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727-710-0373
Serving
the entire Tampa Bay area!
Click
here for free estimate!
Bats
Florida
is host to 18 species of bats.
The most common species that causes
problems in the Tampa
Bay area is the Brazillian
free-tail and Evening Bat. We specialize in Tampa Bat Removal.
Once
in your attic
bats can cause extensive damage.
While roosting they create piles
of droppings or guano. Guano makes
a great fertilizer but this guano
isn't treated like the stuff you
get in the nursery. It is laden
with disease and it piles up quickly.
Bats
are extremely benificial to the
community. They feed on insects
and are protected.
Bats
cannot be removed from your attic
between April 15th and August
15th because this is their breeding
season.
Having
bats
removed from your roof or
attic is not a job for an amateur.
Give us a call and we will refer
a licensed professional
to solve your bat problem.
Call
today!
727-710-0373
Excerpt
from great publication:
Bats:
Information for the Florida Homeowner
Amy K. Taylor, Frank J. Mazzotti,
and Craig N. Huegel
Background
Bats are an essential link in
the balance of nature. In Florida,
bats provide a valuable service
by consuming mosquitoes and other
night-flying insects--while posing
little threat to human health.
Curiously, bats have been feared
and maligned by man since the
Dark Ages. Some of this fear comes
from the misconception that most
bats carry rabies when, in fact,
less than 1/2 of 1 percent carry
the disease. There is no evidence
that widespread destruction of
bats or their roosts has reduced
the already low health hazard.
Bat control should be done by
excluding entry into buildings,
not by killing bats. About
Bats Some people wrongly
believe bats are flying mice.
In fact, bats form a separate
and distinguishable group of mammals
more closely related to moles,
shrews, and even monkeys than
to rodents. Bats are the only
flying mammals, and, except for
certain unique features, their
anatomy is similar to that of
most other mammals. Bat's wings
are very different from those
of birds, and built upon the same
general pattern as the limbs of
other mammals. The wing is composed
of an upper arm, forearm, wrist,
and hand with thumb and four fingers.
The hand and fingers are greatly
elongated in order to spread and
control the wing. The hind limbs
of the bat are attached at the
hip in reverse, pointing the knees
backward. This arrangement is
thought to facilitate the bat's
ability to alight upside down
and hang by its toes.Bats occur
worldwide. Of the approximately
850 species of bats only 39 occur
in the United States and of those,
17 occur in Florida. (For details
on specific species see "A
Checklist of Florida's Mammals",
Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish
Commission (GFC).)Florida bats
are highly beneficial because
they consume tremendous numbers
of night-flying insects, including
mosquitoes. Bats locate insects
at night using a very sophisticated
sonar system (echolocation), emitting
supersonic sounds and listening
for echoes. Bats are most frequently
seen on warm nights feeding over
bodies of water, around buildings
or forest edges, or around lights.
During the day, bats find shelter
in a variety of secluded places,
preferring small, dark, poorly
ventilated spaces that heat up
during the day. Tree cavities,
snags, and especially unpruned
cabbage palms are important roost
sites. Due to increasing urbanization,
the number of these natural roosting
sites has been reduced and window
shutters, drain pipes, billboards,
roof tiles, and attics have become
popular roosting site substitutes.Bats
in the home The presence
of a bat in the home may be a
sign that the house is not weather-tight.
If so, take appropriate measures
to locate openings and seal them.
The best way to remove a single
bat from the home is not to panic,
but simply open a window in the
room. The bat usually will circle
the room, using its sonar, until
it detects the open window and
flies out on its own. If possible,
stay in the room with the lights
on and make sure the bat leaves.
This should only take a few minutes.
Another method is to use leather
gloves and simply pick up the
bat. Never handle a bat with bare
hands because it may try to bite
to protect itself. If the bat
"disappears" in the
room, it probably has landed behind
a curtain or in some hidden nook.
In this case: open a window, turn
off the lights, close the door
behind you, and isolate the bat
by blocking the space under the
door with a towel. The bat should
find its way out within an hour
after dark as long as the weather
is not too cold. One or two bats
in the home may mean only that
they came in through an open window.
However, their presence could
be a sign that a colony of bats
has established a roost in a crawl
space or attic. An obvious sign
that a bat colony has taken up
residence is when bats are observed
flying in and out of a hole in
the house. If they become a nuisance,
the only long-term solution is
to bat proof the building .Bat
Control Methods In light
of bats' beneficial feeding habits,
give careful consideration before
implementing any control measures.
Pesticides, pollution, people,
and habitat loss have reduced
bat populations significantly.
That is why non-lethal control
measures are recommended.Bat
Conservation Bat populations
are on the decline throughout
the United States. Loss of habitat
due to the disturbance of natural
and man-made roosting sites in
buildings, old trees, and caves
is a major factor in this decline.
Another factor is active and persistent
persecution by people not aware
of the bat's gentle nature and
beneficial activities. Once bats
have been excluded from one habitat
it is often possible to provide
alternative habitats. Uncut woodlots,
snags, and viable wetlands with
open water are important bat habitats.
In particular, cabbage palm left
unpruned is tremendously valuable
as a home for bats. Also, you
can build a bat house .How
to Build a Bat House This
bat house designed by Bat Conservation
International combines relative
ease of construction with the
varied crevice sizes most often
used by American bats, and temperature
buffering features. Western red
cedar is recommended for its ability
to withstand outdoor exposure,
though many other woods are suitable.
Six feet of 1x12in board and 10ft
of 1x10in board are sufficient
for construction. (Actual board
sizes normally are about 3/4x9-1/4in.)
Dimensions may be varied to allow
for slight differences in board
widths or personal preferences,
but spacing between partitions
should remain approximately the
same. Use rough lumber and turn
all rough sides inward. The rough
side of the ceiling should face
down. Cut 1/16in horizontal grooves
at 1/2in intervals on the smooth
sides of all partitions. This
enables bat climbing and roosting.
Apply a bead of silicon caulk
along each exterior joint to prevent
heat loss. The estimated cost
of materials is less than $20,
and a single house may be occupied
by 100 or more bats.Notes: Do
not let the space between inner
partitions exceed 1in. When house
is completed, hang it 12-15ft
above the ground on a tree trunk
or side of a building facing south
or southeast so it catches the
morning sun, but is in the shade
during mid-day. Provide a watering
station or locate your bat house
near a natural water source to
increase your chance of attracting
bats.
-------------------------------------------------------Footnotes
1. This document is WEC32, one
of a series of the Wildlife Ecology
and Conservation Department, Florida
Cooperative Extension Service,
Institute of Food and Agricultural
Sciences, University of Florida.
Original publication date June,
1991. Revised September, 2002.
Reviewed September, 2002. Visit
the EDIS Web Site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.
2. Amy K. Taylor, former undergraduate
assistant; Frank J. Mazzotti,
Ph.D., associate professor, Wildlife
Ecology and Conservation department,
University of Florida, Everglades
REC, Belle Glade, FL 33430, and
Craig N. Huegel, former assistant
extension scientist, Pinellas
County, Cooperative Extension
Service, Institute of Food and
Agricultural Sciences, University
of Florida, Gainesville, 32611.
-------------------------------------------------------Copyright
Information
This document is copyrighted by
the University of Florida, Institute
of Food and Agricultural Sciences
(UF/IFAS) for the people of the
State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains
all rights under all conventions,
but permits free reproduction
by all agents and offices of the
Cooperative Extension Service
and the people of the State of
Florida. Permission is granted
to others to use these materials
in part or in full for educational
purposes, provided that full credit
is given to the UF/IFAS, citing
the publication, its source, and
date of publication.
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