We just threw caution to the wind and rented out our city home to go and live in the country. The country home is rented from a friend. We knew that there were bats in the attic, but when we came to see the house and when we spent a few nights in the house it was not a problem.
Well since we moved in the weather got hotter and well the bat droppings started to smell REAL bad. In fact it is so bad that we can't stand to be upstairs between the hours of 9:30am and 5 pm! Today it rained and the smell was worse! We are very worried. We have 5 kids and after doing research we have discovered that there are health problems associated with bats, besides the rabies.
Here is the issue. The owners had a bat removal and clean up person come in and they quoted them $5000 to do the job! So the owners said THEY were going to clean the attic out. This is not a small colony. This colony of bats has been here some time and is big. We can smell them even outside our house! The owners of the house are having the house painted and we think that the bat poop has already been disturbed. My husband cleaned out 2 garages and they had bats too. We think that it is possible that the bad spores in the droppings may have been made airborne. Our children sleep right below where all the bats live. This is not a walk up attic, so there is very little between the droppings and my children.
I told the owners that this is serious, but they are not taking it as so. They said such things as, "The house is old and will never smell like a cedar closet." and " Those bats have been there since we bought the house 10 years ago." All of us are coming down with cold/flu like symptoms and now I read that those are symptoms of histoplasmosis, which is caused by airborne fungi. We are stuck.
We don't own this house, be can't afford to clean out the bat droppings. We have rented out the house we own. We are a big family and so staying with my parents for more than a day or 2 is out and all our kids just started a new school and are not going to want to move again.
I am not sure what I am asking. I guess I was wondering if anyone has dealt with bats and has any advice for what we should do. EX. GET OUT before your kids get really sick. or This is not as bad as you think.
We love the house and the property we are on, I just don't want my children hurt because of an unseen problem.
Robin
Well since we moved in the weather got hotter and well the bat droppings started to smell REAL bad. In fact it is so bad that we can't stand to be upstairs between the hours of 9:30am and 5 pm! Today it rained and the smell was worse! We are very worried. We have 5 kids and after doing research we have discovered that there are health problems associated with bats, besides the rabies.
Here is the issue. The owners had a bat removal and clean up person come in and they quoted them $5000 to do the job! So the owners said THEY were going to clean the attic out. This is not a small colony. This colony of bats has been here some time and is big. We can smell them even outside our house! The owners of the house are having the house painted and we think that the bat poop has already been disturbed. My husband cleaned out 2 garages and they had bats too. We think that it is possible that the bad spores in the droppings may have been made airborne. Our children sleep right below where all the bats live. This is not a walk up attic, so there is very little between the droppings and my children.
I told the owners that this is serious, but they are not taking it as so. They said such things as, "The house is old and will never smell like a cedar closet." and " Those bats have been there since we bought the house 10 years ago." All of us are coming down with cold/flu like symptoms and now I read that those are symptoms of histoplasmosis, which is caused by airborne fungi. We are stuck.
We don't own this house, be can't afford to clean out the bat droppings. We have rented out the house we own. We are a big family and so staying with my parents for more than a day or 2 is out and all our kids just started a new school and are not going to want to move again.I am not sure what I am asking. I guess I was wondering if anyone has dealt with bats and has any advice for what we should do. EX. GET OUT before your kids get really sick. or This is not as bad as you think.
We love the house and the property we are on, I just don't want my children hurt because of an unseen problem.
Robin
