wow.....

had to be done by pesky critter

!

Could you make that much of a mess if you tried to ? Did a homeowner do that or did they actually pay someone ? Incredible what you can run into in this business.

Looks like they like tanglefoot also. I wonder how long it took for those bats to find their way out of that maze.So much for doing a discreet job. Cant imagine the clean up effort needed once the debris and particulate begins to build up on that gooey material.

I saw a 6 foot long excluder coming out of a ranch home. I am going to have to dig up the photo.

What the heck is that goop dripping all over the place?

Looks like area 51

X2

you do nice work jordan!.......

just silicone it, right Dave? lol

These guys have been around for 20 years.... very upsetting. It made the entire home look bad.
The bats had found two small hidden entry points in which I placed two valves, and will be back in 3 weeks to remove and seal the entry points....

That goop? Oh, that's a shining example of what a cutomer gets when the WCO doesn't have the proper training and no certifications. But like you said over on the NWCOA bashing thread, training and certs are a complete waste of time.

Bud, did you say that that company has been doing this for twenty years? They aren't NWCOA members by any chance?

Although Paul's just looking for more NWCOA bashing fodder, NWCOA would like to know the answer to his question as well, since a member doing that crappy a job would be violating the ethics code and would be removed from membership.

Well come on Kevin, you know I was kidding on this one. ( Besides, I thought that was one of our better bat jobs ) Eric taught me how to get just the right effect on the slime!

You would think that competition would weed them out. But, that does not seem to be the case in this business.

Dave, surprisingly all the companies that I was warned about when I started in business have been gone for some time. I'm not saying that new crooks aren't going to crop up but with the speed of the Internet, you either shape up or ship out. I know it's a little more crowded in Michigan but you could always hire and properly train Pesky! ( Ha, that was a good one. I think I'm on a roll! )

Liar.

You owe me an apology.

absolutely not.....

Besides looking like H E double hockey stix, lets think about the picture above and pick that exclusion attempt apart. Lets talk about why it didnt work. It looks like it was done on a 110 degree day because the goop dripped out before it had time to cure.
Why use hardware cloth, make a hole in it, and make the bats find the tube? Theresa good chance that they wont find the way out.Trim coil looks much better, and is easier to work with. Using netting to exclude and making a second trip to seal would have looked better, and worked better I believe.

It sorta looks like the guy had limited items on his truck, and tried to make it work. I would atribute this failure to being spastic, and not thinking things through. Training wont fix that. They will just be a highly trained spastic operator. It does look like the operator sealed things that didnt need to be sealed also.

You got that right !! How many times have we seen a licensed/certified/trained roofer do a roof that looks just as bad. Some guys just dont care one way or the other. No amount of training is going to fix stupid.

In the spirit of picking it apart....It looks like the problem was that the bottom of the soffit was missing.

The good operators need to put their energy into GROWING....not arguing. Be aggressive...and squeeze 'em. You will feel better.

Rick turn them in for ethical violations. Contact Charles Holt if you want to correct the problem. Stirring the pot won't fix this.

I doubt they are certified the program is pretty new Rick! If you think they are a consumer problem weed them out.

lol

MOM! Somebody made a mess out of a bat exclusion! Come look at this!

remember that bats use echo location,,,,,,,If the sound goes thew it,,,,,the bats will be confused a subsequently be confused...........

My first question is did it work? I'm not referring to the exclusion on the whole project, but just this one area.

It does look like an over application of materials if you look towards the J channel of the siding which would result in the mess we see if the surface temperature was too hot for the product used. It also looks like this is a standard method used by whomever did this. I'd even say that this isn't a temporary fix, but a permanent one that may or may not have the "tube" removed. I'm not saying I'd do this or train to have this done this way, but also without being there when the client is told what to expect, and seeing the structure before any work was done I like to hold my opinions and give the benefit of doubt.

Jordan is the one that took the picture so only Jordan can answer how old this is, how big it was, if any bats/openings were found behind it and how often he encounters it.

@Vinke, I don't understand what you mean with your post. Are you saying that bats only use echolocation to navigate so if the area isn't solid they cannot find the openings?

Eric, as you know, moving a colony of bats is very easy. to do a thorough job to eliminate ALL entry points can be the difficult portion of the job. This particular job is 8 years old. They do this type of work on.... I see this on tons of homes.... it may not look this bad on all homes but still looks like crap. I found 2 entry points and placed one ways, returned 10 days later and removed them, sealed the area up. 2 spots where the siding j channel rides along the shingle, this met more siding. ( both sides of a bay window) This is horrible craftsmanship.... WE NEED REGULATIONS TO WEED THESE NUMB NUTS OUT!!!!

while on a structure they are following a draft (air flow).

if sound get though it so does air

Hey Jordan,

I trust you and your evaluation of the situation(s). The picture you posted makes me groan but without your input I don't want to really make comments because I don't really know the story as you know it. I agree with most of what you have said, but I do disagree that regulations will weed any of this out. There is a similar issue with bats that happened in NY. Because of the actions of a few, some individuals want to make all wildlife control operators have contractor licenses (you Michigan guys can decide if you need the license or not, I'm staying out of it). I've said this before and mean it. You can be the best trapper/bat excluder in the world but if you can't talk to people you won't stay in business whereas you can be a terrible trapper/bat excluder but if the people love you, you'll have more business than you know what to do with.

