It’s safe to say that finding bats in your attic isn’t your favourite surprise. Bat guano is hazardous to your health. You’re going to have to take steps to remove it. It can be cleaned and the space can be sanitized, but it will take some time.
Keep reading to learn more about the necessary precautions for handling bat dung in the attic.
Bacteria Growth
Upon noticing bat poop upstairs, it’s easy to wonder: “Is bat dung in your attic dangerous?” The answer is yes. We’d be lying if we said it didn’t come with risks. But again, it can be removed with proper techniques and clean-up practices to leave your home free of bacteria.
Leaving bat droppings to build up in the home is a health risk. An accumulation of droppings enables bacteria to grow. When the powdery guano breaks down,
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This airborne respiratory disease affects the lungs, infecting people when they inhale spores released from the guano. Fresh droppings often carry this disease.
While bats are also carriers of rabies, this fatal disease can only be contracted through direct contact with the animal, rather than by droppings left behind. Histoplasmosis is a higher risk factor as it’s easier to come into contact with. It’s important that homeowners don’t allow bat guano to build up in the home.
Who’s at Risk
Bat dung in your attic is dangerous—for some more than others. Occupation, age, and physical health are a few factors that impact who’s more likely to be affected by droppings. Chimney cleaners, construction workers, gardeners, roofers, and cave explorers have the highest risk of contact, as they work in areas where bats are commonly found.
Those with weaker immune systems, such as the very young and old, also face a higher chance of contracting a disease. A compromised immune system doesn’t perform at the same level to protect you from illness, meaning extra precautions are necessary around areas where bat droppings are
[1, 4, 5, 9, 13] There have been no documented cases where a human has contracted the disease from another human. [4] It appears, based on field and lab data, that infection requires direct contact with the virus through means such as contact with infective bodily secretions, urine, or tissues. [12] It is unknown to scientists how the virus can be maintained in the bat populations and avoids extinction as the host species becomes immune to its presence. [14] The incubation period from time of infection to the onset of symptoms is about 5-14 days in experimentally induced animals [4] and 8-14 days in natural field cases.
The population of bats in the United States is facing a serious threat of extinction due to the outbreak of a deadly fungus called Deomyces destructans. The fungus is nicknamed White-Nose Syndrome, after the white fungus that typically appears on the infected bats noses and wings. Other signs and symptoms of White Nose Syndrome are white fungus on the ears and tail as well, bats flying during the day in the middle of winter, bats clustered near the entrance to a hibernacle or cave, and general abnormal behavior for a hibernating bat. Scientifically the fungus has been identified as, Deomyces destructans. The fungus itself causes damage to their connective tissues, muscles, and skin. It also can disrupt many of their physiological processes. Typically during a hibernation period bats will wake up on average every 10 to 20 days. An infected bat on the other hand will wake up every 3 to four days which causes them to burn up their fat stores twice as fast. When they wake up they are both dehydrated and hungry, around 90% of the bats actually die from starvation due to a lack of insects for food in the winter season. WNS is transmitted from bat to bat and that is why any contact between an infected bat from one cave population with a non-infected bat from another population has serious consequences.
Messenger, Sharon L., Charles E. Rupprecht, and Jean S. Smith. "Emerging Epidemiology of Bat-Associated Cryptic Cases of Rabies in Humans in the United States." Clinical Infectious Diseases 35.6 (2002): 738-748. 21 Feb. 2004 .
Do not change or handle cat litter boxes. If absolutely necessary, wear gloves and wash hands with hot, soapy water immediately afterwards.
I do not believe Poe died from carbon monoxide poisoning, heavy metal poisoning or rabies. Hair samples were taken and tested for both carbon monoxide poisoning and heavy metal poisoning. Carbon monoxide poisoning resulted inconclusive while the heavy metal test showed it was 30 times lower than Mercury poisoning. Rabies was not a likely theory as Poe had no animal bites found on his body. He remained thirsty and drinking water until his death while in the hospital and people who have been infected with rabies have hydrophobia. Because of these facts, those theories are easily disproven.
Rabies is a deadly virus that occurs in the brain. It can affect all mammals but the ones that are most commonly found with the virus are dogs, bats, raccoons, skunks, and coyotes. This means that any non-mammal can not contract the virus, such as fish, birds, and reptiles (2). The virus can be contracted by humans with saliva transfer with broken skin contact from an animal which has the disease. As this is the most common form of transferring the disease it is very believable that Tea Cake contracts the virus from the wild dog that “managed to bite [him] high up on his cheek bone once” (1). The rabies virus works by being a bullet shaped virus that directly attacks th...
Bats are a wonderful asset to nature; however, when it comes to our homes, we prefer them to stay far away. It is a common call for pest and animal control technicians to remove bats from residential properties because they have somehow gained access inside a family's personal space. Bats can be very destructive when it comes to our attics and other areas of a house. It is important to learn how to identify a bat control issues within your home or around your property before the damages accumulate to mass amounts. Continue reading to learn about bat control, how to determine if you have a bat infestation, and what to do if you discover bats in or around your residential property.
Common animals that carry these diseases are rats, prairie dogs, and parrots (“Exotic Animals as Pets”). According to Live Science, a science news website, researchers have found that 13 zoonoses, which are diseases transmitted from animals, cause approximately 2.2 million human deaths per year. "From cyst-causing tapeworms to avian flu, zoonoses present a major threat to human and animal health," lead researcher Delia Grace, a veterinary epidemiologist. According to researchers, about 60% of all human diseases are zoonotic, meaning they come from animals. Most zoonotic human diseases come from livestock, such as pigs, chickens, cattle, goats, sheep, and camels (Bryner). If humans would not come into close contacts with animals there would not be as many diseases in the world which would result in less human and animal deaths. According to WebMD, an American corporation that provides health news, advice, and expertise, a very common zoonotic disease in the world today is influenza, also known as the flu. Influenza usually comes from ducks, geese, or pigs and then it spreads to chicken and pigs. Leptospirosis is another example of a human infection that comes from animals. Leptospirosis is caused by contact with water, food, or soil that has been contaminated with urine from infected animals. This infection can lead to liver failure, kidney damage, brain and spinal cord infection, and rarely, death
Due to the lack of evidence in Pollen and Benedetto’s letter, it is more likely that Poe’s may have died due to rabies. According to Pollen and Benedetto who tried to dispute the rabies theory, Poe’s cat did not have rabies, and as such could not have rabies. However, Dr. Benitez did not say Poe’s cat was to blame. Also, in the late 1800’s there were no vaccinations for animals or for rabies.
4) A greasy soot deposit covers the ceiling and walls, usually stopping three to four feet above the floor.
Carbon Monoxide deals with the engine exhaust of boats and cars, and also carbon monoxide is also a component of cigarette smoke. With the impact of a smoker’s health with smoking it is associated with the inhaling of the tobacco that is in the cigarettes of the smoker. In each cigarette it consists of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is present in every cigarette causing a threat to a person’s health. Anyone who smokes, regardless of how often, should know about carbon monoxide and how it affects the body when it is inhaled.
causes many respiratory diseases (http://www.thetruth.com/issues/tbtc/behind.cfm).
...agic fever 17. The safety measures individuals can take to protect against the transmission of the disease are:
Due to the rare cases of human contact with the virus, humans should avoid the following things to prevent getting infected. They should avoid touching infected birds and secretions from infected birds such as saliva or fluids, de-feathering infected birds, and inhaling dried feces dust from infected birds. Also avoid preparing