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Orlando Florida Bat Control
Bats are a common nuisance animal in Orlando and the state of Florida. The most common bat complaints include the following:
- Colony of Bats Living In the Attic
- Bat Droppings Falling All Over Ground
- Bats Causing Strong Odor In Buidling
- Bat Presence Causing Public Health Risk
- Bats Are Scaring the Tenants/Customers
For the above reasons, it's often a good idea to have a professional bat colony removal. This is my top specialty, and I provide it throughout the state of FL.
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MY BAT PHOTOS - Click any below image for larger photo and more info. Or call me at 407-278-2705
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| BAT BEHAVIOR: The bats that I commonly deal with are called colonizing bats. In Florida, this pretty much just means two primary species. First and foremost, there's
the Brazilian (Mexican) Free Tailed bat, and then there's the Evening Bat. These bats live in large groups, referred to as maternity colonies. These colonies are comprised mostly of female bats, and they roost together and
each female bat gives birth to one young in early June (Free Tail) or mid-April (Evening). At dusk, they emerge from their daytime roosting place in order to feed. First, they fly to a water source for a drink, and then
they start catching nighttime flying insects, on the wing. They primarily eat small beetles and moths. They often return to the roost several times during the night to rest and digest. At any given time at night, a certain
percentage of the colony will be present within. However, as dawn approaches, all that are out and about return in order to roost for the day. They circle and circle, because they must land at their entrance just so, and
then they slip inside the opening. They like to enter small gaps - usually about 3/8 or 1/2 inch, though often larger. Such gaps are common in our building architecture, and bats simply love to roost in the warm, dry space
inside human structures. Once inside, they sleep, chatter, and make a whole lot of poop (guano) which falls down the walls of the building, or accumulates in the attic, and it's not pleasant-smelling, nor sanitary.
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| BAT BIOLOGY: The Brazilian Free Tail (Tadarida brasiliensis) is a fairly small bat - dark brown body is about 3.5 inches, wingspan about 8 inches, weight about 15 grams.
They have strange and broad ears, and bristles all over their face. They aren't very attractive, in my opinion. Bats are of the order chiroptera, which means "hand wing" because the wings are actually made up of the arms
of the animal, with a thin membrane stretching across the long, thin finger bones. The most noticeable physical feature of the free-tail bat, to a novice, is the presence of the free-hanging tail, which is a little under
an inch long. In most bats, the hind membrane encompasses any tail. This particular bat is one of the most numerous mammal in the world, and some of the maternity colonies, such as in caves, are huge: comprised of
several million members. These bats like to live in caves, and other than that, they seem to really thrive in man-made structures, such as under bridges, in belfries, or attics of buildings and homes. The female Free-Tail
bat gives birth to one young in early June. She nurses it for about two months, and it grows quickly. It is adult size and ready to fly by early August. These bats have a typical lifespan of 8-12 years. The other bat,
the Evening Bat (Nycticeius humeralis) is fairly similar, except it is a bit larger, with a wingspan of perhaps 9-10 inches, and it is much cuter-looking, in my opinion. They live in the same types of areas as the free tails,
and often the two species will roost together. They are less common than the free-tail bats. The most important thing for me to know is that the mothers give birth much earlier, in mid-April here in FL. So I can't do any bat
exclusions in April, May, or June when Evening Bats are present.
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| NUISANCE CONCERNS IN ORLANDO: The biggest problem with bats is usually due to their droppings and odor. Bats have a very strong, pungent scent, which is unique and
to which I can't compare anything. This smell comes from both their droppings/urine and the bats themselves, which are somewhat greasy. In fact, it's often easy for me to see the areas that bats fly into and out of buildings
because they leave a brown grease stain. Once inside for their daily roosting, they poop and pee, and it can make a big mess. The droppings and urine don't just smell bad - they corrode wood or drywall, and they are
considered a biohazard health risk. Not only do the droppings seem to attract large numbers of cockroaches, but a fungus can grow on the droppings, which can produce airborn spores that people can breathe, which can result
in the lung infection histoplasmosis. The other health risk of concern regarding bats is rabies. Almost all cases of rabies transmission to humans in North America is due to bats. The centers for disease control usually
recommend that a person receive post-exposure rabies treatment in a case in which a person finds that they have been sharing living space with a bat. If possible, retain the bat for testing should this happen to you. Rabies
is always fatal once the onset of symptoms occurs.
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| HOW DO I SOLVE THE PROBLEM? Bat control is truly specialty work. I would NOT trust it to just anyone. I stress this over and over again, for bats over any other
animal. I just go to too many houses and buildings in which other companies have done a crummy (or illegal) job of trying to get rid of the bats. You can not kill a colony of bats. What an environmental disaster! Bats
aren't like rodents - they don't breed like crazy. They have one young per year, nurture it, and it lives a long life, eating millions of insects. Please respect bats. The only way to solve a bat problem is to completely
and safely remove the entire colony of bats, NOT in the maternity season, when there's helpless and flightless young in the building. Once all the bats are out, the entry points must be 100% sealed. Given the bat's ability
to enter such tiny gaps, this is often a challenge. Especially for buildings that are very tall, or which have tough architectural features like barrel tile roofs. It really takes an experienced expert to do the job
correctly. Give us a call at 407-278-2705 any time to schedule an appointment. I service the entire state of Florida.
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