There’s nothing to fear (unless you find one flapping around your bedroom)
Bats eat up to 4,000 insects per night, and their presence in your yard naturally reduces mosquitoes, beetles, and moths without pesticides.
Bat removal costs range from $227 to $718 depending on the infestation size, and animal removal services average around $350.
You can build a bat house to give bats a habitat away from your attic while keeping them nearby to control pests.
Hiring a local exterminating professional provides humane bat removal and entry point sealing, keeping your home safe from diseases carried by bats and their droppings.
From the way they look to their disease-carrying reputation, bats aren’t exactly a favorite animal for many people. However, there are more benefits of bats than you might realize—including that they act as perhaps the ultimate pest control. Here's a look at why you should respect these flying mammals, even if you'd prefer to appreciate them from a distance.
Most bats eat beetles, moths, mosquitoes, and other pesky bugs. The United States Forest Service states that some bats can eat more than 1,000 bugs in just one hour! Mother bats will eat even more, with numbers as high as 4,000 insects throughout a single night.
What’s more is that, since bats are such huge insect predators, insects know to keep away. In fact, some species of moths, crickets, and beetles have a built-in bat radar that can detect bats from approximately 100 feet away. This means that a large bat population both controls the insect population and keeps insects out of bat hunting grounds: AKA your home.
Besides, bats’ love of bugs also removes the need for using so many pesticides on crops.
Butterflies and bees aren’t the only pollinators out there. Believe it or not, bats play an important role in pollination. From their love of agave and other plant nectars to nature’s way of seed dispersal through bat guano (yes, that means bat poop), fruit-eating bats help promote plant growth by spreading the seeds as they go.
Speaking of pollinators, bats play a major role in the production of many foods that we eat, including bananas, coconuts, cloves, and vanilla, to name a few. Bats also spread seeds for almonds, figs, and cacao, which produces raw chocolate. A world without bats would be a world without these delicious foods. In other words, thank your local bat the next time you eat a chocolate-covered banana.
Bats can even benefit DIYers by providing you with the perfect way to practice your carpentry skills. If you live near bats, a bat house or bat box on your property lures bats away from your attic, aids in conservation by giving them a habitat, and scares away insects by giving bats a place to gather.
The open-bottom design of bat boxes also makes them unlikely to attract birds, mice, or squirrels as residents. Plus, it buys you major nerd credentials in the bat-loving community and saves you on animal removal costs, which average around $350.
It truly is the circle of life when it comes to bats. These little mammals rank above insects on the food chain, but plenty of animals depend on bats for food. A few animals that hunt or scavenge for bats include predatory birds, snakes, weasels, raccoons, and wild cats.
Promoting bat populations helps balance the natural ecosystem in your local area, keeping bugs at bay and higher-on-the-food-chain animals nourished.
You might think of vampire bats as bloodsuckers, but truth is, it’s our blood that may benefit from them. Vampire bat saliva secretes an anticoagulant known as draculin—because, of course, that’s its name—to keep the blood flowing while they eat their prey.
According to the Bureau of Land Management, bat saliva may be an effective treatment for stroke victims and those who require a blood thinner.
Bats also aid in the production of around 80 medicines through their pollination of medicinal plants, serve as a model for the development of echolocation to help the blind, and have helped scientists research vaccines.
Bat guano contains many key nutrients that help preserve the delicate flora and fauna found in caves. Without bats, microorganisms and other small critters like invertebrates lose their food supply. This, in turn, reduces the available food for amphibians, fish, and larger animals.
Bats rely on a delicate environment for survival, and anything that knocks it out of balance—construction, pollution, and deforestation, to name a few—can kill them. There are over 30 bat species included in the Endangered Species Act, meaning these bats are at risk of extinction. For this reason, ethical pest control companies don’t kill bats in homes. Rather, they remove them and block their entry points.
If you have a bat in your home or would like a more humane way to relocate bats, consider finding a local pest control company to help you safely remove bats.
If you suspect there might be bats somewhere inside your home (usually it’s the attic), don’t put off dealing with the issue. Bats may be small creatures, but they can carry harmful diseases that pose a health risk to the people in your home. Their feces can also carry diseases, which is cause for concern and necessitates calling an animal removal expert. Bat removal can cost anywhere from $227 to $718 depending on the extent of the infestation as well as where you live.
Know that animal control services have to abide by state laws when removing bats from your home, so they may be limited to certain times and techniques when servicing your home. For example, professionals in Arizona can only remove bats between October 1 to May 1, while in Maryland bats can be removed from September 1 to March 1.
Allie Ogletree contributed to this piece.
One of my old tall evergreen trees was suddenly leaning toward the busy street in front of my house. I submitted a request for an emergency tree inspection, and Alejandro, owner of Cajete Tree Service, contacted me immediately and arrived to look at it just 20 minutes later. We agreed the...
Cajete Tree Service LLCWonderful. I am going to have them remove and replace my driveway in the spring.
All Star Paving and SealingLyle did a great job removing asbestos shingles from our front porch roof. They worked together with our roofer to make sure that the new roof was able to be installed on the same day that Lyle removed the asbestos shingles.
Lyle EnvironmentalInvolved an extensive bathroom remodel, including removing tub & installing walk in shower, new drywall, custome tile work to ceiling, plumbing, etc. Overall, job was done on time and on budget. Nick & his team were very professional and had high attention to detail. Quality was great. Highly...
Stamos Flooring and Remodeling LLCExtremely well. Ohio Tree Care is my go to company for all tree care and snow removal services. they are professional, knowledgeable and affordable. I manage five camps in 33 counties and Ohio Tree Care has serviced every one of our properties. Highly recommend.
Ohio Tree Care IncA team of 2 spent 5 hours, cleaning top to bottom (removed all light fixture and cleaned.... impressive!!!)
Luzia's CleaningI would have given an "A" rating were it not for the devil being in the details. 1. The van rear doors, when open, expose the track area and that had not been cleaned. Noticeable only when you look for it and then it's obvious. 2. Was able to get 99.5% of the dog hair out of the cargo area...
614 DetailGreat Job!!! Martin called me after I requested a estimate on Home Advisor. He was very professional and actually went the same day and looked at the tree I needed removed gave us a estimate and I felt it was very aggressive so I did not even call for any other bids. I asked him how soon he...
Reyes Tree Service LLC - Home FacebookMike and his crew did a great job working through a very challenging task. The job required a full demolition of our ceiling, removing the blown in insulation and removing all the material from the site daily. It involved multiple inspections from the city and many challenges to get the...
Rising Height UnlimitedRemoved various items (furniture, lamps, other junk) from my home. They were on time, personable, professional, etc. I can't say enough positive things about this company. <br />
From average costs to expert advice, get all the answers you need to get your job done.
Bats may have their benefits, but you don't want them taking up residence in your home. This guide will help you understand bat removal costs.
Worried you might have bats in your attic? Learn five tell-tale signs that bats have taken up residence in your home (that you shouldn’t ignore), and what to do about it.
Looking for bird and bat removal help? Learn how to hire qualified wildlife control operators, questions to ask, and what to expect from pros.
While bats have been given a bad rap in movies and TV, there’s little chance one trapped inside a home will bite you without being provoked. Read on to learn more.
Bats love to roost in your attic, walls, and throughout your property. Here are some tips on safely and humanely removing them from your home.
Compare wildlife removal pros for bat and bird removal. Learn who to hire, humane methods, timelines, and what to expect to protect your home.
