the roofline to ensure that they stay out. It is done by installing one-way exclusion valves over their active entry and exit locations, and sealing all alternate routes, thereby forcing the bats to pass through the valves and have no way back in. The exclusion valves stay in place for about a week, then they are removed and the gaps are thoroughly sealed. If it's done properly, it should be 100% effective and the whole perimeter roofling will be tight. If it's not done properly, you could wind up with a bunch of dead bats, or worse yet, a house full of bats flying around in your rooms because they were actually sealed in!
When dealing with bats in houses, it is usually either the Little brown bat (myotis spp.) or the Big brown bat
(eptesicus spp.) that I find roositng in attics or under the rake trim. They love the heat of the attics, and the stale stagnant air. They like to enter at the cornice junction on the gable ends, the soffits underneath a dormer, at the eaves, and at the ridgevent and under chimney flashing. They will live in your house, and come and go on a nightly basis from around April until late October or November. They usually will not leave on their own unless excluded out. Putting up a bat-house will not get them to leave without being excluded out first.
I perform all of the bat-proofing myself. I do not use any technicians for this procedure. I want to know years down the road exactly what was done on your house in case it needs follow up work or warranty work. I may not remember your name, but I remember all of the houses I work on. Warranties are given on all bat jobs ranging from 1 year to 5 years. I don't believe in warranties longer than that because after a year or 2, your bats have moved somewhere else anyway and won't be back. Should you have a problem after your warranty is up, and it was a fault of mine, I'll fix it free of charge anyway, so it's not something you need to worry about. I will treat your house as if it were my own. I use high quality products to seal with, and take the time to do it right. The last thing I want is for you to have to call me the following summer for warranty work. Therefore it's in
my best interest as well to do my best work. When I'm done, my goal is for you to look at your house and never
know that I was there, except for the missing bat colony.
Having your house bat-proofed can be an expensive procedure, and it's not something you would have budgeted for. An average colonial may cost around $1,700.00, while a cape may be $1,500.00. Contemporary houses which usually have the most potential entry points can cost near $2,400.00. A lot of the cost depends on areas which need to be sealed, how much time is spent on the roof, the height of the roof, number of one-way valves needed to get the bats out, size of the bat colony and how long it's been living in the house. All of these factors effect the price, so it's hard to quote accurately without seeing the house in person. It is however a permanent and effective solution to an unhealthy problem which will eventually lower the value of your home. A house that has been bat-proofed is also more energy effecient because we have sealed the gaps around the roofline where heat would be leaking out. It is for this reason that bat-proofing can be written of as a tax deduction for weatherproofing.
