Is There A Bat Repellant?

Western Bat Specialists offers the safe removal of bats without chemicals and sprays

It is not uncommon for bats to be found hanging under covered decks and porches.  They may be resting temporarily, or they might like it there and stay much longer.  Some folks aren’t too concerned, but for others, particularly if the bat is near the front door, their droppings (guano) can become a nuisance.  Homeowners, tire of sweeping guano away (see “Will Bat Guano Make Me Sick)”, and don’t like the idea that their nocturnal friend could accidentally fly in the house with the opening and closing of the door.  Is there is some sort of bat repellant that would encourage their bats to quit hanging there?

There are many so-called solutions floating around, most with limited success.  We have heard of home owners using balloons, streamers, fake owls (bat’s natural predator) devices that emit noise, etc without proven success.  Although we don’t know of any sure-fire 100% successful bat repellant, there is something that can be tried that seems to have much better success than any other.

At a hardware or pet store, or on the Internet, look for “powdered cat and/or dog repellant”, usually in a small canister.   (The Internet may prove to be a much easier way to find the repellant). Do not get repellant in an aerosol form; it is not as successful.  After getting the powdered repellent, add water and make a strong “tea” out of it.  Put this repellent into a spray bottle.  When the bat or bats ARE NOT hanging in their spot (usually when they have left to hunt in the evening), spray this mixture around the area they hang.  They do not like the smell of this and that can be enough to encourage them to move on.  In addition, you will need to place a very bright spot light aimed up at he area the bats are hanging at.  Your porch light is not enough. Do this for about 3 to 4 nights in a row. Monitor for droppings (see “How Can I Tell If It Is a Mouse Dropping or Bat Guano?“), if they continue repeat the above steps.

We hope this method proves to be successful for you.  As always, we want to humanely and safely work with our bat friends.  If you are unsure whether your bats are just hanging out, or whether they are actually living in the structure of your home, call us at 1-888-555-BATS and we can make that determination.

If you have a lot of bats, you probably will need an expert in bat exclusion – and that is us! Give Western Bat Specialists a call – we are always happy to discuss bats with you!

Bat exclusions:  it’s all about timing!

Why is Western Bat Specialists particular about the timing of bat exclusions?  Why is Western Bat Specialists concerned about how bat exclusions are performed? Why do we get alarmed when we hear that someone has closed the openings in their house – sealing bats inside, or  performed a bat exclusion during bat maternity season?  Why do we only have certain months to do a bat exclusion, thereby at times making you, our customer, wait several weeks?

Bats, although they can make a big mess in your home or business, are extremely valuable.  We will all be in serious trouble if the numbers of the bat population become drastically reduced.  And the sad fact is, over half of all bat species across the nation are in trouble.  This is because of many things; the closing of mines and caves, (loss of habitat) the use of pesticides, white nose syndrome, destruction of maternity colonies and poor attempts on some people’s part to exclude or even kill bats.  And sometimes even well intentioned people bring harm to the bat species by causing too much disturbance.  This is especially true in the wintertime, when bats have barely enough fat reserve to survive through the cold weather.  One extra disturbance (wake-up in winter) can cause a loss of 60 days worth of fat reserves for the hibernating bat!  For this reason, we don’t do bat exclusions when they are hibernating.  (They are not going to queue up and fly out at that time anyway.)

Most bat species only have one baby a year, so when the bat population is endangered, it can take a long time for it to recover. We do not do bat exclusions during  bat maternity season, June through mid-August.

If you are experiencing bat problems during bat maternity season, please don’t hesitate to call Western Bat Specialists.  Other companies may agree to do bat exclusions during this time, but this is extremely harmful to bats.  We would love to help you by performing a bat exclusion during the proper time of year!

In Bracken Cave, a population of approximately 20 million Mexican Free-tailed Bats call it home sweet home.  (Mexican Free-tailed’s form the largest colonies of any bat species.) Every single night the bats of Bracken Cave consume tons of insects.  Many of these bugs are harmful to our crops.  Think of how much less pesticides can be used because of their help.  Bats have been “green” for eons, long before it became “in vogue” to do so.  They are actually one of the most environmental friendly creatures around.  Bats ingest harmful pests, and deposit them in the end (literally) as guano (bat feces), one of the best and most valued fertilizers on earth.  The bats of Bracken Cave are some of the most fortunate of bats, the cave is owned by Bat Conservation International (BCI) who restricts access and makes sure the cave and the land around it is protected.  Western Bat Specialists is a member of Bat Conservation International.

Although the Southwest States are favorite habitats of the Mexican Free-tailed Bat, we have them in the Northwest as well.  Thankfully we see them often in our exclusion work in Northern California.

Typically the bats we see in the many counties of Northern California; Placer County, Nevada County, El Dorado, Lake County, Butte County, and the Bay areas, are Mexican- Freetaileds, Big Browns, Little Browns, Pallids and less commonly, Townsend’s Big-Eareds.  We are very interested in the well-being of our bat colonies in California; therefore, Western Bat Specialists uses safe and humane methods for re-locating them from your homes, businesses and other structures.