The Birds, Bees and Bats
Spring is nearly upon us in southeast Texas, which means a lot of nature’s creatures will become especially active and maybe even inside your home! Bats, birds, bees, squirrels, rodents, raccoons and even possums occasionally get caught up where they don’t belong, such as in attics.Perhaps you’ve seen a news story about honey oozing out of the walls in a home or a snake in a toilet. You think to yourself, I would notice these things before they get out of hand! Perhaps. But it is possible for critters and other creatures to creep up on people.We see it all the time. But you may not see them at first or know how they get into the home. A crevice, nook, cranny or small hole can be just enough for a couple of bats to slip into the attic. Or rats. Or squirrels. You may be getting the picture. Let’s elaborate.
It Happens to the Best of Us
When one of our colleagues moved to Texas, he got to a rental home the day before the rest of the family was set to arrive. Just as he laid down to sleep after a long day’s drive, he heard something over the hum of the air conditioning. Listening closer, he recognized the dreaded sound of scratching in the attic.An untrained ear might not pick up on this so quickly. Sure enough, there were rats in the attic. Fortunately, the family could stay with relatives nearby while the pests were removed, the home was sanitized and the insulation was replaced. Proper removal and exclusion of pests is a project and a service best provided by professional pest control operators. This is one of those home improvement projects you just don’t want to try DIY.
Bats Hanging Out at Home
Unlike rats, bats serve a benefit to humans in that they eat bugs, such as mosquitos, moths and flying cockroaches. Still, you don’t want them getting inside because their waste material, known as guano, becomes a toxic mess full of germs, especially bacteria.We knew a lady who kept seeing a bat or two in her living room and could not figure out how they were coming and going. Upon closer inspection, the cathedral ceiling in the living room was held up by a beam, which itself had shifted less than an inch to leave a gap where it met the exterior.The bats liked to come in to hang out on the beam, literally. Occasionally, a bat would get clobbered by a fan blade and fall to the floor, which is how the homeowner would find them.If you have security lights on the exterior of your house, you may be attracting bats. Why? Bats eat moths and the moths are attracted to the lights. If a couple of bats slip into the house – perhaps into the attic – it might not be long before it becomes a roost to hundreds of bats. Bats leave their roost to feed every night and they like to return to the same roost. For a lady in Georgia, it became far worse when thousands of bats infested her house several years ago.The pest control operators at All Solutions All Pests are experienced with sealing up a house so that the bats cannot get back in at night. Bats are protected by state and federal regulations and we prefer to see them hanging out under bridges, not in your home. If you want to see bats in a more natural setting, check out the Waugh Bridge Bat Colony in Houston, where Waugh Drive crosses over Buffalo Bayou.
Houston Bats and Wildlife Control
The Houston area is home to 11 species of bats, according to the City of Houston: the Mexican free-tailed bat, big brown bat, evening bat, Eastern red bat, Northern yellow bat, tri-colored bat, hoary bat, Seminole bat, Southeastern myotis, silver-haired bat, and Rafinesque’s big-eared bat.Again, bats are protected and should be professionally and humanely removed. All Solutions All Pests (ASAP Operators) is a Certified Basic Wildlife Control Operator, as designated by the National Wildlife Control Operators Association.We utilize special netting to keep bats from returning to the roost and one-way doors to give them a way out without allowing them back in. We then repair the home rather than plug up holes or cracks with mesh, as we’ve seen some homeowners try. The gaps need to be properly sealed and any damaged material replaced.If you hear something going bump in the night, give us a call anytime on our 24/7 hotline: 281-536-7733. We will come to check it out. Think of us like Ghostbusters for pest control. You can also reach us during the day at 713-397-4477.