Bat Removal Services Getting More Calls These Days in the Quad Cities

Have you been seeing a lot more bats recently?  This is one of those good news/bad news situations.  Bats are great at eating all those nasty bugs that fly around you all time.

The bad news is, they tend to look for places to live and sometimes that's in your house.

I talked to Trevor Pickinpaugh from Austin's Professional Bat Services about what to do if your house gets an uninvited guest.

First off how did you get started in the Bat Removal Business?

"My father worked for a business that did animal control. They got many calls about bats, so they and my dad quickly realized that it was a specialty area. That business focused a few of their workers on bat calls, and that is where my dad started to learn the basics.

That business then sold to a corporate pest control agency, so my father branched off on his own and decided to focus solely on bats and the unique challenges that he faced while working with them. He started his own business, and I was one of his first employees. I got to see him grow and learn after each job, and he shared that knowledge with me. He passed away 6 years ago, and he left the business to me.

I am a proud second-generation owner of a small business, and I continue to utilize the techniques that I learned from my dad. My family and friends have helped with various roles over the years, so it truly is a family-operated business."

Favorite thing about the job?

"Every home is unique and different. I love figuring out the puzzle of each home. I enjoy the challenge of figuring out where the bats are entering the home from, then coming up with a plan for exclusion, and then executing that plan."

Least favorite thing?

"My least favorite thing about my business is the unpredictable midwest weather. I have to work my schedule for the week around the rain and wind forecast. We spend a lot of our time on ladders and roofs. So if we have a week full of rain, or derecho winds, then I get a week behind schedule. It makes scheduling a little unpredictable at times."

Have you seen an influx of bat removal calls in the QCA recently? Any idea why that is?

"I would say yes. It could be that people have been working from home much more the past 2 years and hear the bats more than they would have before. Some people speculate about the migration patterns, but migration is not my area of expertise. I don't have a definitive answer, but I can say there has been an increase of calls."

What's the process of removing bats from your house?

All of our work is customized for each home based on size and structure. From the outside, we go around the home and seal up where we see the need for it. We locate the area that the bats are getting in. Then we put up "one-way doors" so the bats will exit and not be able to get back in. During bat’s maternity season, we come back and take down the doors and finish the seal up. We guarantee our work and we are proud to have a 7-year warranty on our work.

• Locate the bat infestation
• Safely remove the bats
• Clean up and disinfect the area

At what point should someone call you? After 1 sighting, after it's a recurring problem?

After the first sighting of one bat, I would recommend the homeowner double check their home and see if there are any obvious entry spaces, like open windows or open doors. If you don't see any, I would recommend calling in a bat professional to check your home for signs that bats have decided to make your home theirs.

Is there anything else people should know about bats or your services?

Bats are a very important part of our ecosystem. They eat bugs (they can eat over half of their body weight in insects in one night!), so they are great at keeping the mosquito population under control and protecting crops from invasive insects. Some bats eat nectar, which helps to pollinate our plants. There are laws in place to protect them, and I follow those laws and utilize non-lethal techniques when removing them from homes. I follow rules during their birthing season in order to protect their babies. There are some risks to having bats in your home, so I am mindful of minimizing risks to both the homeowners and the bats during my process.

Best way for people to get ahold of you?

Call 563-370-6203 now for a free estimate on bat removal services.

Find them on Facebook and their website or email Trevor at austinsprofessionalbatservices@gmail.com