Elgin Pest Control
Open weekdays 8:30AM-5:30PM
519-637-3988
Your Pest Control Solution
BAT FACTS:
There are less than 10 bat species found in Southern Ontario. The 2 most common are the Big Brown and Little Brown bat. The Big Brown bat is the one that hibernates inside the attics and walls of your home for the winter. Little Brown bats migrate to caves found in Southern Ontario. Both species live in colonies that vary in numbers from 20 - a few thousand bats.
Bats consume approximately half their weight in insects or a few thousand tons of insects each night.
Certain bat species may live upwards of 20-30 years.
Bats are the only flying mammals in the world.
Female bats give birth to one baby each year.
Baby bats can be fed by a different mother while their own is out feeding.
Bats can carry rabies for several seasons before it becomes fatal to them.
The two major health concerns surrounding bats are Rabies and Histoplasmosis which is infection by a fungus found in guano (bat droppings) in humid areas. It's not serious if confined to the lungs but can be fatal if spread throughout the body.
BAT INFESTATIONS, EXCLUSION & PROOFING:
In most circumstances bats enter your home through a point of entry at the roof level. If you can squeeze your pinky finger into a hole or gap, bats can get through it.They can find their way into your living space a number of ways, either through an air flow path or simply by falling into wall voids. It's not uncommon for a bat that has fallen down a wall void to end up in an unfinished part of a basement or furnace room.
In late summer (July, August,September) young bats that are not experienced fliers, tend to fall down inside the walls leading to the basement. This is because they weren’t able to navigate the flight from inside the attic to the exit hole leading outside.
Numerous bats living in an attic or in the walls of a home cause odour and noise problems. Their accumulated droppings, called guano can raise many health concerns. Bat exclusion and proofing become essential.
Bat exclusion involves sealing all possible points of entry that would allow a bat to invade your home. These areas include but are not limited to chimneys, roof vents, exterior perimeter where roof meets fascia, and wall soffit gaps to name a few.
One way bat doors are installed to allow the bat colony to exit the structure but prevents re-entry.
