Here at Western Bat Specialists we care about bats! We do not use products that can harm bats!
Bats love to gain access to corrugated metal, walls, siding, tile roofs and many other materials! They will travel far up into the roofing system, walls and insulated cavities and roost. In our industry you find many times people will use spray foam to plug up the corrugated metal or other openings to keep Bats from getting in. This leads to death of many bats!
Most everyone has heard of the “Birds and the Bees”. And rightly so, as they are extremely important pollinators that life itself depends on. But were you aware that another pollinator fits right up there in importance with them? Yes, bats!
The scientific term is “Chiropterophilly”. Bat pollination. Bats pollinate many, many fruits (as well as flowers) including mangos, wild bananas, cocoa, dates, cashews, guavas, agave (used for tequila) and a less familiar fruit to the western hemisphere, the durian. The durian is grown in Indonesia, and is an extremely critical export for the peoples there. It brings in hundreds of millions of dollars in exports. Now that it is understood that the huge “Flying Foxes” as well as the Cave Nectar Bat are vital pollinators, it is hoped that more of an effort will be made to conserve these bats; which are sometimes killed for meat and considered a pest by farmers.
Other important pollinators in the bat world include the Mexican Long-tongued, the Lesser Long-nosed, and the mouse-sized Anoura Fistulata. The latter is found in Ecuador, and although it is mouse-sized, it has a tongue that is about 3.4” long. This tongue is very useful for reaching down deep-throated flowers, getting the nectar out and pollinating them. It cannot store such a long tongue entirely in its mouth, so it rolls its tongue into its body, under the rib cage.
Not only are bats great and essential pollinators, they also spread seeds. Rainforest ecosystems rely on bats to regenerate – critical when we are losing rain forests at such a rapid rate!
We marvel at the beautiful symbiotic dance of life that bats have with plants. Plants need bats as much as bats need them. 2 very important amino acids needed by bats are manufactured by plants in their nectar… substances that are useless to the plant, but helpful to the bats.
As bats migrate, they pollinate many species of plants along the way. Plants amazingly open their flowers – in sequence – one after another after another, along a bat-travelled corridor of a migratory route. Imagine yourself taking a long road trip through the night on a lonesome highway; and as you approach towns the lights turn on and their restaurants open up right before you get there, in anticipation of your arrival. How totally magnificent that would be!
While bees take the day shift in pollinating, bats take the night shift. The “graveyard” shift. Thus pollination goes on 24 hours a day. Bats also tend to like flowers that are opposite of ones that bees like and so flowers bloom, trees put forth fruit and the world is pollinated.
These are some of the reasons that bats are protected in many areas, as an awareness of their importance is steadily growing. The Lesser Long-nosed bat was listed as endangered in 1988 and there were fewer than 1,000 left. In 2018 they were removed from the endangered list with an estimated 200,000 of them in the Southwest United States and Mexico. We can make a difference with our efforts to protect and care for our bats!
Written by L. Acosta
We get t-shirts made from Uberprints.com and they have 
changed the way t-shirts are done. They make it “uber” easy to get our custom shirts prints.
Not only did they get us our beautiful shirts but they were so kind to write a blog post about us! Our Project planner and CFO Rebekah Wright and our Website Director Chelsea was able to provide Uberprints with Additional information on what we do as a company.
Here is a preview – Click below for the full blog, bat facts and some myths.
“For most, a bat encounter would be what Halloween nightmares are made of. For Western Bat Specialist in Northern California, saving these misrepresented (misunderstood?) animals is all in a day’s work.”
Click here to read the full Article and to learn more about what we do:
https://blog.uberprints.com/2017/11/06/customer-cotton-bat-shirt-crazy/
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, Sonar, mothballs, fake owls (bat’s natural predator) devices that emit noise, the list goes on 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 1-888-550-2287 (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!
Netting: We can install Stealth netting. This has proven successful in many areas and this is installed in an aesthetically pleasing manner. Contact us today and we can sending you pictures and give you information on our netting and if this is the right option for you!
