Bats and Bat Control in Warren County, Pennsylvania

Myths About Bats

Bats are very misunderstood animals.

Some people believe that bats are birds, but they're not. Bats are mammals and are the only mammals that can fly. (Yes, there are flying squirrels, but flying squirrels can only glide, not fly under their own power for extended distances like bats can.)

Others people believe that bats are rodents, but they're not. Bats belong to the taxonomical order Chiroptera (literally, "hand-winged") and are named for their wing structure, in which their finger bones serve as spars and struts for the skin that forms the aerodynamic surfaces of their wings.

Another common misconception about bats is that they are blind. They're not. Like predators in general, bats actually have excellent vision. But they also possess the ability to navigate and find prey using echolocation, a system very much like sonar. Bats emit high-frequency sounds that bounce back from objects around them, and they are able to calculate their positions and locate prey by measuring the angle and time lapse of the reflected sounds.

The Bats of Pennsylvania

All bats found in Pennsylvania, like the Little Brown Bat on the right, are members of the taxonomical family Vespertilionidae and are insect eaters. A single bat can consume as much as a quarter of its own weight in insects during a flight.

Many of the insects bats consume, such as mosquitoes, are potential disease vectors; while others, such as beetles and leafhoppers, are serious agricultural pests. Together, bats in Pennsylvania consume billions of insects every year and are vitally important to public health and agriculture.

Reasons for Bat Control

Being primarily beneficial, one might wonder why we bother to control bats at all. The fact is that only a small percentage of bats ever present any sort of problem for humans. The ones that do simply made the mistake of picking the wrong place to live.

When bats get into a building, they present a health hazard. Their guano can contain organisms that can cause serious diseases such as histoplasmosis, and their parasites (fleas, ticks, etc.) can vector a wide variety of arboviral diseases. In additions, bats themselves are susceptible to rabies, as are all warm-blooded animals. So when bats get into an attic, drop ceiling, bell tower, or belfry, they have to be relocated.

Responsible Bat Control

Because they are predominantly beneficial animals, bats aren't treated as "pests." There's no such thing as "bat extermination." Responsible bat control usually consists of the following:

1. Identification of entry and exit holes
2. Installation of one-way doors to prevent bats from re-entering a building once they have left for their nightly flight
3. Exclusion to permanently prevent bats from entering the building
4. Cleanup to remove guano, parasites, shed hairs, and other debris

All of this is done with special attention to the bats' seasonal cycles to prevent immature bats from being stranded in the structure and to maximize the possibility that the colony will find a more suitable home.

For help with responsible bat control or any pest or wildlife control issues, please contact us for an on-site consultation.