Long story… my fiance and I discovered lots of bat droppings in the attic a couple of months ago. Since a bat had gotten in the house (plus we need clean attic space for when he moves in a couple of weeks from now), I called a “wildlife removal specialist” to do bat exclusion work. He claimed that the bat droppings (guano) contained diseases (specifically histoplasmosis, plus others) and exposure to the guano was dangerous.

Since I have many possessions in the attic that have been contaminated with disease-ridden guano (and since I’m cleaning out to prepare for my new life with my fiance), I decided to get rid of most of my things in the attic. The wildlife-removal specialist is returning on Friday morning to haul out my possessions and remove the contaminated insulation throughout the attic.

So I just spent an hour in the hot attic with a particulate filter mask and gloves on, trying to salvage my most important possessions (ie. some books, photographs, book cases) and I got to thinking, “doesn’t every attic have a few bats? Is it really that big of a deal?”

Perhaps I’m just sweaty and dehydrated… but the whole thing seems sillier and sillier. What do you think? Is bat guano immunologically dangerous? Is histoplasmosis (the disease supposedly carried in bat guano, which is endemic in the eastern US) really of such concern to warrant the equivalent of an entire wedding budget-worth in professional cleanup (albeit a very small and simple outdoor wedding, and the cleanup covered by homeowners insurance)?

Topics: home repair, bats, attic, guano, histoplasmosis, pest removal