Bat Removal and Control Nassau County, Long Island

Bat Facts Nassau County, Long Island, NY

There are more than twelve hundred species of bats that account for approximately 20 % of all classified mammal species. Bats are the only mammals capable of flight. Bat embryos develop inside females, and female bats nurse their offspring with milk. Newborn bats have milk teeth and their permanent adult teeth surface later on. Like human beings, bats have lungs and a four - chambered heart. Bats have the largest heart and lung size of all mammals, which is associated with the high energetic cost of flight. Contrary to popular belief, bats are not blind. Bats have small and poorly developed eyes, leading to poor visual acuity. They use echolocation to perceive their surroundings in total darkness. Microbats, also known as true bats make use of magnetoreception in that they have a high sensitivity to the Earth’s magnetic field and are able to differentiate north from south. Bats have the same bones in their forelimbs as humans have in their arms and hands. Like human beings, bats have a humerus that distally articulates with a radius and ulna. The radius and ulna articulate with carpal bones, which distally articulates with five metacarpals that give rise to phalanges. The rear limbs of bats contain the same bones as found in the legs and feet of humans. Like human beings, bats have a femur, patella, tibia, fibula, tarsals, metatarsals and phalanges.

While in flight, a bats heart rate can be as high as 1,000 beats per minute and their body temperature can reach almost 106 degrees Fahrenheit. During hibernation, the bats resting heart rate will drop from a resting average of 200 - 300 beats per minute to about 25 beats per minute. The hibernating bat's body temperature can drop as low as 37 degrees Fahrenheit. There are nine species of bats that are native to New York and all are insectivorous. Bats are the primary predators of flying nocturnal insects, some consuming as much as their own body weight in flying insects in a single night. Bats play an important role in pest control and decrease the need to use insecticides. A decrease in the use of pesticides, reduces water and soil contamination.

Bat Diseases Nassau County, Long Island, NY

Bats have a bad reputation, which is not shocking considering the number of pathogens that they carry that can spread disease to humans. Ebola, SARS, Nipah, Rabies, Marsburg and Hendra are all viruses carried by bats that can be transmitted to human beings. Bats carry more human pathogens than other animals and live in close proximity to one another in roosts, allowing for the spread of pathogens among them. In addition, certain species of bats, like the Little Brown Bat and the Big Brown Bat, roost in the attics of Nassau County, Long Island dwellings, which brings them into contact with humans. The viruses are transmitted by a bite and transfer via saliva, as well as the aerosolization of urine, saliva and feces. The viruses do not kill the bats, because their body temperature during flight is about 104 degrees Fahrenheit, which is too hot for the viruses to replicate.

Bats In The Attic Nassau County, Long Island, NY

The Little Brown Bat and the Big Brown Bat are the most frequently encountered bats by Long Island homeowners. The Little Brown Bat and Big Brown Bat are referred to as “house bats”, because these cave bats find their way into Long Island homes and inhabit attics and chimneys. The Big Brown Bats have a body length of four to five inches, which is more than twice the size of the Little Brown Bat. The Big Brown Bat has a broader nose compared to that of the Little Brown Bat. The fur of the Big Brown Bat is long and silky and is chocolate brown in color. The fur of the Little Brown Bat is uniformly dark brown in color and glossy on the back with slightly grayish fur underneath. Big Brown Bats have 32 adult teeth and Little Brown Bats have 38 adult teeth. The ears of the Big Brown Bat are black, short and have rounded tips. The Little Brown Bat is referred to as a mouse-eared bat and has a short, blunt-tipped tragus in its ear. Female bats will form nursery roosts in the attics of Long Island homes, with several female bats giving birth in the same area. The average life expectancy of these bats is 6.5 years, but they can reach more than 20 years of age. Bats are one of the slowest reproducing mammals, with a female giving birth to one pup in June, or early July. Newborn bats are dependent on their mother for nourishment. Little Brown Bat pups can fly at about three weeks of age, after which it feeds both on its mother’s milk and insects. The Little Brown Bat is weaned from its mother’s milk at around 26 days old. The pups of the Big Brown Bats are able to fly at about 4 to 6 weeks of age. Once weaned, the Big Brown Bat pups will leave the attic in search of beetles to feed on. Other prey includes wasps, flying ants, flies and mosquitoes.

Bat Removal Nassau County, Long Island, NY

Bat Inspection - This is the initial step in that bat removal process. A bat may enter a Nassau County home at night through an open window, door, or skylight. A bat could also come down a chimney, or enter through a window air conditioner and end up inside your residence. Bats in the attic may end up in your living space through a central air conditioning vent. It is not difficult for bats to find their way into your dwelling. In fact, even an opening as small as 1/4” could serve as a port of entry into your home. If you have bats in the attic of your Nassau County home, bat feces can usually be found around the entry points. If our Nassau County Animal Removal experts believe that there is an infestation of bats in your attic, we will inspect your residence at dusk and observe the bats exiting. Inspecting your dwelling at dusk, will allow us to identify the bat’s entry points into your Nassau County home.

Bat Droppings (Bat Guano) - They are high in potassium nitrate (saltpeter) and can be used as fertilizer. The potassium nitrate can also be extracted for use in gunpowder and explosives, and bat droppings were an important resource for that purpose during the American Civil War. However, decomposing bat excrement in attics, wall spaces and other voids produces a horrible odor. Bat feces in an attic may provide a growth medium for a fungus responsible for the lung disease, Histoplasmosis in humans. Guano accumulations may fill spaces between walls, floors, and ceilings. Nassau County Animal Removal offers attic cleanup services.

Bat Repellents - There are a countless number of bat repellent products on the market that claim to get rid of bats, but I have not found one that has proven to be effective in getting bats out of an attic. “Bat Magic” sold on Amazon for $8.99 claims to repel bats using, “All Natural ingredients”. This product sounds like an inexpensive quick fix solution to a bat problem. The active ingredients in this bat repellent product are peppermint and spearmint oils. Products containing the same active ingredients are also sold as ant repellents. Where is the magic in “Bat Magic”? The only thing that will disappear, will be the money that you spend on this product. Peppermint and spearmint oils do not get rid of bats or ants. In the picture shown, an arrow points to a package of “Bat Magic” suspended from the wall. Two bats are comfortably roosting within a couple of feet of this so called bat repellent. Ammonia, mothballs and bat repellent products containing naphthalene do not get bats out of an attic and only serve to complicate the bat removal process. Ultrasonic devices have not proven effective in getting bats out of an attic either. Unfounded claims made by manufacturers of ultrasonic sound emitters has been disputed by testing labs and the US Federal Trade Commission. FTC Warns Manufacturers & Retailers of Ultrasonic Pest Control Devices.

Bat Exclusion - This is a proven and effective method of removing a colony of bats from an attic. Nassau County Animal Removal specializes in the humane removal of bats from the attics of Long Island homes and businesses. Bat removal from an attic is done in the Fall, when there are no young flightless baby bats in the attic. Getting a colony of bats out of an attic, entails the installation of bat exclusion devices over their primary exit points. The bat exclusion devices are one way doors that will allow the bats to exit your Nassau County home, but not re-enter it. The bat removal attic exclusion procedure normally takes three days. At the consummation of the attic bat removal, the exclusion devices will be removed and the openings will be sealed, making your home or business bat-proof.