I had a bat problem for which I did an exclusion. They have not been back since. I cleaned the attic and sprayed a bleach mixture at the time. All seemed ok but at certain times I still get a smell. I was hopeful that it would just stop by it’s self but that doesn’t seem to be the case. It only seems to happen when the weather is humid. Any thing I can do to get this smell out once and for all? Thanks.
Absolutely. If you review the products listed in our BAT CONTROL article, you’ll see we have several designed for cleaning up bat droppings and the odors associated with their presence. As you’ve already learned, bleach will not get rid of the smell. In fact bleach will take away the color of many things but it’s not designed to kill anything and since odors are very much “alive”, you’ll need to use special agents to render them useless and non offensive. Odors will live for many years and in most cases, just go dormant when it gets dry and/or cool. But once the local air temperature reaches a certain level along with the right humidity, you’ll no doubt notice the smell come back.
Now the best product for killing the smell is NNZ. This material can be applied to the attic by either spraying or misting. Use a standard PUMP SPRAYER if you feel the risk of run off and overspray is low because you don’t want the treatment leaking onto your ceiling below and causing stains.
NNz: http://www.bugspraycart.com/sanitizer/liquid/nnz-64-oz
Eliminator: http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/sprayers/eliminator-gallon-sprayer
Remember to treat the insulation thoroughly and if this can’t be done properly by spraying, get a BG2300 MISTER. This will allow you to get the entire attic treated without having to navigate around the attic space much since the mist will permeate well and carry the NNZ to key areas.
BG 2300: http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/foggers/bg-my-t-lite-2300-120-v
As a last resort, you may have to remove all the old insulation, treat the exposed wood and then re-insulate. I’ve seen where bat droppings can accumulate so much that the old insulation is not “savable” and since you didn’t mention just how bad the bat problem was you had, I cannot say for certain if this will be required or not.
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Comments on bat smell in attic
Tom @ 11:33 am
My attic is pretty big with small access to the eves where I think the smell is coming from. Since I can’t get to the eves I think I’ll need to use the fogger. The bat infestation I had was pretty bad. Will using NNZ remove the odor permanently or does it just work for a while and then the smell comes back?
Tech Support @ 11:53 am
It’s a permanent result. As long as you get the NNZ where the odor is based, you’ll neutralize it almost immediately. Now if you detect some odor lingering 2-3 days following the application, that usually means you would want to treat again or that maybe you missed a spot.
NNz: http://www.bugspraycart.com/sanitizer/liquid/nnz-64-oz
BG 2300: http://www.bugspraycart.com/equipment/foggers/bg-my-t-lite-2300-120-v
Tom @ 3:32 pm
How do I determine how much NNZ product I’ll need with the BG2300 fogger? I figuring I’ll treat twice either way. I want to make sure I get this resolved once and for all. Thanks again.
Tech Support @ 6:16 pm
As a rule of thumb when treating animal odor like bat guano, you should expect to use 8-16 ounces of Epoleon per gallon of water. Use 8 oz for mild to medium problems; 16 oz for bad or “intolerable” problems. And every gallon you mix up, you’ll be able to cover about 500-1000 sq/ft of area.
Now the reason for the variable amount of coverage is that it will depend on the surface being treated. For porous surfaces like insulation, you would expect to use more material compared to something hard and non-porous. So with that being said, expect to use about 1 gallon of mixed material per 500 sq/ft of area you’re treating.
And what we know about using NNZ for Bat Guano in attics, it’s important to make sure you get a good measurement of the surface area because the odor can get into the rafters and roof decking above the insulation. So don’t be afraid to over estimate how much attic space you have and based on the information I’ve supplied above, you should be able to calculate how much to use. Now if you still need help, just give us a call.