So I found out we have a bat colony living in our attic. Anybody ever have them? How hard and expensive are they to get out. I also assume that I will have to remove all the insulation from the attic and clean out all the guano and re-insulate? They seem to be coming in the eaves between the gutters and shingles under the roof sheeting. I have no idea how may but from all the poo it seems like a lot of them.
That poo is was of the worst things you can breath from what I've read, so remember that when cleaning etc
Find their entry/exit point, screen it off when they're gone, leave whatever shit there is to dry and decay. It's just animal shit. Won't hurt a thing. I've done it several times.
This is no help, but when I was a kid our next door neighbors had the exact problem. All I remember is that it seemed the entire neighborhood was standing outside when the exterminator arrived, and shortly thereafter hundreds of bats came flying out of the attic. How they got them to flee is a total mystery to me, but I still remember that from over 50 years ago.
This is bad advice. Guano is very bad for you. This is one of those times where you call a pro. Depending on your location, the bats may be a protected species, which complicates things nicely.
Exactly what I am afraid of! Looking for one now.. I googled some and pricing is all over the place. I have seen $800-8000.00. I'm sure it is based on how bad the infestation is but they never say what is bad? That was going to be my title! LOL
If in the middle of the night one wakes you to tell you he's thirsty, it's bad. No wait....that's for an infestation of kids. Nevermind.
I've read up on the subject a little last year when I thought I might have one (wound up being flying squirrels), IIRC, some recommended building bat houses outside your home and supposedly that may attract them to move into those instead???? My sister in law just last week shared their experience, funny thing was they wake up to haring someone on their roof one morning, my b.i.l. walks out and asks what he's doing, he says I'm looking for the bat entry/exit holes, here to get rid of your bat problem......b.i.l. says awesome but I didn't call you guys yet....lol.....guy was immensely embarrassed for showing up and working on the wrong home, shares that they also have a bat problem and the guy cut him a huge break, normally costs $1500 but charged him half that, no more bat problems. This was in central Michigan.
Set a small fire at the base of the house.....leave for 3 weeks....the bats will be gone when you return.
I had the same problem in my old house. I hired a company to come out and seal the gaps in the soffit as that's where the bats would get in. You could hear them scratching and crawling in the walls during the heat of the day and sit outside at night and watch hundreds of them fly out at dusk. The company I hired used the black foam pipe insulation to fill the gaps and then used silicone/caulking to cover the foam to fill in any gaps. They left a one way exit route for the bats, similar to a dryer vent that would open to let them out, then close so they couldn't get back in before dawn. After about 2 weeks they came back out and removed the vent and sealed it up. Once that was all done, no more bat issues. IMO it's worth hiring an expert to do it as they can do it a lot faster since they do it all the time, and it's worth the money to have a professional do it as they give you a guarantee. As mentioned above, they are protected here in NC so exterminating them was not an option. The funny part was once I sealed up my house the bats all moved to the neighbor's house and they had to do the exact same thing.
That all looks great except my attic is about 120 degrees on a average day, full of insulation, has no floor and is full of bat sh-t! Wish it was that easy.