Bats – People are most likely to encounter nuisance bats when a roosting colony takes up residence in a building. Attics often make excellent habitats, as do barns.

Bats need only a half inch or less of space to crawl through in order to enter a building. Once inside, if the habitat is good, the colony grows until the homeowner notices the bats flying out of the building, notices the droppings in the attic, chimney, outside, or even the basement (when the droppings fall down the walls). Sometimes, a bat will get lost and find its way out of the attic and into the living area. Occasionally, a transient bat may also fly into a house.

Bat removal requires experience. Bats become a nuisance when they roost in large numbers in human dwellings, and bats love attics.

The rapid and smelly accumulation of guano (droppings) is unpleasant, and serves as a fertile breeding ground for a fungal disease called histoplasmosis, which is transferable to humans who breathe in the fungal spores.

Bats are also known to carry rabies, a viral disease that causes progressive paralysis and death in mammals, including humans. Many people don’t like the droppings littering the ground, the noise the bats make, or the odor they emit, and many people are simply uncomfortable around bats.