ALL OUT Wildlife Control offers the latest and most humane methods for removing bats from any structure. We offer a complete and thorough, no obligation bat inspection. Occasionally, we are called in to remove one bat, but in most situations a colony of bats must be removed from the structure. In either case, ALL OUT Wildlife Control implements non-lethal control measures. Several bat species in Missouri and Illinois are endangered, and subject to federal protection laws. We do not use poisons, pesticides or traps in our exclusions. No bats are ever harmed.

An average colony may consist of a couple hundred bats.

Our Bat Removal and Prevention Methods

Both Dave and Laura are NWCOA Bat Standards Compliant, meaning we have studied the best management practices of bat control and passed a certification exam. We will do a painstaking inspection of your building to determine every spot within your structure where a bat can get in or out. Once the bats leave the structure it is sealed with permanent, weather-tight materials so future entry is not possible, and a three-year warranty against re-colonization is issued.

We are fully licensed and insured to handle all of your needs.

Bat control should be done by excluding entry into buildings, not by killing bats.

Bats occur worldwide. Of the approximately 850 species of bats only 39 occur in the United States.

The bats of our area are highly beneficial because they consume tremendous numbers of night-flying insects, including mosquitoes. There are no fruit bats or vampire bats in this area. Bats locate insects at night using a very sophisticated sonar system (echolocation), emitting supersonic sounds and listening for echoes. Bats are most frequently seen on warm nights feeding over bodies of water, around buildings or forest edges, or around lights. During the day, bats find shelter in a variety of secluded places, preferring small, dark, poorly ventilated spaces that heat up during the day. Tree cavities, snags, and especially the hundreds of caves in this area, are important roost sites. Due to increasing urbanization, the number of these natural roosting sites has been reduced and window shutters, drain pipes, billboards, roof tiles, and attics have become popular roosting site substitutes.

Bats in the home

The presence of a bat in the home may be a sign that the house is not weather-tight. If so, take appropriate measures to locate openings and seal them. However, their presence usually means that a colony of bats has established a roost in a crawl space or attic. An obvious sign that a bat colony has taken up residence is when bats are observed going in and out of a hole in the house at dusk. If they become a nuisance, the only long-term solution is to bat proof the building.

Bat Control Methods

In light of bats’ beneficial feeding habits, give careful consideration before implementing any control measures. Pesticides, pollution, people, and habitat loss have reduced bat populations significantly. That is why ALL OUT Wildife Control uses live removal and exclusion methods only.

Exclusion Method

The only permanent way to get rid of a bat colony is to exclude them from the building by sealing their entrance holes (bat proofing). Locating the entrance way(s) to a bat colony is the most important step before implementing an eviction plan. Time of year is an important factor. Spring, late summer and early fall are the best times to exclude bats. Since their main source of food–flying insects–is very scarce in the winter, bats will hibernate or migrate during winter in cold weather climates. The worst time? From the first of June to approximately the second week of August, bats form nursing colonies. Exclusionary measures taken at this time would create major problems. There is a high probability that lactating mothers and their young are present. Young bats, not yet able to fly, remain in the roost. Sealing entrance ways would trap many of the baby bats, separating mothers from their young and leaving the young bats to die, or wander into the living quarters of the building. The odor from dead bats is extremely offensive. It also may attract other bats in the area, increasing bat activity even more. Any adults trapped inside would try to locate other exits increasing the possibility of contact with humans.

Other Bat Control Methods

In the past, other less-effective means have been attempted to control or kill bats, such as fumigation, repellents, toxins such as mothballs, traps or poisons. These methods are unreliable, cruel, and many times create more problems. We strongly recommend that you avoid any suggestion to try them. At ALL OUT, we use the bats’ biology against them, and solve your problem without creating another!

WHITE NOSE SYNDROME

White Nose Syndrome, a fungus that is devastating bat colonies in the Eastern United States, is spreading and was found in Missouri’s Onondaga Cave in January 2013. It does not affect humans, but is endangering bat populations.  It is imperative that we find a way to protect them and preserve their crucial role in our ecosystem. To learn more about the efforts to contain WNS, please see https://whitenosesyndrome.org/.