Know More About The Bats You Are Dealing With
All too often people will run screaming from bats, I mean why not? Don’t Bats intentionally get stuck in our hair? Won’t Bats drink our blood? Bats will give me rabies, won’t they? No, actually those are just some old wives’ tales.
Contrary to popular belief, not all bats have rabies, and they don’t really want anything to do with us, especially the ones who think our attics are nice places to catch up on some sleep.
Unlike what most people think, they are not rodents or anything like mice or rats, and they aren’t as dirty as we are led to believe. They are meticulous when it comes to cleaning and grooming themselves. The smell that we all believe comes from them is actually the build-up of guano (droppings) and urine underneath their roosting site.
Bats do have tiny little teeth, which are capable of puncturing human skin, but usually will not bite unless provoked, or feel the need to defend themselves, or their young. It is NEVER a good idea to handle a bat, as previously stated, they will bite if they deem it necessary.
Rabies in Bats
If you find yourself in a position where you would have to handle them, make sure you are wearing thick leather gloves and use a net, towel, or plastic container. Even though rabies is not as common as you may think in bats, it is never a bad idea to use the necessary precautions while handling them. Rabies is a deadly disease.
Types of Bats
The most common bats you will find roosting up in your attic space would be the Little Brown Bat and the Large Brown Bat.
The Little Browns only weigh about 3/10 to 4/10 of an ounce, are about 3 to 3.5 inches in length while roosting, and their wingspan stretches from 8.5 to 10 inches. However, don’t let the “big” in the Big Brown Bats name fool you. While being larger than the Little Brown Bat, they will only weigh about half an ounce, with a wingspan of 11 to 13 inches, and a length of about 4.5 inches while roosting.
Do Bats Attack People?
Bats do not attack people, bats are attracted to insects, and insects are attracted to us. So, while it may look like they are swooping in on you, what they’re really after are those little mosquitos flying around that you don’t notice.
Sealing & Exclusion
It is very important to know that you should NEVER seal your home without first performing an exclusion. People panic when they find out they have bats in their attics, and will instantly seal off all entry points to their homes. When this happens all of those bats that were in there sleeping after their long night of flying and eating, are now stuck inside. These bats will either try to escape the home through your living spaces, or they will, sadly, die up there. How fun of a mess will that be to clean up a couple of weeks down the road? Probably not too fun at all in fact.
Can Bats be Exterminated?
It is illegal to kill bats, as they are protected in the State of New York, meaning bat exclusions are not normally possible from mid-May through early August, as the bats will have their young which are not yet able to fly. If we performed the exclusion at that time, the babies would be stuck without the adults and would die in there.
Get Professional Help With Bats
If you feel you have a bat issue, or even if you just want your attic checked for them speak to our experts. Give us a call at (518) 741-2219 in NY or (802) 736-7751 in VT to speak with a member of our staff for your free inspection today!
Read more on our Bat FAQ page
