Bat Exclusion: How do we do it?

While bats are an incredibly important part of the ecosystems here in Critter Control, they don’t make for great guests in our homes. A colony of bats can cause expensive damage to your attic and property, and expose your family to diseases like rabies and histoplasmosis. Evacuating a colony of bats may seem like an impossible task, and the thought of entering an attic full of bats is enough to make most people’s skin crawl. Critter Control® is well equipped and able to rid you of your bat problems for good.

Because of the health risks associated with bats, we strongly advise against tackling bat problems on your own. However, here is a brief glimpse at what we can do for you while removing the bats from your home.

Exclusion

Bat exclusion is a highly effective bat removal technique that relies on bats leaving the attic on their own to go out and look for food, but preventing them from returning. We achieve this through the use of one-way doors and mesh screens installed at entrance points.

Why do we prefer exclusion over traditional removal techniques?

• Exclusion is highly effective, and preserves the safety of your family and of the bats
• Bats are able to leave without being harmed in any way
• The process is both humane and time efficient

To ensure that all bats evacuate your home, we avoid exclusion during times of year when young bats are still flightless.

Bat-Proofing your Home

Although any bats in your attic should evacuate within a few days of installing our exclusion products, we thoroughly inspect to ensure that all bats are gone before we begin bat-proofing your attic.

We focus on sealing entrance points to your attic to prevent the return of any bats. Common entrance points include:

• Gaps around roofing structures, or holes in soffits
• Holes in flashing around ventilation ducts or chimneys
• Cracks or gaps in fascia boards

Once your home is sealed against bat intrusion, our team can go to work cleaning any bat guano and repairing any damage caused by the infestation.

If you suspect that bats have taken residence in your attic, don’t waste any time in seeking help. Give the bat removal experts at Critter Control® a call today at 888-617-5764.

Why We Need to Protect our Bats

It’s a natural reaction for many people to be startled or even scared by seeing bats on their property or in their attics, but hitting them or spraying them with pesticides is not the answer. Bats play a key role in the environment here in Critter Control, and they should be preserved and treated humanely. Here are just a few of the reasons why our bats need to be handled with care.

Natural Insect Control

Many people don’t realize that bats are one of the most effective means of insect control in the world. A single bat can consume thousands of insects in just one night. They help us continue to be able to enjoy those warm summer nights without being eaten alive by mosquitoes. In addition to keeping the mosquitoes away from us, they also keep insects away from commercial food crops, helping to keep prices down.

Bats Are Protected

In Texas, all bats – regardless of species – are protected by law. This law protects against the use of pesticides or insecticides against bats, and prevents anybody except a licensed removal company from removing or relocating them. For this reason, if you find yourself with bats trapped in your attic or on your property, calling Critter Control® is always the smartest route. Our bat exclusion techniques preserve the shrinking number of bats in the Critter Control area, while preventing them from being a nuisance to you and your family.

What Exactly is Bat Exclusion?

As opposed to trapping or using traditional animal removal methods, exclusion is the preferred method for solving bat infestation issues. We attach one-way doors to exit points in your attic, and when the bats leave at night to go hunting for food, they are unable to get back inside. This method is not only very effective, but keeps you and the animal away from harm.

Of course, we only utilize exclusion methods during parts of the year when there are no flightless baby bats present, as that would cause the parent to leave and be unable to return to their baby.

If you find yourself faced with a bat infestation in your attic or on your property, remember that they are very important to our ecosystem, and should be treated humanely. Give the bat removal experts at Critter Control® a call today at 888-617-5764 for more information.

Raccoon-Proof your Garbage Cans

Why are raccoons so attracted to our garbage cans? We’re always hearing about dumpsters or trash cans being raided by these furry creatures, and the reason why is actually very simple. Raccoons are scavengers by nature, but even the best scavenger won’t turn down a free meal. Most garbage cans offer plenty of easy food for raccoons to take back to their families, leaving you with trash strewn about your front yard. Here are some tips to help prevent that:

Securing your garbage cans

Even though raccoons don’t have opposable thumbs like we do, they’re still very adept at pulling the lids off of trash cans. One simple solution is to feed a bungee cord through the handles and over the lid to keep it securely closed. If bungee cords aren’t an option, placing a heavy rock or cinderblock on top of the lid helps discourage raccoon activity.

Make your garbage less appealing

In addition to making your cans trickier to get into, making them less appealing is a great way to keep the raccoons away. You can try double-bagging your garbage to keep smells away, or even cover up the scent with ammonia or mothballs as raccoons are repelled by the smell.

Another approach is to sprinkle sand or baby powder on or around your garbage cans. Raccoons hate the feeling of having dusty paws, so this makes a great deterrent.

Of course, there’s always the chance that a highly determined raccoon may still find a way into your garbage. If that happens, trapping and relocation of the offending raccoon may be necessary. We do not recommend trapping raccoons on your own as they can become aggressive if they feel cornered. Instead, let the trained experts at Critter Control® take care of the issue for you. Give us a call today at 888-617-5764 to go over your options.

