks in siding or loose chimney caps
• Seal off all possible entryways once roosting bats have exited at dusk on an evening
• Use one-way exclusion devices that let bats out but prevent re-entry into your home
• Have protective gear like gloves, masks and coveralls when cleaning out bat guano droppings once roosting area is confirmed bat-free
• Install predator decoys like fake owls above common bat entry points

Professional Bat Exclusions

Reputable Arkansas bat removal specialists have the right tools and training to:

• Perform thorough inspections at properties to identify all current bat entry points
• Determine bat species roosting and estimated colony size from guano droppings
• Safely remove any colony members trapped within the living space of a home
• Strategically install one-way exclusion check valves or flap barriers at common bat entry areas
• Apply preventative mesh guards, caulking, foam, or roof cap installation at vulnerable spots bats use
• Thoroughly sanitize and decontaminate areas with heavy bat guano accumulation

With an experienced bat removal professional, you can humanely rid your home of bats and prevent whole colonies from returning season after season.

What Are Bats' Roles In The Environment?

While having bats roosting inside any home is problematic, bats do play vital ecological roles outdoors in managing insects and plant pollination:

• A single bat consumes around 1,000 mosquito-sized insects per hour on foraging rounds
• Certain fruit bats pollinate over 500 plant species like mangoes, bananas, and agave
• Bat droppings in caves enrich soils promoting specialized ecosystems
• Scavenger bats worldwide help decompose decaying organic matter

Losing too many bats reduces natural pest control allowing insects like mosquitos to thrive. Australia's efforts to deter bats have caused environmental imbalances allowing beetles to destroy crops.

Common Arkansas Bat Species

Popular bat species making homes in Arkansas buildings include:

• Big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus)
• Evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis)
• Eastern red bats (Lasiurus borealis)
• Brazilian free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis)

Being able to identify signs of specific bat breeds can help removal experts determine the best exclusionary tactics. Big brown bats for example require very small entry access points.

Humane Bat Deterrents

For homes near bat roosting territories, consider installing humane bat prevention upgrades like:

• Steel mesh barriers on roof vents
• 1/4-inch gap bird guard spikes along roof edges
• 1/2-inch stainless steel chimney caps
• Foam sealant blocking gaps around soffits
• Ultrasonic high frequency bat repellers

Responsible measures will encourage bats to find alternative roost locations away from homes. Extermination using toxic chemicals harms entire bat colonies when only humane exclusion is needed in most cases.

Finding A Qualified Bat Removal Specialist

Questions To Ask

Connect with a licensed and insured bat removal professional in your Arkansas location. Important questions for them include:

• Do you practice humane bat removal and exclusion only?
• Are you certified in proper guano cleaning protocols?
• What long-term bat deterrent products and services do you offer?
• How soon can you schedule an inspection?
• What other wild animal issues do you have experience resolving?

Select an Arkansas bat removal company with training in inspection strategies, exclusion techniques, and prevention measures to stop bats from repeatedly coming back.

Costs Of Bat Removal

Expect to spend an average of $650 to $1,200 for full professional bat exclusion, though prices range higher the larger your infestation size. Ongoing annual bat prevention maintenance plans average $200 to $500. Sanitization and guano cleanouts cost extra too from $300 to $1,000.

While DIY options seem cheaper upfront, improper removal risks safety hazards and访问 future persistent colonies unless the right long-term deterrents get implemented.

Prevention Tips

Simple DIY inspection steps to find potential entry points bats could exploit include:

• Check all exterior vents for wider than 1/4-inch gaps
• Inspect chimneys for loose or absent caps
• Seal any fascia board cracks with caulking
• Install steel wire mesh over large soffit vents
• Trim back nearby trees touching the roofline

Taking proactive measures makes it far less likely bats will view your Arkansas home as an inviting summer roost location.

FAQs

What types of entry points do bats exploit to get into homes?

Small gaps or crevices at least 1/4-inch wide, especially around roof vents, soffits, loose chimney caps, and where wires or pipes enter are the most common. Cracks in brick or wood siding also sometimes provide access.

What health risks occur if bat guano droppings accumulate?

Airborne guano particles can lead to histoplasmosis infections in lungs. Droppings also attract other pests like insects, parasites and bats bugs leading to further contamination.

Will bats attack or bite people while roosting in a home?

Not usually, but bats trapped unwittingly in an occupied bedroom could bite out of self defense. Also any bats carrying rabies pose dangers from infected saliva entering bite wounds or eyes.

How much does professional bat removal typically cost?

Full inspection, humane eviction, entry point sealing, and guano clean up averages $650 - $1,200. Ongoing deterrent upgrades and annual maintenance average an extra $200 - $500 per year.

What DIY steps effectively keep bats away?

Sealing all gaps and holes wider than 1/4 inch, installing steel mesh barriers, trimming nearby trees, and using fake predator decoys or ultrasonic repellers can work if done properly.