Bat Removal in Freehold, NJ
Challenge
Recently, we were sent out on a service call for a resident in Freehold, NJ. The homeowner was having an issue with bats getting in his attic. How did he know he had bats? As he was sitting out on his porch one evening, he saw multiple bats fly out of his attic!
Bats can be dangerous because they carry rabies but a lesser-known danger is that bat droppings carry Histoplasma capsulatum fungus that leads to Histoplasmosis disease. Histoplasmosis is a type of lung infection that affects people with weaker immune systems and is fatal. Currently, there is no vaccine available to prevent histoplasmosis. Also, bats are social mammals and prefer to live in large colonies. Even if you see a single bat inside the home, chances are that it is part of a larger colony inhabiting your house!
Beginning our inspection we discovered a gap between the fascia and the brick that was wide enough to allow bats to enter (bats can squeeze through holes as small as 6 millimeters or about the size of a dime). Continuing our inspection we found another gap between the fascia and the soffit and determined that this was the main access point.
Solution
First, we sealed up every opening around the entire house that was bigger than a 1/4” with expandable foam and installed static and attic vent covers to prevent any additional wildlife from entering the home. Once all the possible entryways were sealed, we installed a one-way device over the main access point and temporarily sealed it off with hardware cloth. A one-way device allows a bat to safely exit the home but prevents it from getting back in.
Once all the bats were safely removed from the home, we properly sealed off the main access point with metal flashing and completely sanitized and deodorized the attic area.
