Marshall Hanks' profession is unusual, except perhaps for a BCI member: he solves bat nuisance problems. Ten years ago he ran a small pest-control business in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Today he specializes in evicting bats that have become a problem in buildings and other human structures, tackling jobs involving from hundreds to many thousands of bats. His services are in demand throughout the United States; over 700 jobs in nearly a dozen states and every one a success. Word of his expertise also has spread overseas, and his help has been sought as far away as the Middle East (a job he declined).
His specialty began with a few requests to rid homes of bats, but he soon realized he didn't know how. Chemicals, the standard of the pest-control business, needlessly killed bats, were only temporary, and often created more problems than they claimed to solve. Bats returned, sometimes within days. The effects of other chemicals last for years, causing significant, long-term health risks for people living in the treated homes.
Hanks began to learn all he could about bats and their habits, discovering that they were very beneficial. Poisoning them wasn't in anyone's best interest, he concluded. So he came up with the idea of a small, one-way bat excluder, an ingeniously simple device mounted directly over a bat exit hole, allowing bats to leave but not to return. He experimented with dozens of designs and today tailor-makes each excluder specifically for the job.
"The secret is knowing where to put them," Hanks says. And with as much as he has learned about the habits of house bats, Marshall Hanks has become an expert at knowing just where they are likely to enter a home. Bats can enter attics through holes less than an inch in diameter.
High on a ladder, Hanks begins by bat-proofing a building with caulk, leaving open only a few strategic holes to be outfitted with his excluders. In ten years he has never had any repeat business--to him a sign that he's doing his job right. "I know of no other business that has such happy customers!" he says. His reputation for success has spread by word-of-mouth. His son, Tim Hanks, who lives in San Antonio, Texas, collaborates with his father, helping with larger out-of-state jobs.
One of their most recent joint projects is evicting thousands of bats from several stadiums at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The effort has gained national attention because the university is also building alternative housing for the bats. Once they have been sealed out of the stadiums, it is hoped they will move into the nearby 23-foot-square, 20-foot high wooden roost. The new roost is experimental and potentially will accommodate as many as 200,000 bats.
While Hanks likes bats, he realizes that most people don't
appreciate having large colonies in their home because bats can
stain ceilings and cause odor problems. Many people also fear
bats, something Hanks works hard to dispel. He tells of one
family who was so frightened that they moved out until he could
get there. Two weeks later when he went to assess the situation,
he found food still on the table where their meal had been
abruptly interrupted. Other tales include one man shooting up the
inside of his house in a frantic attempt to get rid of a few
bats, and another who woke up the neighborhood with her terrified
screams, leaped through a screen window trying to escape, and
landed in the driveway. Later, Hanks could find only three bats.
Marshall Hanks also deals with the aftermath. Some attics have
had large colonies for many years, leaving behind sizeable
accumulations of guano. One college in New Mexico, with buildings
dating as far back as 1882, had one of the more serious bat
problems. Hanks removed over 5,000 pounds of guano from the attic
of the main building. Bats had been roosting there for so long
"it looked like Carlsbad Caverns in there," he said.
Wearing respirators, he and other workers filled two dump trucks
with the droppings and distributed it among gardening friends.
The attic is now clean and completely bat-proofed.
Hanks has never used chemicals against bats and encourages other pest-control operators to stop using them for that purpose (in most states it is now illegal). He makes the point that exclusion is the only safe, permanent solution for bats in buildings. He also advocates building bat houses, especially the larger designs, to provide bats with alternative housing.
If you have a bat problem too large to solve on your own, you can contact Marshall Hanks at Bay Area Bat Protection, 1312 Shiloh Road, Sturgeon Bay, WI 54235, 920/743-9049.
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Most problems with bats arise only when large colonies attempt to live in buildings. It helps to keep things in perspective: by some estimates, over 80% of bats roosting in buildings are never detected by the human occupants. When too many bats take up residence in your attic, they can become a nuisance, even to people who like them. Fortunately, most problems are small enough to solve on your own.
The first step is to make careful observations to see where bats exit. The next day hang polypropylene bird netting (available at garden centers and some hardware stores) over the holes. Use duct tape or staples to secure the netting several inches above the bats' exit hole, extending at least a foot to each side and below, allowing it to hang loosely. In the evening when the bats leave to feed, they will be able to drop below the netting to gain flight. When they attempt to return, however, they will no longer be able to fly into the hole, the netting acting as a one-way excluder.
You can make permanent repairs later. Wait at least two or
three nights to ensure that no bats have been trapped inside.
Excluding bats should not be attempted in June or July when
flightless young may be present. The best time is in fall or
winter after bats have left to hibernate. Check and repair other
possible entries, such as chimneys, vents, and loose screens.
Bats potentially can enter through holes as small as 3/4" in
diameter or crevices 3/8" X 7/8". They do not chew
insulation or make new holes.
The occasional bat visitor in your living quarters is most
frequently a lost youngster. It will often leave on its own if
you leave a window or door open, isolating it to only one room by
closing it off from the rest of the house. If the bat lands, and
you approach it carefully, you can try to cover it with a coffee
can or tube. It usually will crawl into the dark space, and you
can then slip cardboard over the opening and release the bat
outside. You can also try to catch it with a butterfly net, in a
towel, or with leather-gloved hands. Bats are not aggressive, but
remember that when captured, they may become frightened and bite
in self-defense.
Ultrasonic repellent devices, despite their claims, have never been proven effective and may actually attract bats. Leaving bright lights on in an attic may discourage use of a particular part, but many bats will merely retreat to darker crevices.
In the end, excluding bats from a structure is the only permanent solution. A detailed discussion of bat nuisance problems and solutions can be found in Merlin Tuttle's book, America's Neighborhood Bats, available through the BCI catalogue or at your local bookstore.
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