Siford’s Wildlife Services provides professional bat removal and exclusion from your house or any other structure around your home or business. Since bats are such an important part of our ecosystem and are currently in danger, we carefully follow industry standards to ensure the bats are not harmed. Just give us a call at 814 969-4188.
One-Way Valve
To allow the bats to leave the house or structure unharmed, we install one-way valves. These devices allow the bats to freely exit their roost, while blocking re-entry. All other entry/exit points on the house or structure are sealed. These one-way valves remain in place for approximately 2 weeks to ensure all bats inside have time to leave, then we remove the valves and seal those entry/exit points as well.
COMMON ENTRY POINTS FOR BATS
Gable Vents
Bats often enter attic space through the gable vents or holes or tears in screening placed behind the gable vents. Often, these vents are screened from the inside, which allows the bats to roost behind the vent louvers on the outside. Over time, excrement from the bats roosting against the screen rots away the screen and creates an entryway into the attic.
We perform all gable vent screening from the outside using higher grade hardware cloth so that the bats do not have the opportunity to roost under the louvers.
Dormer Corners/Soffit Returns
Another popular place where bats can access the attic space is through gaps where dormer corners or soffit returns meet the roof. If these junctions are not tightly sealed, the bats can land on the roof and crawl right into the attic through the gap.
Depending on the size of the gap, different materials are used to properly seal the dormer corner and soffit return junctions. In some cases an industrial-grade caulk is used, while in other cases new soffit material or coil-stock metal is installed.
Ridge Cap
When the ridge cap on a house begins to age and warp, access points are created along the entire ridge line of the house, not only for bats but for mice, squirrels, and insects (bees, wasps, etc.) as well.
We are a certified installer for Ridge-Guard that covers the edge of the ridge vent and essentially closes any access points created by the loose or warped ridge cap so that no pests can enter under the ridge cap.
Roof Vents
Similar to the dormer corners and soffit returns, roof vents are another place where bats have the opportunity to land on the roof and crawl into the attic space through gaps in the roof vents or power fan vents.
We offer products that are installed over the roof vents and/or power fan vents so that there are no access points through these vents.
Chimneys
Although chimneys are necessary to vent wood stoves, furnaces, etc., they mimic a natural tree cavity that many types of animals decide to use as a home if similar natural openings are not available. In addition to bats, we have vast experience with raccoons, chimney swifts, squirrels, and other small animals making homes and having litters in people’s chimneys.
We always recommend installing chimney caps over all flues to prevent wildlife from moving into your chimney. We also offer crown coating services to restore minor cracks and protect your chimney crown from further weathering.
Frieze Board/Brick Interface
Due to subtle variances in brick and mortar joints on brick homes, sometimes there will be a gap large enough for bats to roost behind the frieze board along the top “trim” of a brick house. This is often apparent due to staining on the frieze board or mortar joint from the bat repeatedly entering and exiting the gap.
Depending on the size of the gap, industrial-grade caulk and/or metal backing is used to eliminate the gap.
Shutters
Bats like to roost in tight, dark spaces – sometimes the louvers behind your shutters provide that perfect space to roost.
In order to discourage bats from roosting behind the shutters, we install spacers behind the shutters to extend them slightly from the home so that there is no longer a tight, cozy space for the bats to feel comfortable roosting.
Bat Boxes
Siford’s Wildlife Services also offers bat box installations to try to help with the declining bat population by giving bats an alternate place to roost. The best locations to install bat boxes are sunny southeast facing areas where the box can be installed at least 12 feet high. Locations near a water source are also preferable.
We can solve your bat problems – Call 814 969-4188
James Siford, owner of Siford’s Wildlife Services, is Bat Standards Certified by the National Wildlife Control Operators Association (NWCOA) and a Certified Structural Bat Management Professional.
Why the bat population is declining
Although you don’t want bats inside your house, they are extremely valuable for insect control and they are an important part of our ecosystem. The video below explains the danger bats face and why we are so careful not to harm the bats when we remove them from your home or business.