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Bat Urine Stalactites

Bat urine stalactites are the result of the accumulation of minerals from years of bats urinating in a roost. The video below shows the damage caused by a bat colony occupying a home for 20 years. Even though the video is a bit grainy, you will see how much excrement, bat urine and damage can be caused by allowing bats to reside in a home for decades. One issue not mentioned in the video is the impact that bat urine can have on the structure’s integrity. Bat urine can degrade and weaken the strength of wood that is exposed to the urine. In addition, the weight of guano (bat feces) can also weaken the the structure as well by providing a weight load that is not identified and compensated for in the building’s original design.

Bat urine stalactites like the water stalactites in caves grow from the ceiling down, not from the floor up. If you have bats in your home, be sure to hire a qualified wildlife control operator or pest control operator. You should also be sure that the contractor knows how to handle bats effectively, humanely and legally. Tips on identifying bat presence can be found at the following link: Bat Control.

 

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Bats in my house

Have you ever said, “Are bats in my house?” How can you tell if bats are in your home? Do you have to hire a professional wildlife control operator (WCO) or pest control operator (PCO) to know if your home has bats? Before you spend the money on a professional, consider the following tips to see if you can answer the question on your own. The answer of yes to any of the numbered questions (some questions have two parts) should give you strong reason to suspect that bats are living in your home.

Bat guano can carry the fungus that causes histoplasmosis even in hot dry attics. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.
Bat guano can carry the fungus that causes histoplasmosis even in hot dry attics. Photo by Stephen M. Vantassel.
  1. Have you had a bat inside the living portion of your home (the part where you live, sleep, eat etc.)? Has this happened twice in one year or once a year for a couple of  years? If your answer is yes, then you likely have bats living in your home at least for part of the year.
  2. Have you found a bat in the living space of your home during the winter time? If you have answered yes, then you likely have bats living in your home.
  3. Have you noticed dark, rice-sized droppings on a deck, window sill etc. and when you sweep them away they keep reappearing? If you answered yes, then you likely have bats living in your house.

If you have determined that the answer is “yes”, I have bats in my house, then you will need to find a qualified WCO to resolve the issue. To learn how the professional will go about his/her work, read Management of House Bats. In addition, be sure you understand the risks related to rabies if a bat is ever discovered in the living space of your home.

For additional information on inspecting for wildlife, obtain a copy of The Wildlife Damage Inspection Handbook, 3rd ed.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Bats and Covid-19 Virus

Bats and Covid-19 Virus.  With America in lock down and social distancing, readers are probably tired of hearing about Covid-19. But concerns raised by the US Fish and Wildlife Service about the possibility of Covid-19 virus being spread from humans to bats and vice versa, caused the National Wildlife Control Operators Association to issue a position statement to wildlife control operators (WCOs). Wildlife Control Consultant, is publishing this letter because whether you are a NWCOA member or not (and you should be), WCOs should work in a manner that protects clients and the natural resource (bats). The material between the horizontal lines is the letter from NWCOA. The Association is responsible for its content. Questions related to this letter should be directed to NWCOA.

National Wildlife Control Operators Association Logo.
National Wildlife Control Operators Association Logo.

Wildlife Control Operators,

The National Wildlife Control Operators Association (NWCOA) has been made aware of some issues being discussed by wildlife biologists concerning bats in North America and the Covid-19 virus.

These discussions have the potential to affect commercial and residential services provided for bats in the future. The inability for Wildlife Control Operators (WCOs) to conduct work on bats carries potential health risks to the public and financial impacts on WCOs, while also risking an increase in a “Do-it yourself” approach to bat remediations, putting bats at even more risk.

To alleviate the concerns of biologists, and to protect operators and the public, NWCOA has put forth recommended Personal Protection Guidelines (PPE) for working with and handling bat populations. These guidelines have already primarily been in place due to White-nose Syndrome (WNS).

Addressing regulator’s and wildlife biologist’s concerns, while also protecting the wildlife control industry and the general public is the driving force behind these guidelines. In the off chance that the concerns being discussed at the state and federal level become a reality, protecting bat populations in North America is paramount. NWCOA believes these guidelines will do just that.

CLICK HERE for the NWCOA Recommended Personal Protection Guidelines (PPE).