# Netting Information: It’s aesthetically appealing: Stealth-Net is black and the netting is composed of very thin, ultra-strong strands of polyethylene twine. It’s a long-lasting, 100% solution. Stealth-Net is manufactured using the most advanced technology in the world, and has been developed to withstand a wide range of environmental conditions. Polyethylene is the most ultraviolet (UV)-resistant netting material available, and Stealth-Net has extra UV stabilizers added in its raw materials. It’s humane: Stealth-Net provides a harmless and impenetrable barrier against bats. Stealth-Net can completely exclude bats from structures by sealing off openings like archways and other unenclosed areas, using stand-off brackets and weighted cable.
Exclusion is conducted by positioning one-way devices at key locations to allow bats to exit the structure. The one-way devices allow the bats to exit, but prevents them from re-entering. We can also use stealth-netting, (netting must be applied by professionals) so as to allow bats to exit and not reenter. We seal and bat proof in an aesthetically pleasing way. We have thousands of satisfied customers. (Check out our testimonials)
We perform Bat Exclusions in a safe and humane manner. Bats are not rodents and they are a natural pesticide. Many bats are protected and we never want to hurt or kill bats! However, we do not want bats in our homes, warehouses, buildings or structures causing damage.
We have successfully performed thousands of bat exclusions and we give a guarantee with our work!
Please note: Physically capturing bats and relocating them is almost never 
successful because bats are often hiding in areas of the building that are not accessible. If bats become scared they can travel back into the structure and become trapped. Even if bats are in an area that is open, attempts to capture them will likely cause them to flee into inaccessible areas of the structure. Trapping bats as they exit a building does not work either because bats are frequently injured or die in the process of being captured and transported to a new location. Although this may appear to solve the problem temporarily, bats will almost always instinctively return to their old roosting location, even if it requires flying hundreds of miles.
Maternity Season: Most bat species only have one baby a year. We cannot perform bat 
exclusions during 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; this is wrong and illegal in most states and extremely harmful to bats which can make a bad situation worse. Bats that can’t get back in, would be forced to leave their pups (babies). The pup without his or her mother would die (they are unable to fly and they would become trapped) leading to dead bats in your building. We would love to help you by performing a bat exclusion during the proper time of year! If you contact us we can get you on the calendar as soon as maternity season has lifted.
Bat Hibernation: We do not provide Bat Exclusions in the winter months while bats are hibernating. 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 (waking up in winter) can cause a loss of 60 days’ worth of fat reserves for the hibernating bat! For this reason, we will not do exclusions when they are hibernating. (They are not going to queue up and fly out during this time anyway.)
This can run from November 1st until February depending on your location and the weather. Although no bat-proofing may be performed during this time, don’t delay! Call now to make an appointment, and we will make sure you are on the schedule to have your home bat-proofed as soon as the Hibernation season is over and it starts warming up. We will start booking appointments in February and we book up fast.
Don’t Plug Holes: Daily we gets calls in our office saying they have plugged up holes that they believe the bats are using to get in and out of the building. They waited for the bats to exit and then sealed up the area. This is never recommended as you can trap bats inside the home or building causing them to die and leading to additional problems as they take turns cycling throughout the evening hours. If you have done this please contact us right away 888-550-2287 Please note: not all bats in a roost exit each night and you can trap bats inside leading them to die!
Guano & Urine / Damage from Bats: After the bat exclusion is done and if the bats have made a mess of your building, home or structure we can perform a Remediation Service. Remediation is when we clean up all guano (feces) and affected areas. We can disinfect and clean your building using HEPA-filters. (Check out Remediation Services for more information)
Do Not Poison or Exterminate Bats: Many bats are protected and are essential to the environment. 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 do bat exclusions or even kill bats. Additionally, there is no pesticide created for use on bats. Therefore, anyone hired to use such chemicals / or products for anything except the labeled targeted pests is a violation of law.
Remember bats are a vital part of our eco-system, eating many insects (including mosquitoes) as part of their nightly diet. A favorite culinary delight of the Mexican Free-tailed bat is the corn earworm moth. The Pallid Bat loves scarab beetles. He also is know to eat grasshoppers, moths and termites, among other things.
Call our office to find out more about Bat Exclusions and for more information about our services!
A specialist is waiting to take your call!
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.
After speaking with you on the phone, I was certain that your company is the one to bat-proof our house and humanely ask our bats to move out...you have convinced me that you are experts and that you can successfully do the job that we require.--Anne B
I just wanted to tell you what a great job your firm did!!! My tenants were very pleased and said it smells 150% better. It looks good and they feel a lot better. Thank you so much! --Deanne J.