Bat Removal: Frequently Asked Questions

With bat season upon us here in Critter Control, incidents involving these little creatures are on the rise. While bats are extremely beneficial to our environment and play a key role in the function of our eco-system, having them inside your home or too close to your family is never a good thing.

Bats are able to squeeze their way through openings just ¼” in diameter, and can pose a threat to your home and family if left unaddressed.

Here are some of the more frequently asked questions we see about our bat removal services:

How do I know if I have a bat infestation?

If you’ve noticed the signs of bat activity around your home, chances are that there are more than one in the area. This is because bats are social by nature, and are generally part of a colony. Bats can be tricky to spot because of their nocturnal nature, but if you see guano anywhere in or around your home, chances of bat activity are very high.

Where would bats live in my home?

Generally, bats prefer attics for the ideal combination of temperature and darkness they need to survive and raise their young. Bats have also been known to take up residence in basements, chimneys and even inside roofing soffits on occasion.

Why do I need a professional bat removal service?

Bats pose a significant health risk to you and your family because of the infectious diseases that they often transmit. The accumulation of guano in your home creates a breeding ground for the fungal disease called Histoplasmosis, which can be fatal if the fungal spores are inhaled. Bats are also capable of transmitting rabies, which can cause paralysis and death in both humans and pets.

What can I do to keep bats away?

Minimize standing water around your home to keep mosquitoes away. Bats love to feed on insects like mosquitoes, so minimizing their activity around your home goes a long way towards keeping the bats away.

If you’ve noticed bat activity on your property or around your home, don’t waste any time in seeking help. Call the bat removal professionals at Critter Control® today at 888-617-5764 to set up your free home estimate.

Attic Restoration

Any time a wild animal like a squirrel, raccoon, bat, or rat makes its way into your attic, the outcome is never good. Even once any nuisance animals have been removed, the battle isn’t over. Waste, urine, feces, and other damage left behind in your attic poses a safety risk to you and your family and should be addressed as quickly as possible. Luckily, the technicians at Critter Control® are experts in attic restoration.

Mice and other rodents love the secluded protection from the elements that your attic provides for them to build nests and reproduce, meaning that just one or two nuisance animals can grow into a large infestation before you know it.

What Damage could a little Critter Cause?

You may think that just because most nuisance animals are small, that they couldn’t possibly do much damage. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Some of the common types of damage we see are:

• Insulation Damage. Most critters tear up insulation to use for their nests, and in the process generally soil it with urine and feces, rendering it ineffective and increasing your energy costs.
• Wiring Damage. Rats and other rodents are the most common culprits for this. Because they often have large front teeth that are constantly growing, they gnaw on anything around them – even electrical wiring – to keep their teeth in check. This often results in short circuits and can even pose a fire risk.
• Residual Odors. Because any wild animal that makes its way into your attic will have to relieve itself, your attic can quickly become filled with droppings and waste. Those smells can be pulled through your ventilation systems and permeate the wooden structures in your home, creating a foul odor.

If you’ve found yourself faced with an animal infestation, or need help cleaning up after one, the experts at Critter Control® are here to help. Our technicians are trained in the repair and restoration of all aspects of your attic, and will have it looking like new in no time. Give us a call today at 888-617-5764 with any questions.

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Spiders

You see them all the time and they come in many different colors and sizes. Some are hairy, some are smooth, some have eight eyes, some have two, and the list goes on. They are often feared because they aren’t understood. In fact, of the 3,400 species found in North America, only two have venom strong enough to harm a human. What are we talking about you may ask? We are talking about spiders. The creepy crawlers with 8 legs that we have grown to not love so much. Below are a list of things that aren’t generally known about spiders which will help you get to know and love them a bit more:

1) Spiders are found everywhere in the world except Antarctica.

2) All spiders have venom, but only a few are harmful to humans because their venom is very weak.

3) Spiders are a very important part of our ecosystem. They eat harmful insects, and like bees, they pollinate plants. They are also food for many birds and fish.

4) Spider webs are composed of spider silk. Spider silk is the strongest fiber known to man. It is proven to be stronger than a strand of steel with the same thickness.

5) Spiders release and spread an electrically conducive glue across their web that makes the web spring towards its prey.

6) Web weaving spiders don’t get stuck to their webs because they have an oily substance on their body to prevent this from happening.

7) Most female spiders are bigger than male spiders.

8) Hundreds of years ago, people put spider webs on their wounds to stop the bleeding. Scientists have discovered that the silk contains vitamin K, which helps reduce bleeding.

9) Spiders have blue blood. The oxygen in their blood is bound to hemocyanin, which contains copper rather than the iron in humans and makes the spider’s blood blue.

10) Spiders don’t cause bumps or rashes on humans because they don’t feed on human blood. They bite humans when they feel threatened.

Spiders may not be our favorites, but they are indeed fascinating. However, we must still be mindful that some spiders can cause us harm.

If you aren’t sure if a spider in or around your home presents a danger to your family, Call Critter Control® @ 888-617-5764 for your free home inspection today.