While bats are not the most common pest that can take up residence in your home, they can cause quite a bit of damage if left unchecked. Further, since they will usually stay in the attic, or upper levels of your home, and are only active during the night, they can be relatively hard to detect. Fortunately, there are a few common warning signs that you can watch for to identify when you should get in touch with a pest control specialist.
Sounds
The most common, and also the easiest to spot, sign that you have a bat population in your home is if you can hear scratching and movement behind your walls or ceiling. The noises will be most apparent when you are going to bed at night or waking up in the morning, since this is when bats are most active and, fortunately, when there is little ambient noise to mask their movements.
Staining
Another thing to watch out for that can indicate the presence of a large number of bats in your attic is any sort of staining on your ceiling. Urine and droppings can seep through the material and cause discoloration, and can also contribute to mold and mildew growth, which can cause structural damage to your ceiling and leave unsightly stains.
Scratching and Droppings
Another common sign of bats in your home that is a little harder to spot is the accumulation of droppings, known as guano, and scratch marks along the outside of your home. These will become most pronounced around the entryways into your home, which means that locating them can help you direct a pest control contractor to where they can begin treatment, and where you can focus your repair work afterwards to ensure that more bats and other pests aren't able to get back in after removal.
Strong Smells
Similar to the above point, you may have a bat infestation in your attic if you notice that there is a strong, unpleasant smell that permeates the upper levels of your home. Accumulated urine and guano from bats will give off the smell of ammonia, and will not go away no matter how much you clean or freshen up the rest of your home. The stronger the smell, the longer the problem has gone on for and the larger the likely bat population is, so it's best to talk to a wildlife control specialist as soon as you get a whiff of a scent in the upper levels of your home.
For more help, contact a company like E & R Exterminating Company, Inc..