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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Bat Trapping

You may not have heard of bat trapping, but bat trapping is sometimes used by wildlife control operators (WCOs) to capture and remove bats from a structure. The concept is quite simple. You locate all the gaps in a structure and close the ones not being used by bats as

Photo of a Bat Trap manufactuered by Al LaFrance
BatTrap (18″ model) manufactured by Al LaFrance, its inventor.

exits. Then for the holes bats use as exits, you install a bat trap which captures the bats as they exit the building. Bat trapping is an ingenious idea. It allows the WCO to show the client that the bats have been removed from the structure. As a marketing tool, it was very effective and it worked to remove bats from a structure too.

A couple of types of bat traps exist. The one pictured at the right was developed by Al LaFrance of New York state. He was a pioneer in bat control and used the device successfully for many years in the 1990s.

Problems with Bat Trapping

While bat traps have some key benefits, they also come with several disadvantages. It’s the disadvantages that cause the National Wildlife Control Operators Association and Bat Conservation International to oppose the use of bat traps (except for disease management or scientific research). The first problem with bat traps is that trapped bats can overheat and die. While trappers can make adjustments to make these deaths minimal to almost non-existent, it is hard to completely eliminate deaths in every use.  The second problem is that with the emergence of white-nose syndrome, trapping bats could help transmit the fungal infection amongst bats more rapidly. The last problem with bat traps is that they are not needed to evict bats from a structure. Properly installed one-way doors, allow bats to leave but not return without requiring bats to be trapped.

Understand that these comments are not meant to condemn the inventors of bat traps. It is not fair to condemn inventors for problems (e.g. white-nose syndrome) that weren’t around when the traps were created. Bat traps have a role in bat management. It’s just a limited, but valuable role, namely for research and disease control. And for that advancement, we all should be grateful.  

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

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White-nose Fungus in California

White-nose fungus, also called White-Nose Syndrome (WNS), is a fungal disease that is killing bats in the United States and Canada. The fungus, whose scientific name is Pseudogymnoascus destructans or Pd for short, is naturally found in Europe. But European bats have developed resistance to the fungus. Unfortunately, the white-nose fungus found its way to North America and has been killing bats since its discovery near Albany, NY in 2006.

Map marking the spread of white-nose fungus across the U.S.
2019 Map marking the spread of white-nose fungus across the U.S. Image. WhiteNoseSyndrom.org

How White-nose Fungus Kills

The fungus kills bats by attacking their skin which then irritates them and causes their hibernation to be disrupted. While that may not seem like a big deal it is for bats. Bats simply don’t have a lot of fat to spare. So every time they wake up, they consume precious calories needed to carry them through the winter. If they wake up to often, they essentially starve to death.

Scientists have been following the spread of white-nose fungus across the U.S. starting in the East. Biologists were hopeful that the Rocky Mountains may provide a barrier to the spread of white-nose fungus. But it was found in Washington state. And now with this recent announcement, has now been found in California.

We must be clear, that the full syndrome has not been found in California. Scientists have only found the presence of the fungus on bats. While it is likely that the presence will turn into the deadly syndrome, it is possible that the bats won’t develop the full disease. Time will tell.

Bottom Line

In the meantime, it is essential that wildlife control operators use proper bat exclusion techniques to reduce the chances that their activities will spread the fungus to other bats. Consumers will need to demand that their wildlife control operators follow recognized protocols established by the White-Nose Syndrome group. At minimum, this means that one-way doors, also known as bat valves, are cleaned with 10% bleach or Lysol after each use. Other safe practices can be found at Whitenose Syndrome.org or by taking NWCOA’s Bat Standards Training.

Stephen M. Vantassel, CWCP, ACE, is the owner of Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. He helps people restore their balance with nature through publishing, training, consulting, and the internet. He has published numerous articles in trade and academic publications available at {Stephen’s Academia.edu Page} along with several books {WCC Store}). Listen to his podcast “Living the Wild Life” at {Pest Geek Podcast}. Please subscribe to {Stephen’s YouTube Channel} He is a sought after speaker and trainer. If you would like to have Stephen speak at your event or use his consultation services, send an e-mail to wildlifecontrolconsultant@gmail.com. Copyright All postings are the property of Stephen M. Vantassel and Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC. Text (not images) may be reprinted in non-profit publications provided that the author and website URL is included. If images wish to be used, explicit and written permission must be obtained from Wildlife Control Consultant, LLC.

 

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