I already talked to the Dept of Florida Wildlife and their bat expert.
The guano that carries Histoplasmosis has not been found in FL bats and is usually in the cave-dwelling types. We are lucky there. None ever recorded in Seminole County. Of course, you have to be cautious if you inhale or stir it up, but as long as there is no opening and a sealed barrier, she said it should pose no threat. Since there is no way I could ever clean it out unless I knock out the walls and interior ceiling, it's going to have to stay.
Want to or not, you cannot remove them from April 16th to August 14th. No exterminator, no pest control, wildlife specialist can touch them as protected until August 14th. Then you have to use an exclusion valve or device so you don't hurt them. If caught huge fines, penalties, and other charges regarding cruel and inhumane acts to protected species.
If you hire Bubba to do it, then you risk having many dozens of ++dead bats in your walls rotting, attracting insects and other pests along with hearing them die and suffer for days trying to live. I could never do that. I am making lemonade from the lemons, learning about them, watching them and when the season is up, you can bet my house will be all sealed up and hopefully I can get a bat house by next spring so I can watch them from a distance instead of next to me.
It is illegal to kill bats in Florida in accordance with Florida Administrative Code rule 68A-4.001 General Prohibitions. Since bats are particularly vulnerable to disturbance and harm when they are roosting in buildings and other man-made structures, protections for bats in structures are also included in rule 68A-9.010 Taking Nuisance Wildlife.
This rule does not allow the use of pesticides or poisons for the purpose of harming, killing, or deterring bats. This nuisance wildlife rule also states the minimum requirements that need to be followed if someone is going to remove bats from buildings and other structures. If you think you have a bat or bat colony roosting in your home or other structure, learn more about what you can do by visiting the Bats in Buildings web page.
My neighbor has them too, and would like to talk about it with them, but I would be devasted if they tried to kill them or trap them now, so staying quiet about it.
http://myfwc.com/conservation/you-conserve/wildlife/bats/ |
