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Guaranteed Bat Control, Removal, & Prevention in Seattle, Washington

Bat Removal and Control in Seattle

Bat Biology: The most common bats that we deal with here in Seattle area the Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) and the Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus). The Little Brown has a wingspan of about 7 inches. The Big Brown has a wingspan of about 12 inches. Both look similar, with velvety brown bodies and darker faces. Both are insectivorous. They roost during the day, oftentimes in colonies inside buildings, and emerge at dusk to drink water and feed on insects. These bats can eat almost half of their body weight in insects per night. They primarily consume beetles and moths. The young are born in summmer, usually in June. They are born large and grow quickly, and are able to fly within about 7-8 weeks. These bats usually form what are called maternity colonies - large groups of female bats that roost together and raise their young together. These maternity colonies can be as small as 30 members, or as many as several thousand, space permitting. They mate in the autumn, but delay fertilization until spring. Depending on the conditions in the roost, the bats may migrate elsewhere in winter in order to hibernate, or they may stay put. Bats are in the order Chioptera, meaning hand-wing, and are of course flying mammals. They are not related to rodents.

  

Seattle's Bats: The most common bat species in the Seattle area is the Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus). It sometimes colonizes the attics of homes in the Pacific Northwest. Other bat species in the area include: • California Myotis (Myotis californicus) • Western Small-footed Myotis (Myotis ciliolabrum) • Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus) • Keen's Myotis (Myotis keenii) • Western Long-eared Myotis (Myotis evotis) • Fringed Myotis (Myotis thysanodes) • Canyon Bat (Parastrellus hesperus) • Silver-haired Bat (Lasionycteris noctivagans) • Yuma Myotis (Myotis yumanensis) • Long-legged Myotis (Myotis volans) • Hoary Bat (Lasiurus cinereus) • Spotted Bat (Euderma maculatum) • Pallid Bat (Antrozous pallidus) • Townsend's Big-eared Bat (Corynorhinus townsendii)  Most of these bats will never invade a home or building.  However, we take great care to employ the proper exclusion methods based upon the type of bat that you have in your home or building.

Nuisance Concerns: Most conflicts with Bats in Seattle occur when the bats form colonies in buildings, particularly the attics of homes. This is a common behavior, because the females seek out warm places in which to raise their young. When the bats live in a building, they create a considerable amount of droppings and urine, which not only cause a bad odor, but which can corrode wood and worse, pose a biohazardous risk. The bats can also cause significant noise when in high numbers. Once bats find a suitable maternity roost, they will stay there pretty much forever. That is, each new generation will return to that same area, and each bat can live up to 20 years. Because of the low mortality rate, bat colonies effectively double in size each year that they are left ignored. Suddenly your small bat problem is a large one. Many of the bat calls come in August, when the new young are just learning how to fly. This is because the size of the colony has just doubled, and because the inexperienced young will often enter the house.

Diseases: Bats are the most common transmitter of rabies to humans. If you see a sick bat on the ground, do not pick it up. If you have been or suspect that you have been bitten by a bat, contact your local center for disease control, and if possible, retain the bat for laboratory testing. The droppings of the bat can also grow fungus, which people can breath in and from which they can contract lung diseases, such as histoplasmosis. It's important to have bat waste removed as part of a complete bat control project.

This is a professional wildlife removal company based in Seattle Washington. We provide pest control for wild animals only, not extermination of insects. If you have nuisance critters, birds, or bats that you need to get rid of, we can humanely take care of the problem.

A Wildlife Pro received training in bat control from a nationally renown bat expert in the state of Florida. For more information, visit www.orlando-bat.com, based in Orlando FL, but serving the entire state.

Tel: (206) 799-6403   •   Fax: 206.260.7301   •   sean@seattlepestanimalcontrol.com   •   Residential & Commercial   •   Licensed & Insured