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Bat Removal in Albany
Bats are the most legally constrained animal in this trade. Getting the timing wrong is not just inhumane, it is often illegal.
Bats in this part of Georgia use the same buildings they always have, but the storms changed the openings. A ridge that lifted and was re-set, or a gable vent screen that tore and was never replaced, is a gap of well under an inch, and under an inch is all a bat needs. Georgia’s maternity restrictions apply here in full, so the timing question is a legal one before it is a practical one.
Georgia has two overlapping but distinct restrictions. Quoting only one of
them gives homeowners the wrong answer, which is why almost every competing
page on this subject is misleading.
Exclusions should be avoided: April 1 – July 31 · No bat permits are issued: May 1 – August 15
The Georgia rules in full →
How you know it is bats
- Bats seen leaving the roofline, a gable end or a chimney around sunset
- Squeaking or rustling from a wall cavity or attic, worst on hot evenings
- A sharp ammonia smell: accumulated guano and urine
- Dark greasy staining around a gap, vent or ridge line where they squeeze through
- Guano piles below an entry point or on the attic floor
Why it matters
- Rabies: any direct contact, or a bat found in a room where someone was asleep, needs a call to your health department
- Histoplasmosis, a lung infection from fungal spores in accumulated guano
- Guano is corrosive and will damage timber, drywall and insulation over time
- Colonies grow year on year if the roost is left open
Somebody has to look at the property to answer that. How many entry points or burrows there are, how hard they are to get at, and whether young are present is what sets the price, and none of it can be judged from a description. Send us your address and licensed local operators will quote the inspection and the work. Request free quotes →
How removal actually works
Bats are never trapped or killed. A licensed operator fits one-way valves at the active exits so bats can leave but cannot re-enter, seals every other gap first, then removes the valves once the roost is empty. Guano removal and attic decontamination usually follow.
Timing
Exclusion is restricted during maternity season, when pups cannot yet fly. Sealing a roost then traps them inside to die. The dates differ by state: see the Georgia law page.
What it costs
Removal is only part of it. Where an animal has been in an attic for a while, the contaminated insulation and droppings are usually the larger bill: what attic restoration involves →
What Georgia law requires
Anyone charging for nuisance wildlife control in Georgia must hold an NWCO permit issued by Georgia DNR, and cannot legally begin work without one. Permit holders must also maintain a valid Georgia trapping licence at all times; if the trapping licence lapses, the NWCO permit is no longer valid. Full Georgia rules →
Bat questions
How much does Bat removal cost in Albany?
$400 – $600 small colony · $500 – $1,200 typical · $5,000 – $8,500 for a large colony. The spread comes down to how many entry points there are, how hard the roof or crawlspace is to reach, and whether young are present. Anyone quoting a firm price before seeing the property is guessing.
How quickly can someone come out?
Most bats calls in Albany are handled within a day or two. If an animal is loose inside your living space, or there is a bite or scratch involved, say so when you make contact; that changes the priority.
Can I just do it myself?
Sometimes, legally speaking. But the two things that go wrong are sealing an entry point while young are still inside, and handling an animal that turns out to be a rabies vector. Both are expensive mistakes, and one is dangerous.
Is there a wrong time of year for this?
Exclusion is restricted during maternity season, when pups cannot yet fly. Sealing a roost then traps them inside to die. The dates differ by state: see the Georgia law page.
Request free quotes
Licensed wildlife operators covering Albany will contact you directly. There is no charge and no obligation.