This Overland Park bat removal story is a common one. It started with a free attic inspection which confirmed the presence of bats. Our Wildlife Manager Wade found that the bats were accessing this home’s attic through the louvered vent in the front of the home (1st photo). Sometimes finding all the access points that bats are using can be tricky, as bats can squeeze through gaps as small as 3/8th of an inch (about the thickness of a number 2 pencil). While in this case the easy access point was the vent, our Wildlife Manager Wade ruled out other access points during his thorough home inspection of the soffits, fascia, roof valleys and the other roof vents.

All attic vents should be screened to prevent access by insects, birds, bats, raccoons and squirrels. Most vents, if they are screened, are screened on the inside. Inside screening is generally OK, but bats will roost in the vent itself right up against the screen. They love to roost between the vent louvers during the day or to just digest their food after feeding at night. These areas are very protected from predators which is another attraction. Also the heat radiating from the attic is perfect for bats that love temperatures up to 104 degrees. This is a great average temperature for females to raise her pups.

When bats are in a screened louvered vent, despite not technically being “in” the attic, their guano and urine will still be on the house. Because bat guano/urine is caustic, the result will be damage to the paint and siding of the house. Our experience in this area is one advantage to hiring a company that has been dealing with bats for decades, and this is why we prefer to install the screen on the outside of vents. At first most people balk at the idea of installing a screen on the exterior, but after they see the damage that animals can cause and the decorative screen that we use they fall in love with the function and the aesthetics (2nd and 3rd photos).

The good news here is that the homeowner caught this problem early enough so it was not necessary to replace the insulation in the attic.

And, we will take just a moment here to point out how we do business (i.e. our honesty and ethics): while we could have told the homeowner that the insulation needed to be replaced to get additional work for ourselves, that’s just not how we operate. We work hard during the day and we sleep well at night. We’ve been conducting attic inspections for decades and are experienced in what constitutes an infestation that is a health hazard. Just because bats have been in the attic doesn’t mean all of the insulation has to be replaced. We have chosen to build our business through honest work for a fair price, and in this case, there just wasn’t contamination in the insulation which would necessitate replacing insulation.

A KCMO homeowner called us because they wanted a second opinion before spending $18,000 with an unnamed National Franchise having their attic insulation replaced due to mouse droppings.

First, I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. $18,000 for insulating a house? We've insulated businesses and churches that cost $18,000 or more, but a house? That sounds very high.

Second, mouse droppings?! Sure, no one likes droppings, but let's be reasonable here: mouse droppings are not hazardous. When we say that bat and raccoon droppings/feces/guano are hazardous, we're not simply promoting our services or trying to scare people into calling us - bat and raccoon droppings are hazardous to humans. The CDC lists those hazards on their website. But mouse droppings? First, ok, yes, make sure you don't have active mice. Then second, sure, clean that "stuff" up where you see the mess - but you don't have to throw out thousands of dollars of insulation in your attic and bring in new insulation due to mice.

As I said, the homeowner called us because they wanted a second opinion before spending $18,000 with the unnamed National Franchise. We offer free inspections for insulation estimates only. All our inspections include entering the attic to inspect for any signs of animal or pest activity as well as evidence of damage, such as wire damage, flex tube damage (very common if squirrels or raccoons are present), etc. Our job is to protect your home. Each technician will take pictures to show the homeowner what was found. We can email or text these pictures to the customer for future reference. 

We went out and inspected the attic and provided the homeowner with a report along with our recommendations.

What did we find? Two little mouse droppings. That's it. This is not what would be considered an infestation, and even if there was a larger quantity let's not forget that, despite any type of waste being unclean and unpleasant, mouse droppings are not hazardous. You don't have to throw EVERYTHING out. Only in EXTREME situations would we even consider removing attic insulation because of a mouse infestation. 

The homeowner called us up later in the day, expressing appreciation for the professionalism and expertise demonstrated by our technician, and saying that they are ending their business relationship with the unnamed National Franchise and will only call us in the future for any type of pest or animal control need.

What's sad about this situation is that this is not an isolated instance. We've heard and seen this before. It's too bad that not all businesses choose to conduct themselves in an ethical and honorable fashion. Whether the franchise was simply being greedy and purposely trying to take advantage of this homeowner, or whether the franchise innocently thought that mice droppings were hazardous and doesn't know what they are doing - neither one of those bodes well for the franchise.

For us? What more can we do besides be here, and available. We're continuing to conduct business the way we have for over 30 years. We might be considered "old school" because we're not greedy and are not quoting high prices for unnecessary work and have spent years studying and gaining knowledge and experience in this arena, but we believe that, in the long run, this is the proper way to do business.

An Overland Park, Kansas, homeowner contacted us regarding a beetle infestation. She had literally hundreds of beetles in her window and wasn't sure what was going on. She had already cleaned most of them up when we took our photo (1st photo)

The beetles were carpet beetles -- dermestidae beetles to be exact. These little beetles are only about 1/8th of an inch long when full size (the 2nd photo shows the beetles a bit closer, although the focus was slightly off), and tend to feed on dry organic material.

This story is a good example of why pest control isn't about simply spraying chemicals all over the place (please DON'T ever hire a pest control company that simply sprays everywhere!)  - it's more often about understanding insect behavior and habitat, combined with a solid and careful inspection, and from that comes a treatment plan.

The window the beetles were in was the warmest, most sun-exposed window of the house --- they were trying to get out of the house. Without finding any signs of beetles upstairs or downstairs we knew the source was the main floor. During the course of the inspection, our technician spotted a single beetle under the sink (3rd photo) and knew he was on to something. We soon had solved the puzzle.

About a year previously, the homeowner had a problem with mice and had purchased several DIY mouse bait stations. These bait stations are sealed. However, we handle professional mouse and pest removal and know what is inside of DIY mouse bait stations: dry organic food to attract mice. We opened the mouse bait station and instantly found the source of the beetle infestation. We removed all of the DIY mouse bait stations and did some limited spraying. Problem solved with no recurrence.

This is a great example of what can happen with undetected animals living in your attic or home. A family of raccoons got into this house's attic and was living there, unnoticed, for quite some time. The weight of the animals' waste (both urine, and feces) built up to the point where the living room ceiling completely collapsed. 

The good news is that we were able to completely remediate everything for the homeowners, and it was all covered by insurance. Yet the moral remains: if you hear something odd in your attic, make sure to get it checked out sooner, rather than later.

Here's a bat removal job that we handled in Leavenworth, Kansas. The call came in the spring and when we arrived to inspect the home the bats already had pups (babies). We quickly found the access point: a damaged chimney crown. The bats were using this to access a heater vent and then getting down into the the homeowner's basement - which brings up an interesting point: bats don't always get into attics, it is not uncommon for them to suddenly appear in other parts of a home.

Bats are an important part of our local ecology and are protected by law. We needed to find a way to protect the bats and their pups until the pups were mature and able to live on their own - but at the same time it's not really acceptable to have bats flying around this dear lady's basement.

We installed a mesh screen in the basement so that the bats were contained to a small area and would not be flying around. A few months later the pups had matured and we installed one-way doors so that the bats could exit, but not re-enter, the home.

Next we repaired the damaged chimney crown. This is an important part of what sets us apart from other bat control companies: we not only do repair work, but we do quality repair work. With other companies you often have to hire a contractor to handle repairs.

The photo shows the repaired chimney crown. Later, we also installed a chimney cap, and it's too bad we forgot to get a photo of the final chimney!