Bat Removal & Exclusion in Peachtree Corners, GA

Bats in your Peachtree Corners home

Stormwater ponds are good for bats. Still water produces mosquitoes, midges and moths, and the open lawn and tree lines around a Technology Park pond give bats a clear place to hunt after dark. A colony feeding there needs somewhere to sleep during the day, and the closest dry, sheltered spot is often a gable vent or attic on a house nearby. In Georgia attics that's usually big brown bats, sometimes little brown bats.

The first sign most people notice is droppings on the ground: small dark pellets on a deck, a patio or a window ledge under a vent, often mistaken for mouse droppings. Bats don't chew or thump, so that pile may be the only clue for a while. Because bats are protected and have pups in late spring and summer, what you can do and when depends on the calendar. A licensed Gwinnett County pro starts with the date.

April 1 to July 31: when exclusion waits

From April 1 through July 31, female bats in Georgia are nursing pups that can't fly. If the exits are closed or a one-way valve goes up during those months, the adults leave and the pups starve inside. That means dead bats in the wall, a smell, and a problem with a protected species. If the bats aren't causing a health problem, the standard advice is to leave them until August. If it truly can't wait, Georgia DNR allows exclusion during that window when a licensed Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator does it. An inspection can be done any time.

In a vent or in the attic?

Bats that are only inside a gable vent, between the louvers and the screen, are a much smaller job than a colony that has spread into the attic. The vent can often be handled in a single visit. A colony in the attic, with droppings in the insulation, takes longer. Usually that means two or three visits: one to set up the exclusion, time for the bats to leave, and a return trip to seal up and clean. The inspection tells you which job you have.

Why the droppings are a health risk

One bat isn't much of a hazard. A colony that comes back to the same attic every night builds up a pile of guano, and dried guano can carry the fungus that causes histoplasmosis, a lung infection you can get by breathing the dust. Don't sweep it or vacuum it with a household vacuum. Cleanup should be done by someone with a respirator who bags it properly. Removing the guano is usually the right call, but tearing out all the insulation often isn't. Ask what's actually contaminated.

How exclusion works

The pro watches the roof at dusk to find every hole the bats use. Gaps a finger wide are common at vent edges, roof seams and loose flashing. A one-way device, often called a bat valve, goes over each active exit. Bats can fly out to feed but can't get back in. Once a visual check shows they're gone, the holes are sealed with metal and caulk, and every other gap on the roofline is closed so the colony doesn't come back through a different one.

Don't seal it yourself, and skip the gadgets

The usual mistake is finding the gap and filling it with foam the same day. Do that in summer and you trap pups. Do it any time before every bat is out and you trap adults, which then crawl down the walls looking for a way out, sometimes into the house. Ultrasonic devices and repellent sprays don't move a colony. If a bat does end up in a living space, especially a bedroom where someone was asleep, don't handle it. Call, because bats can carry rabies.