Bats, those loathsome creatures of the night that carry rabies and make people nervous, can be both helpful and bothersome. As long as they stay away from your property, they can eat all of the flying insects they want. When they decide to roost in your garage, then you have some big problems. Here are some of the damages bats frequently cause to garages, and how your garage door repair technician can fix these damages.
Rotting Wood Beams from Feces and Urine
Bats never roost as individuals. There are always at least two or more bats that take up residence in a garage. They are often related, or they are a mating pair. This creates the messy and disgusting problem of bat feces, or guano, an urine that soaks through everything.
Supporting beams for your garage door are quickly rotted out from their waste, and the beams to which garage door openers are attached are destroyed as well. As soon as the bats have left your garage in the fall, all of the beams can be replaced. The bat waste would have to be professionally cleaned out first, but then the garage door tech can replace the rest.
Lost Gaskets and Seals
Bats get into your garage one of two ways. Either you "invite" them in through an open window or garage door, or they squeeze their way in past the garage door's missing seals and gaskets. The seals and gaskets should go all the way around the outside of the garage door. Nothing should be able to squeeze under or past the closed door when these rubber seals and gaskets are in place. (Bats are like mice; they can compress their bodies flat enough to fit through very flat or narrow openings.)
If these rubber seals and gaskets are missing, your garage door technician can reinstall them and make sure they are fully functional. This will prevent the bats from returning in the spring, so long as the garage door is kept shut and no garage windows are left open. Otherwise, the bats will return to your garage again and again because they have left their bat pheromones everywhere in your garage.
Preventing a Reinfestation of Bats
Bats are predictable animals. Once they find a roosting spot that appeals to them, they keep coming back, year after year. Have your garage door technician help you look for all the ways in which you can bat-proof the garage door, side doors, and windows.
To learn more, contact a company like J & B Door.
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