Bat Removal & Exclusion in Perry, GA

Bats in your Perry home

Bats are quiet tenants, so the first sign in Perry is usually not a sound — it's guano on the ground. Small dark droppings collect on the porch, a windowsill or the dirt below a gable vent, and at sunset bats slip out of the same spot to feed. The creek bottoms, ponds and farm fields around Perry produce plenty of night-flying insects, and the older houses downtown, with their gable vents and gaps at the eaves, give bats a warm roost close by. Big brown bats are one of the species that commonly roost in Georgia buildings.

Bats are protected and valuable insect-eaters, so the goal is to get them out of the house, not to kill them. The catch is timing: in summer the colony is raising pups that can't fly, and sealing the house then would trap them inside. That schedule, plus the health risk from guano, is why bat work is done by a licensed pro. Here's how it works in Perry.

The maternity season: April 1 through July 31

From April 1 through July 31 bat colonies are giving birth and raising pups that can't fly yet. Closing the exits during that time would leave the young to die inside the walls. Georgia DNR does allow exclusion during the maternity window when a licensed Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator does it, and good operators only go ahead when they can confirm there are no flightless young or the bats are a real health risk. Otherwise the bats stay until August, and exclusion happens in late summer or fall, or in early spring before pups are born. Inspections can be done any time of year.

Guano and histoplasmosis

A colony uses the same roost every night, so guano adds up quickly in insulation and on surfaces. Dried guano can contain the fungus that causes histoplasmosis, a lung infection people get by breathing in the spores. Don't sweep it up or vacuum it with a household vacuum. Removing it is a job for someone with the right protection. One honest note: guano should be cleaned out where it can be, but full insulation replacement is often recommended when it isn't needed. Ask your pro to show you why it's necessary before agreeing to it.

Where bats get into Perry houses

Bats don't make holes; they use the ones already there. A gap about the width of a finger is enough. The usual spots on Perry homes are gable vents with worn screens, the space where fascia and soffit meet, loose ridge vents and uncapped chimneys. The droppings below an opening and stains around its edge help point the inspection to the right place. Every gap has to be found, because bats will move to whichever one is left open.

How exclusion is done

The pro seals the secondary gaps first and fits a bat valve (a one-way device) over the main exit. Bats leave at dusk to feed and can't get back in. After a visual check confirms the roost is empty, the valve comes down and the last opening is sealed. Most bat jobs take two or three visits; a small roost in a gable vent may be finished in one. Guano cleanup follows once the bats are gone.

What not to do

Don't caulk or tape the hole where you see bats leaving. If young are inside or the whole colony isn't out, that traps them in the walls, and harming a protected species is illegal. Mothballs, sprays and ultrasonic devices don't move bats. And never pick up a bat with bare hands; if a bat has been in a room where someone was sleeping, call your doctor or the health department about rabies.