I am looking into a Bat job at the request of an insurance adjuster the work was started by another company out of our area before they got an approval from the homeowners insurance company.The etimate was for $10,000 and the company is demanding payment from the homeowner and I dont see anywhere near that amount of work needing to be done to fix the problem.The job appears to be unfinished as there are still bats wintering in the walls of the house.Because the exclusion was performed last October and some holes were covered with hardware cloth ,I am not sure if Bats are trapped inside or if they have yet another way out. I guess I will not know the answer until warmer weather arrives.What bothers me is that this company had the homeowner sign a contract to spray Bat repellant / Phermones around the exterior of the home once a month at the cost of $75.00 a month. Any input would be appreciated.

Hoosier, thanks for sharing that story.

I would be if someone showed up when those folks do to spray or apply, you'd find them using one of the many moth ball related products on the market and telling folks it is 100% that they will work.

I've only done a handful of jobs compared to many on this forum but I've already witnessed multiple other companies selling the snake oil remedies that not only do not work, but can endanger the lives of the folks within the structure when applied heavily (ie. napthalene (moth balls) in the attic space).

Those folks should get a lawyer, or the adjuster should on their behalf.

Bummer, doesn't quite cover it!

Takes good money away from folks with good tactics and techniques that are true and proven.

Justin

That whole sentence about monthly bat sprays has left me almost speechless, so all I can say is:
If that pheromone thing works I can see a lot of fathers spraying their teenage daughters every time they go out on a date.

I turned this job away two years ago because of my inexperience with Bats and lack of confidence that I could get the problem solved. It has been in the hands of two other companies since and now it has come full circle back to me.I guess its time to step up to the plate lol. Because I am also licensed to do general pest control I am trying to find out what if anything he is legally spraying under the disguise of bat repellant.Anything on the market with naphthalene cannot be applied in this manner so I am trying to find out if there is any such chemical as Bat repellant that this company might be applying outside the home.

Paul when I was a young stud they advertised mens colognes with attracting pheromones and all I can say is back then I was a believer lol. No daughters here, probably woulda hosed them down with skunk essence lol.

Seems to me if you accept this job, you will be buying all the crap/liability's the others have left behind. How will you be able to prove YOU didn't do whatever the problems will be?

Full exclusion is the only repellant.

What Aaron said. About 6 years ago, I did bat R & E on the local city hall/police dept. building after the city was bamboozled into having "bat repellent" put in the attic to the tune of ~$1,000.
No bat return since my work was done.

End of story.

Was just trying to find out if the monthly spray with phermones was possibly something I had never heard of and possibly legit.These types make everyone in the industry look bad.I agree with exclusion being the real solution. These people cannot afford the seventy five dollars a month and the insurance claim they currently have started is their only hope and only shot at having a Bat free home for their children.

According to my manual here napthalene is the only thing the EPA has registered for indoor bat roosts.

May have some legal implications.

Check with your chemist office and see if any "natural" oils can be used in this manner and what licensing is required, if any, to apply them.

In Ohio, you need a commercial applicator license to apply anything, including water, if you are charging a fee. If you have a similar rule it doesn't matter what product they are using if they are not licensed or do not have the proper license. If they are licensed, it is my understanding that the new regulations have come into play requiring the company to give the homeowner the MSDS (can't think of what they are now called) for the product being used.

As to the pheromones, to the best of my knowledge there is no EPA approved product besides Bat Scat for application as a bat repellant. A natural oil may be exempt from an EPA listing (go GREEN and solve all your problems, lol), but I also don't know of any research where any type of repellant has had any effect longer than two weeks nor any research concerning oils being used as a repellant for bats.

Many products including minimum risk pesticides and repellents use items noted in the EPA 25b list. They can't harm you or the environment so they are allowed to be marketed. However, they ARE supposed to work as intended. Perhaps he was using a product based on this. If that were the case we would never need to trap or exclude. ;-)

http://www.epa.gov/oppbppd1/biopesticides/regtools/25b_list.htm

[i]pheromone (from Greek φέρω phero "to bear" and hormone, from Greek ὁρμή "impetus") is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species.

An applicator using this word implies that said applicator has access to the secreted/excreted substance. The only place this substance could be found is in the interior sexual organs of the species (bat.) Any evidence of this extraction and use as a tool for bat control, has to be found in scientific journals. Oh wait, you can't find any references in science? SCAM.

http://www.bonide.com/products/product.php?category_id=876

This product claims it's all natural but it's not for sale in certain states..?? Can't get the MSDS file to open either.

That product is called Bat Magic and is a mixture of 2% spearmint oil, 2% peppermint oil, and 96% INERT INGREDIENTS (all in caps on the label). It is exempt from registration with the EPA so no EPA number available. They claim it works by interfering with "chemoreception (process by which organisms respond to chemical stimuli in their environments that depends primarily on the senses of taste and smell per Encyclopedia Britannica]and functions of a bats stensons canal."

The label calls for one packet every 150 sq ft with more needed for larger bat problems. They have a warning that if the order gets too bad to remove packets. They also state that you need to seal off entrances after the bats have left to ensure you keep them out of the house.

Eric,
Would one still need an applicators license for such a product as this? Liquid or solid make a difference?

Lots of stores selling it. I expect to see a lot of that stuff littering attics in the future.

On the bright side. It looks like raccoon may like the smell of it.

Coonwacka - Commercial use of repellents requires a PCO license in Missouri. You might look up your state regs for the answer.

In Ohio you must have a commercial applicator permit or be working under the supervision of someone that has one in order to apply an product (water, natural oils, granule repellants, moth balls, wasp spray, Ortho Home Defense, general use pesticides, restricted use pesticides, etc.) if you are charging a fee for doing so.

A lot of guys misunderstand this with the wasp spray. As long as you are using it to protect yourself and are not charging the client for its use, you don't need to have your commercial applicator permit. But once you put it as a line item on the bill (even billing for your time to do so), you now need to follow the PCO laws.