Bat Removal and Facts

Animal Capture Wildlife Control is the Leader in California for Removing Bats From Your property.

As seen on Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and Larry King Live. We have also appeared in court as an expert witness for bats.

Removing Bats From Your Property in California

Bats are animals that offer many benefits to humans and other wildlife. And although bats are around us all the time, they are able to live out their lives largely unseen. That is, until one or more bats chooses to roost in a structure.

When this happens, a host of health problems and property damage can develop that can take years, not to mention significant cost, to overcome. But when bats can be safely and professionally removed, a large number of these problems can be prevented and improved.

Animal Capture Wildlife Control provides professional bat control services in Los Angeles and all throughout California. Whether you’ve found bats in the attic, chimney, or walls, or have noticed droppings around your home or business, our bat removal experts can humanely remove them.

Dealing with Bats at Your Property

The key to stopping bats from infesting your property is to understand their behavior.

Bats are nocturnal mammals who live in colonies. They choose roosts in areas where they are fully protected from predators. These tiny animals can fit into small spaces. It’s been discovered that a bat can fit through a gap that’s the size of a quarter!

This means there are likely many spots on your building or home where bats could—or already are—roosting. So how do you prevent bats and birds from invading?

Observe

At dusk, stand outside your property and observe where the bats exit. Common locations include chimneys, near attics, and between the eaves and walls of structures. Bats typically like the highest points of the building or structure. People also notice droppings around the structure that look like mouse droppings. The way to tell the difference between a bat dropping and a mouse dropping is by putting on a glove and picking up the dropping. If you rub the dropping in between your fingers, a bat dropping will turn to dust and a mouse dropping will stay hard.

Noise

Ultrasonic devices will sometimes work, but are not guaranteed. I have found most people that contact me didn’t have any luck with them.

Create Better Spaces

Installing one or more bat houses on your property can be a very effective way to keep bats away from your home or building, especially if you’ve erected a bat house before sealing off entry and exit points in and around your structure!

About Bats in Los Angeles and Throughout California

Bats are mammals. They have fur, produce their own body heat, and provide milk for their young. They are biologically similar to other mammals, except they have a flexible membrane connecting their leg bones, tail, and elongated fingers and forearms.

A bat can live 30 years or longer, generally producing just one offspring per year. They’re nocturnal animals and feed using echolocation to capture insects, including mosquitoes. This definitely benefits humans, and also keeps insect populations in check.

Species in Los Angeles and Throughout California

Of the more than 900 bat species that exist worldwide, California is home to 24 bat species. And of these 24 species, 10 have been classified as being “Species of Special Concern.”

The reason for this classification is that numbers in these 10 bat species have been declining at an alarming rate. When this occurs with any animal species, their population scatters, becoming more localized. This means there’s high potential for a species to become threatened or endangered.

Species of bats normally found in California include:

• Big Brown Bat
• California Myotis
• Mexican Free-Tailed Bat
• Pallid Bat
• Western Pipistrelle Bat
• Yuma Myotis Bat

On the surface, bats may seem like a species that poses little threat to humans. Unfortunately, this is not the case.

The Damage Bats Can Cause

Bats can cause damage to wiring, screens, vents, soffits, and more. Bat colonies also produce high amounts of urine and feces. Bat droppings, also called bat guano, contains bacteria and Histoplasma, which is a fungus that causes lung disease (histoplasmosis).

Histoplasma is transferable to humans and pets who come into contact with bat feces infected with this fungus. Finally, bats, like every animal, carry diseases including rabies. It’s impossible to tell if a bat has rabies; the only way to know is via a lab test. A person who has been bitten or even come into contact with the saliva of a rabies-infected bat must receive a course of medication to eradicate the disease.

California and LA Bat FAQ

Q: Can anyone remove a bat?
A: Not necessarily. Bats are a protected species. Unless you have a United States Department of Fish and Game license, it is illegal to capture or possess them.

Q: What are the most common bats in California?
A: The Mexican free-tailed bat is one of the most common bats in California. It is a medium-sized bat native to the Americas, regarded as one of the most abundant mammals in North America. They roost in huge numbers up to 2,000 bats.

Q: Does Animal Capture Wildlife Control kill bats to remove them?
A: Absolutely not. We are not bat exterminators, as this is illegal, expensive and won’t stop more from coming back. Instead, we use an exclusion device that enables bats to escape but not re-enter. Our bat exclusion techniques are humane, legal, and designed to protect the species.

Q: What bat exclusion techniques do you use?
A:  We install a bat exclusion structure consisting of one-way doors for removal; then we seal up access points and potential areas of entry.

Q: Can you remove bats year-round?
A: Technically yes. However, because adults nurse their young from June through August, removal isn’t appropriate during this time, as young would die, decompose and therefore remain at the location.

Q: Do bats like lights?
A: People think that if they keep the lights on it will keep the bats away. That’s not true. Bats are attracted to lights left on because they feed on insects that are hanging out around the light. What bats do is hang out around porch light and feed off of the insects that are hanging around the lights. I recently had a job at an 80,000 sq ft commercial property that had lights around the building. The bats had entry points right by every light around the building. So, the food was two feet from where they were getting in. Many people get bats that fly into the home as well because the bats are hanging around the front porch light. When people open the door the bats go with the gust of air and fly inside the home.

Why Choose Us to Get Rid of Bats in Los Angeles and Throughout California

Animal Capture Wildlife Control has 25+ years of bat removal experience from several property types including hospitals, ICU units, Commercial properties of all sizes, apartment buildings, hotels, high rises, and homes. We operate under a state trapping license from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, offering reliable, professional and timely removal of bats and other wildlife.

Our excellent service record has received much recognition and several accolades.

If you have bats in a structure, our bat experts can perform a safe and humane removal.

Our services are available to home and business owners throughout Los Angeles and other cities in California, including Beverly Hills, Burbank, Calabasas, Glendale, Long Beach, Pasadena, West Hollywood, Torrance, Hawthorne, Whittier, Lancaster, Bakersfield, Santa Clarita, Huntington Park, and other communities.

For more information on our expert bat removal services, contact Animal Capture Wildlife Control, a leader in bat removal in California, at 310-551-0901.

Bat Removal Projects