Like Elite Pest Control, bats are experts in pest management. These winged mammals hunt and eat a large number of insects living near their natural habitat. But what should you do when these animals choose to settle in your home rather than in the small woodland next door? When they contaminate your land or your home with their excrement that could be harmful to the people in the vicinity?
Find out about the potential dangers of bat guano and the risks to your health.
Bat guano dangers for humans
Talk to a bat exterminator and they will tell you: bat guano is a danger to human health. This is because the presence and accumulation of bat droppings in a house allows bacteria in the feces of the small flying mammal to grow. When it decomposes, guano releases pathogens into the air. Although bats frequently carry the rabies virus, the disease is not even the most alarming one.
Histoplasmosis: the main risk of bat feces
Histoplasmosis is the most common disease associated with bat feces. It is a respiratory disease that affects the lungs. This disease contaminates its host when they inhale the spores released by the decomposing guano. Some symptoms of this disease are shortness of breath, cough, headache, lack of appetite, fever, joint pain, chest pain and vision problems.
People with weakened immune systems are at greater risk of contracting this disease, as are some professional occupations such as gardeners, construction workers and speleologists.
Bats, guano and your house
In addition to the direct dangers of guano to human health, bat feces can also cause major structural problems. This is particularly the case when guano contaminates a home’s attic and insulation. In addition, since guano is corrosive, it can cause sections of your floor and ceiling to collapse or weaken when accumulation becomes excessive.
The importance of caulking and decontamination after an infestation
Health-conscious homeowners can implement preventive measures to avoid and reduce the risk of spreading diseases linked to bat guano. Caulking your home is a very effective method in this regard. This technique aims to identify and block all entry points through which a bat is likely to enter your home.
Similarly, when you identify bat droppings in your home, it is important to clean up the affected area and decontaminate it. Of course, caulking and decontamination should preferably be done by a professional extermination service.
Prevent bat guano from affecting your health
Although some bat species are protected by government authorities, under no circumstances should you tolerate their presence in your home, since the bacteria contained in their guano can make you seriously ill.
Have you noticed any traces of bat urine or feces in your home? Contact Elite Pest Control. Our experienced exterminators will do their utmost to relocate these mammals to a more suitable environment for them.
