Bat feces cleanup is no one’s idea of a good time. Let’s just be real about that. As the old adage goes, “it’s a dirty job, but someone has to do it”. And besides, hard work is good for a person.
We have done extensive guano cleanup and remediation on all sorts of projects. We have removed bat feces from almost anything you can imagine from an old converted pig barn that was turned into a police training building, to park picnic shelters, to the attics of more homes than you can count, to large scale military facilities requiring ultra super secret military clearance. (Not really on the secret clearance, it just feels that way sometimes as a contractor on a military base.)
Most people’s real question though revolves around why bat feces is so dangerous to cleanup. The answer to that is simple; histoplasmosis.
The Nitty Gritty of Bat Feces Removal
We’ve done a lot of articles on histoplasmosis and why it’s so dangerous. We won’t beat a dead horse here. Go back through our blog and read the other articles if you like. What we’d really like to focus on here is some of the safety precautions that we take and the process we use to make your space safe again.
We approach guano cleanup and histoplasmosis remediation with a three pronged approach:
1. Bat feces cleanup
The actual removal of the bat guano requires more than you might think. We suit up in protective gear including hazmat suits, respirators (no, not the dust masks you can buy at the home improvement stores, and protective eye equipment. This is because the fungus that grows in bat feces attacks the eyes and lungs. Once disturbed it is easily inhaled where it then wrecks havoc on your body. Trust us, you don’t want to breathe this stuff in. We also have to dispose of anything we remove that is contaminated as hazardous waste.
2. Fungicide treatment
Spraying a high quality fungicide on all affected areas is of the utmost importance. Once the bat feces is removed the fungus can still linger on wood, insulation, or other building materials. Think of it sort of like black mold. You don’t just remove the insulation that it was growing in. You have to actually kill the mold spores that are still growing in that space. This also requires sealing off the area where treatment is taking place so you don’t track it all throughout the building.
3. Testing the space
We then can use testing equipment to make sure there is no histoplasmosa capsulatum left in the area. We can do this through air sampling or swab testing. We then send it off to our lab that specializes in detecting this fungus. This step is optional however and not always necessary. If there are serious health concerns such as a sick individual or an at risk individual living or working in the space, we may do this step first before remediation to address concerns sooner rather than later.
Leave It To Experts
There are not many things in life that we think you can’t give a good old DIY try to. We do, however, feel that guano cleanup and remediation is one thing you should leave to the experts.
Our technicians not only meet OSHA certification, we also meet the higher government standards of NIOSH certification. We do this to keep your home, your workplace, your family, or your workers safe.
If you don’t have a problem with bats anymore but you do have some bat feces that need cleaned up, we are more than happy to do just that part of a job for you. If you want more information about a cleanup needed in your home or business, click the link below and we’d be happy to discuss your project.
Your local bat removal expert,
Michael Koski
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