When it comes to managing insect populations, few animals are as important as bats. Bats are an important part of the environment and they are also endangered. Bats can make their way into your property, and when they do, they can pose risks to you and your family as well as damage to your attic or siding. But hurting these animals hurts the environment. For these reasons, bats in homes should be removed with humane methods that cause no harm to the animal while still keeping bats away from the property.
NJ and NY Laws Regarding Bat Removal
Federal and state laws in NY and NJ make it illegal to kill bats, even when they have established a colony inside your home. Proper removal of bats depends on understanding these laws that protect them as an endangered animal. In some cases, removal can only occur during certain months of the year. Timing is determined around the breeding season so that pregnant and baby bats are not harmed.
In NY, the Endangered Species law protects certain species of bats, like the northern long-eared and Indiana, by enforcing when and how bats can be removed from a home. The list of protected species can change, so it is important to always check before removing bats – whether or not you are a professional.
The NJ Endangered and Nongame Species Conservation Act of 1973 provides similar standards that make harming or bothering bats illegal and outline the times when bats can be removed from a home. In NJ, exclusions can only be performed between April 1 and April 30 or August 1 and October 15 – the only time of year when bats are unlikely to breed.
Bat Exclusion Services
Because of laws and the benefits bats have for the environment, we use humane methods of removing bats from homes. We never kill bats and avoid the use of poisons or glue traps that can harm them. Instead, our exclusion process relies on physical barriers that keep them out of home.
When excluding bats, we follow these humane steps:
- Inspection – We first determine how bats are entering and exiting into a house.
- Installing One-Way Barriers – Special barriers like bat flaps are installed over the entry points. These allow the bats to leave at night to hunt, but prevent them from coming back in.
- Sealing Entry Points – Once we are sure that no bats remain in the house, usually after a few days, we can seal up the gaps bats entered through permanently.
- Bat Houses – A bat house provides a place for bats to roost away from structures and is considered beneficial for the environment. A bat house is not enough to draw bats away from your home on its own, but can be used in conjunction with other exclusion tactics.
These solutions make it possible for us to get rid of bats safely, in a way that doesn’t harm the bat and protects your family.
Without professional humane bat control, you run the risk of violating laws, harming animals, and failing to remove bats completely. NY and NJ Animal Control Trappers has the licensed and insured bat removal services that protect both your home and the environment.
