Bat Removal in Hattiesburg

Last reviewed September 8, 2026 against MDWFP published rules and federal statute. How we research this site.

Bats are the most legally constrained animal in this trade. Getting the timing wrong is not just inhumane, it is often illegal.

Hattiesburg specifically

Mississippi is strict here in a way people do not expect: the state’s system requires a permitted operator, and every trapping employee needs their own licence. There is no legal do-it-yourself route for bats in this state. Combine that with the maternity timing and the options narrow to one — a properly permitted exclusion, done at the right time of year.

In Mississippi, timing is a legal question — not just a practical one.

Mississippi is unusually strict on bats: killing, trapping or handling a bat without authorisation is illegal, and "handling" is defined broadly enough to include capturing, moving, confining or even physically contacting one. The Mississippi rules in full →

Bats crawling out of a gap where the fascia meets the soffit, two in flight below, at dusk — Illustrative A colony leaving at dusk through a gap at the fascia. Counting the emergence is how an operator sizes the job — and it is the only way to know everyone is out before the gap is sealed.

How you know it is bats

Bats seen leaving the roofline, a gable end or a chimney around sunset
Squeaking or rustling from a wall cavity or attic, worst on hot evenings
A sharp ammonia smell — accumulated guano and urine
Dark greasy staining around a gap, vent or ridge line where they squeeze through
Guano piles below an entry point or on the attic floor

Why it matters

Rabies — any direct contact, or a bat found in a room where someone was asleep, needs a call to your health department
Histoplasmosis, a lung infection from fungal spores in accumulated guano
Guano is corrosive and will damage timber, drywall and insulation over time
Colonies grow year on year if the roost is left open

Need this dealt with in Hattiesburg?

Somebody has to look at the property to answer that. How many entry points or burrows there are, how hard they are to get at, and whether young are present is what sets the price — and none of it can be judged from a description. Send us your address and licensed local operators will quote the inspection and the work. Request free quotes →

How removal actually works

Bats are never trapped or killed. A licensed operator fits one-way valves at the active exits so bats can leave but cannot re-enter, seals every other gap first, then removes the valves once the roost is empty. Guano removal and attic decontamination usually follow.

The whole trade is in this one drawing. A one-way door lets whatever is up there leave on its own and shuts behind it — no cage, no relocation, nothing to come back to. It is also why sealing the hole is the last step: seal it first and you have shut the animal, and any young, inside your wall.

Illustrative An emergence count at dusk. An operator sits out and counts every bat that leaves, because the number decides how many one-way valves the roofline needs — and because sealing before the last one is out is the mistake that costs the most.

Timing

Exclusion is restricted during maternity season, when pups cannot yet fly. Sealing a roost then traps them inside to die. The dates differ by state — see the Mississippi law page.

What it costs

$400 – $600 small colony · $500 – $1,200 typical · $5,000 – $8,500 for a large colony

Removal is only part of it. Where an animal has been in an attic for a while, the contaminated insulation and droppings are usually the larger bill — what attic restoration involves →

What Mississippi law requires

MDWFP requires operators to hold a Nuisance Wildlife Control Operator permit before offering removal services commercially. On top of that, every employee actively engaged in trapping under the permit must personally hold a valid Mississippi trapping licence. A trapping licence is required for anyone aged 16 or over trapping on land other than their own. Full Mississippi rules →

Bat questions

How much does Bat removal cost in Hattiesburg?

$400 – $600 small colony · $500 – $1,200 typical · $5,000 – $8,500 for a large colony. The spread comes down to how many entry points there are, how hard the roof or crawlspace is to reach, and whether young are present. Anyone quoting a firm price before seeing the property is guessing.

How quickly can someone come out?

Most bats calls in Hattiesburg are handled within a day or two. If an animal is loose inside your living space, or there is a bite or scratch involved, say so when you make contact — that changes the priority.

Can I just do it myself?

Sometimes, legally speaking. But the two things that go wrong are sealing an entry point while young are still inside, and handling an animal that turns out to be a rabies vector. Both are expensive mistakes, and one is dangerous.

Is there a wrong time of year for this?

Exclusion is restricted during maternity season, when pups cannot yet fly. Sealing a roost then traps them inside to die. The dates differ by state — see the Mississippi law page.

Request free quotes

Licensed wildlife operators covering Hattiesburg will contact you directly. There is no charge and no obligation.

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Property address Optional, but it lets pros price the site properly

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Anything else worth knowing? What you have seen or heard, how long it has been going on, whether you have heard young, single or two storey

We are an information and referral service, not a licensed wildlife control operator, and we may be paid for the introduction. You are never charged.