Bats

Florida Residential and Commercial Brown Bat Removal

Bats can fit in holes or gaps less than one inch, so excluding bats from a home or business requires an extensive high attention to detail. A high level of construction knowledge along with the knowledge of how to exclude bats is needed. Molter's professional techs are trained in both areas. The first step is to evict the bats from the property. 

Bats cannot be handled. Picking bats up and removing them is only permitted if they are inside a structure that is inhabited by humans. Only properly trained professionals should attempt to exclude and clean up their droppings. If the eradication process is not done properly, it may result in death for the bats. Since they are a beneficial species, and therefore protected, this is not permitted.

Bats actually have a “season” much like other wildlife. April 15-August 15 is considered bat maternity season and bats many not be handled by a homeowner or a professional. Many people ignore them simply hoping they will go away. Instead they will multiply and continue to cause more and more smell, noise and damage. 
Bat Removal – Bradenton, FL – Molter Termite and Pest Control
Bats are particularly fond of making their home in the gable roof vents, chimney caps, soffit areas, and under barrel tile roofs. In most cases Florida home owners insurance companies will try not to cover the cost of bat removal, cleanup, repairs, or the exclusion. Bat guano is very acidic. Bat urine and guano will accumulate over time resulting in waste dripping off roofs, eating away at roofing underlayment, staining concrete, paint, roof tiles, pool surfaces, and more. If an attic is infested with bats, the guano may begin dripping through ceilings, ruin insulation, sheet rock, ceiling tiles, and in severe cases will cause the interior of the ceiling to collapse. The smell of bat guano is horrible and unmistakable and once you have identified it as such. You will probably never forget it. The smell of guano often gives many people an instant headache.
Homeowner’s Insurance companies try to consider an infestation a “maintenance issue”. Many issues are not maintenance related and could not have been prevented. This is determined on a case by case basis. The risk of rabies and Histoplasmosis present real liability issues for homeowner’s insurance companies, although many will push the risk aside if not pursued. If you suspect you have a bat issue you should call us immediately for your free inspection. DO NOT call your insurance company first. They will nearly always tell you “your policy does not cover it”. Some will even tell you “rodents are not covered in your policy”, which is normally true. What most adjusters and so called policy professionals you will initially reach by phone don’t know is that bats are actually mammals. If you get an adjustor out without us and he denies your claim without our expertise, it is a lengthy appeals process to get it covered, if it is possible at all. Let Molter Pest & Wildlife Removal assess the severity of the situation first, and we will explain to you how we can proceed from there. If a claim needs to be filed, we stand by you every step of the and provide the insurance company with all the evidence to get your claim handled. The inspection is free, so what do you have to lose? Call us today before your problem gets any further out of hand.

Health Risks



Although the risk is small, the first major risk is rabies. If you suspect you have been bitten, get medical attention right away. If you are sleeping, and awake to find a bat on your skin (yes it happens) do not risk it. Have it looked at by a medical professional immediately as bites are not often felt. Bat guano carries the spores for Histoplasmosis, a disease mainly affecting the lungs of humans. The risk is much greater for those with immunity disorders, the elderly, and the very young. Bats also carry bat mites. They are often mistaken for bed bugs. Many other exterminators mistake these for bed bugs and will treat a building as such as such only to be called back over and over again as the presence of bats will allow new ones to take their place.

Bat Facts


  • Bats are not rodents as many people think. They are not “rats with wings”. They are mammals.
  • Bats are the only mammal that can fly
  • Because bats are small, secretive, and fly at night, people tend to think they are rare because of this. 
  • Bats typically consume insects such as moths, beetles, gnats, crickets and mosquitoes. 
  • The common saying “blind as a bat” is actually false. All bats can see and actually have very good eyesight. 
  • To catch and locate prey, bats use acoustic orientation called echolocation. It is the same technique used by a Dolphin to home in on fish. Bats emit a supersonic cry through their mouth or nose and locate their prey by the echoes reflected back. 
  • Bats are dusk and dawn animals. They come out to feed and for water. They normally return within an hour and leave again just before dawn.
  • Bats do not attack humans. Bats swoop as they go to enter their roosting area and if a human happens to be in the way it may occur. It is not an intentional act.   
  • Bats are actually very beneficial for the animal community. They help control night-flying insects. A single brown bat can eat up to 1000 mosquitoes in an hour. Their guano is rich in nitrogen and is sold as fertilizer. Bats are actually a federally protected animal with a “season” if you will much as certain fish or other select wildlife. The difference is you may not kill a bat as nearly 40% are on the endangered or threatened species list. If we lost our bat species we increase the demand for chemical pesticides, jeopardizing whole ecosystems of other animal and plant species and harming our economy.   
  • An anticoagulant derived from vampire bat saliva is now used to treat heart patients and stroke victims.
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