Bat Removal Services in Tampa, Clearwater, Largo, Sarasota

Removing Bats from Your Home

If you have bats in your home, it is good to learn a little bit about their biology and habits. It will assist you in understanding how bat eviction works and may help calm your unease about bats.

Bat Characteristics

Bats make up approximately 18% of all mammals in the world and they are the only species of mammal that can truly fly. While there are over 1,300 species of bats worldwide, only 13 are recognized native species in Florida. Six of the bats are very common for the Florida – Brazilian (Mexican) free-tailed bat, southeastern myotis, evening bat, Eastern red bat, Seminole bat and Northern yellow bat. These bats form maternity colonies in buildings and homes, because of the warmth, dryness, security and darkness.

All bats found in Florida are insectivores that feed off flying insects such as moths, flies, dragonflies, beetles, wasps, ants, mosquitoes, and more. Bats are the largest predator of insects that fly at night. Though most people are afraid of bats, they are very beneficial to the ecosystem. By eating a tremendous number of crop damaging moths (whose larva are crop-eating worms) the bats save farmers an incredible amount of crop damage and reduce need for excessive pesticide applications. Many bats can eat their body-weight in insects every night.

Contrary to what the general public thinks, bats are not blind. They use echolocation to spot their prey. Some Florida bat species travel as far as 25 to 30 miles from their home each night and return each morning before dawn. They often fly at heights of 20 to 50 feet above the ground, but have been reported several thousand feet up in the sky.

Florida Bats, Rabies, and Disease

In most cases, effective bat removal is beyond the scope of what a homeowner can accomplish on his own and requires the service of professionals.

Bat guano (feces) is very unsanitary and should not be approached or cleaned save by trained technicians wearing the appropriate protective gear. Besides its pungent odor, bat guano can contain the fungus spore histoplasmosis capsulatum that can cause a disease known as histoplasmosis if the spores are inhaled. Bats may also carry mites, ticks, fleas and other unwanted pests. If you suspect you have a bat infestation in your home, it is safest and most efficient to call the professionals at World Class Wildlife Removal to handle the problem.

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