What I'm saying is that just because you have a license, it doesn't mean you can do a good job or that something doesn't go wrong at some point. I understand the frustration as every year I am called to homes that still have bat issues and all I see is expandable black foam. Sometimes it's trimmed, other times it isn't. Go two feet away from the hardened foam and there is the opening the bats are using. I always feel sorry for the customer but when you press them, it almost always comes down to it was cheaper. Once the project is done, then the owner begins to notice how bad it looks and the amount of work required to fix it.

I think what you are referring to isn't licenses, but rather professionalism. The professional will look at educating themselves so they can offer the best products and services they are capable of and practice their craft. They will stand behind their work/methods and do they best they can to remedy a problem situation. They educate the customer and set the proper expectation levels and work with the customer for mutual satisfaction to the issue.

As with most things in life, professionalism isn't something that can be regulated into a person or business. How do we make this industry strive for this goal? I really don't know as most efforts I’ve seen have failed. It is kind of like dealing with a person with an addiction. Until they admit they have a problem AND want to change it, there just isn't that much you can do.

this is the quality of work this particular company does..... ruining the house's appearances. I still believe that if there was a licensing process for bat removal with a nice fee, it would weed these guys out. PRICE is a huge motivator deciding which companies are hired....

Just what everyone needs is more government getting their fingers into our lives.

But Bob, if you can get the government to limit your competition for you, wouldn't it be worthwhile?

You know....government is not the answer. However, NWCOA needs a webform or process for the public to report members that are not returning calls or ripping people off. Somebody....set it up!

X's 2

first you want the government OUT of our business... now you want them IN our business.. im so confused... i wish you guys would make up my mind...

LOL...

Sarcasm wiggler, sarcasm.

You're right. I think government regulation and those who seek it, will ruin the wildlife control industry for both the tradesman and the customer.

There's something wrong with a business plan that includes petitioning the government to limit your competition.

i agree 100%. Im all for education... im NOT all for the other guy TELLING me what he wants me to know. And if i dont play bye HIS rules... im not allowed in the game. What a crock!

agree to disagree.... no need for us to argue.

pic kinda reminds me of that pic I seen of Bud after a all nighter at the park . System needs change what the heck . There's the perfect system now it's called word of mouth . The largest exclusion jobs I get come this way . Just picked up one today on this monster of a houses . Gov control that's happening more and more I see and they don't even charge so good luck with that control thing . The biggest money maker guys around here don't need them big high dollar adds . They just Keep there number out there so if people can't find it . What I here from LT he never has run adds . The people of this country have the right to hire who ever they wish , if they where not happy with that water sealing job they didn't have to pay the guy . Q what kind of adHesive Is that they used . If that's 8 years old it held up well . Looks like they had a problem with ice damming in that valleye . It most likly rotted out the sofit and instead of rebuilding that whole corner they maid that mess of it . Should of just wrapped it with coil

The biggest problem I can see is they didn't use spellschneck, spotcheek, spoilcheck. Well, you know what I mean.

Looks like a foam gun took a dump.

Dang, I told our guys to clean that up!

That house I'm starting on in the mourning has a 12/12 hip roof and it's a monster . There's something wierd going on . It has batdoors on it but the gaps where the roof lines come together never got filled . I asked the lady about it and she said yes they had a bat exclusion done . I asked did you get a new roof . No she said . Not sure yet but from the ground looks like they payed just to have a couple doors . It could be they filled from the inside seeing the roof is crazy . I tried that on my first one didnt work

You are right Rick; and by the looks of it, a silver tipped grizzly! ( They always have those silver tipped droppings, I betcha didn't know that's how they got their name )

to each his own...... Pesky, my condolences to your customers.

I "tried" to make a 7 foot extension with the same results,,,, only they were on the deck below me.............

Stop (COUNT TO SEVEN) crap.............lol (count to 10??) this was a tile roof and after excluding them from under, the home owner thew the fast ball,,,, "we do not want them handing around at all........ Fair enough,,,,,,we can fix that...... Foam backed with cobra cut to fit the rake tile




9.5 g

Orkin does bat work? They attempt it anyways.

Really? Really? this is how it's done?

Yep, down here they're called Trutech. Do a google search of Orkin, specifically the complaints, they are number one in the complaint dept for pest control and they want wildlife, too?

Not Orkin, but I have a natl chain slapping out bat jobs in my area as well. 1 yr warranty which they dont even honor- got 2 new jobs this year that they already did, one very recently...

here is some of their handywork...

the last one is their "custom" $210 chimney cap!

Yeah, that's a custom chimney "cap" all right...probably against code in all 50 states and ships at sea...hope you sold the poor customer a proper cap.
It's one thing for Joe Sixpack, the homeowner, to do something stupid and dangerous like that, but a "professional" - especially a national company - should know better.