{"id":234,"date":"2017-05-19T19:47:37","date_gmt":"2017-05-19T19:47:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/statuswebsolutions.com\/bats\/?page_id=234"},"modified":"2017-05-19T19:47:37","modified_gmt":"2017-05-19T19:47:37","slug":"batten-down-those-hatches-bats-are-in-full-flight","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/batcontrolspecialists.com\/batten-down-those-hatches-bats-are-in-full-flight\/","title":{"rendered":"Batten down those hatches, bats are in full flight"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\t\tThe City, LONDON FREE PRESS<\/span>\t\t\t<\/div>\n


\n\t\t\t<\/header>\n

Ian Gillespie
\nThe City, LONDON FREE PRESS
\nIt was about 3 a.m. Dazed from a broken sleep, I stumbled in o the bathroom, flicked on the light, readied myself for the act of emptying my bladder and then\u2026<\/p>\n

And then I screamed.<\/p>\n

There was a bat thrashing around inside the toilet bowl.<\/p>\n

Now, I\u2019ve seen my share of upsetting things. But I\u2019d be lying if I said the sight of that winged thing didn\u2019t get my heart racing, my adrenaline coursing and my mind freaking.<\/p>\n

But my bat in a bowl pales when compared with what Benjamin Vaughan has seen. Like the time he and his team removed about 3,000 bats from an old farmhouse in Alexandria, east of Ottawa.<\/p>\n

\u201cI immediately realized the extent of the problem,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I could hear the walls \u2013 from the outside, in the daytime \u2013 just shimmering, just alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s spring. That means the temperature is rising. And that means things are about to get busy for Vaughan, who has owned and operated Bat Control Specialists (batcontrolspecialists.com) for about 15 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is when business really picks up,\u201d he says. \u201cBecause the bats that have gone elsewhere to hibernate for the winter are returning and the bats that were hibernating in houses are waking up and becoming more active.\u201d<\/p>\n

Depending on the season, Vaughan employs between for and 10 workers and travels throughout Ontario, Quebec and even the Maritimes to evict the unwelcome guests. He says that between now and early fall, he\u2019ll get between 50 and 100 calls a day from folks freaked out by bats.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have a couple hundred bats in a house, the amount of damage they can do is atrocious,\u201d he says. \u201cThe stench can become unbearable during heatwaves.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s the real danger. Bat poop. Or guano. A bat can produce several times its weight in waste each month. And inhaling spores of infected waste can lead to histoplasmosis, an infectious disease that can cause flu-like symptoms, respiratory problems, blindness or even death.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had two rabies deaths in 30 years in this country from bats,\u201d says Vaughan.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I know of three deaths from histoplasmosis in the last few years.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Vaughan resembles a spaceman when he works, wearing a full-hooded suit and air-filter system.<\/p>\n

In Ontario, most bats are either the Little Brown or Big Brown variety. Typically, they enter a house through dime-sized gaps in soffit and fascia boards, through vent covers or chimneys. Once inside, the bats will often reside between the roof decking and ceiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cBats spend their lives trying to regulate their temperature,\u201d says Vaughan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s really hot, they\u2019ll be in the north wall, which is out of the direct sunlight. When it\u2019s cooler, they\u2019re going to be in the south wall so they\u2019ll stay warm. They\u2019re constantly shifting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vaughan has heard all the old wives\u2019 tales. No, they won\u2019t bite your neck. In fact, he says, a bat isn\u2019t likely to bite unless you pick it up, or accidentally step or lie on it.<\/p>\n

And what about bats flying into your hair?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a crock of hooey,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been in attics with hundred of bats flying around and they\u2019re not landing on my head they\u2019re not landing in my hair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finding and catching bats (Vaughan uses special one-way traps) is one thing. But the real work involves sealing the entry spots.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo do bat work effectively, you\u2019ve pretty much got to know everything there is to know about construction,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow buildings move, breathe, expand, contract, different construction methods and materials, vent systems, chimneys\u2026 That\u2019s why it\u2019s such a specialty.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not cheap. With the cost of time, travel and materials, Vaughan says a bat-removal job can cost between $2,500 and $6,000.<\/p>\n

And that rarely pleases people \u2013 not even the priest who hired Vaughan to roust the bats from a church near Leamington.<\/p>\n

\u201cI gave the priest the contract and as he was signing it he said to me, \u2018I\u2019ve been praying for years that God would get rid of the bats,\u2019 \u201crecalls Vaughan.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then he gave me this hard look and he said, \u2018I see he sent you instead\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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