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California Bat Removal Pros

Orange County · California

Bat removal in Fountain Valley, California

Fountain Valley—57,047 people at the 2020 Census—sits in west-central Orange County between Huntington Beach, Westminster, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Costa Mesa, with the Santa Ana River on its eastern edge and the 607-acre Mile Square Regional Park in its middle. Nearly all of its homes were built in a 20-year rush, and those roofs are now old enough for bats to find their way in. California Bat Removal Pros provides humane bat inspection, one-way exclusion, sealing with custom inserts (not spray foam) and optional attic guano cleanup across Fountain Valley, with a two-year written warranty on whole-structure work.

Call (424) 722-6374Contact & consultation
Residential roof and gable bat exclusion work for Fountain Valley, California

Are there bats in Fountain Valley?

Yes. Sea and Sage Audubon says sixteen bat species occur in Orange County and names the Mexican free-tailed bat, Yuma myotis and big brown bat as the three most common, all of which roost in buildings as well as natural sites. Fountain Valley gives them water and open space in the middle of town—OC Parks' 607-acre Mile Square Regional Park has two fishing lakes and a 15-acre nature area—and the Santa Ana River runs along the city's eastern edge. Its housing is also the right age: the City's Housing Element says 82% of homes were built before 1980. The California Department of Public Health's provisional 2026 table lists 31 rabid bats in Orange County from January 1 through October 14. Most residents only notice bats when droppings, an ammonia smell or a dusk fly-out shows up at their own roofline.

We have not found a published bat species list or a recent rabid-bat report specific to Fountain Valley; the species below are the ones Orange County and statewide sources describe as building users. The rabies numbers are county-wide lab results, mostly from sick or grounded bats submitted for testing, not a count of how many bats live in Fountain Valley; UC IPM notes that no more than 0.5% of randomly tested bats have been rabid. Which bat is in a particular roof is confirmed at inspection.

Who to call about a bat in Fountain Valley

The City of Fountain Valley contracts with the County of Orange for animal care services, so OC Animal Care handles animal control here: 714-935-6848 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 714-259-1122 after hours. OC Animal Care's bat flyer says bats are protected wildlife and it is illegal for the public to kill, harm or keep one, and that any bat with a possible exposure to a person or pet should be collected by animal control and tested for rabies. Never touch a bat. If you find a sick, still or dead bat outside, place a box or bucket over it and call animal control. If you find one inside and did not see it come in, don't release it: leave and close off the room, cover the bat with a box or bucket if it's safe, keep people and pets away, and call for pickup and testing. After a bite or bat exposure, the flyer says to call OC Animal Care's Rabies Control Desk at 714-796-6421 (weekdays 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m.) or 714-259-1122 after hours, weekends and holidays. If anyone was bitten, scratched or may have had contact, also wash the area with soap and water and get medical care promptly; the OC Health Care Agency's Communicable Disease Control Division (714-834-8180) assesses possible rabies exposures. Colonies roosting in roofs or walls are not animal-control pickups; they are handled by one-way exclusion. Pets that may have had contact should see a veterinarian.

Bat species most relevant to Fountain Valley homes

  • Mexican free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis): One of Orange County's three most common bats according to Sea and Sage Audubon, and on UC IPM's list of bats most likely to use structures in California cities. CDFW's habitat account says that along the coast it apparently roosts mostly in buildings. Colonies favor tight, hot gaps such as open concrete-tile ends, ridge-cap ends and gaps behind fascia.
  • Yuma myotis (Myotis yumanensis): Another of Orange County's most common bats. Sea and Sage Audubon says it forages mainly over calm water in the first two hours after sunset and roosts in buildings and bridges, which makes homes near the Mile Square Park lakes and the Santa Ana River relevant.
  • Big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus): The third of Orange County's most common bats. UC IPM lists it among urban building bats, and CDFW's habitat account says it uses buildings so heavily that its natural roosting habits are poorly known. It is the classic attic, soffit and wall-void bat of older tract homes.
  • Other Myotis and the pallid bat (Myotis spp., Antrozous pallidus): UC IPM includes other Myotis species and the pallid bat, California's state bat (CDFW), among the bats that frequently use attics and barns in California. We have not found a Fountain Valley record for these in buildings, so they are listed for completeness; species are confirmed on site.

More detail: California bat species guide.

Where bats get into Fountain Valley homes

Fountain Valley grew from 2,068 people in 1960 to 55,080 in 1980, and the City's Housing Element says nearly all of its homes were built in the 1960s and 1970s—about two-thirds single-family detached, with townhomes, condo and apartment buildings and a few hundred mobile homes. UC IPM lists the usual colony entry points as beneath eaves, around chimneys, around air and plumbing vents, near loose boards, beneath roof caps and through holes other animals have made, says bats can squeeze through openings as small as 1/4 inch, and notes that open tile ends can be closed with tightly fitted bird-stop strips. On Fountain Valley homes we check first:

  • Fascia-to-stucco and fascia-to-roof-deck gaps along the long eave runs of 1960s–70s tract homes
  • Open or broken bird stops at concrete-tile eave ends and ridge-cap ends, especially on re-roofed homes
  • Gable and attic vents with rusted or torn screens, and gaps around plumbing and exhaust vents
  • Balcony, shutter and trim joints on older two-story tract homes
  • Shared attics and long rooflines on townhome and condo buildings, where every unit's openings have to be mapped together

When bats are most active around Fountain Valley

Spring and summer (maternity)
UC IPM says female bats form colonies in spring to give birth and raise their young, and that flightless young may be present usually from May through September in California. Bat Conservation International puts pup-rearing at roughly April through September for North America. This is when roosts in buildings are busiest, and when colony exclusion should wait.
Warm evenings near water
The two lakes and nature area at Mile Square Regional Park and the Santa Ana River channel along the east side hold insects on calm evenings. Yuma myotis feed mainly over calm water shortly after sunset, and Mexican free-tailed bats emerge shortly after dusk and feed high overhead.
Fall and winter (the usual exclusion window)
UC IPM notes that most bats leave buildings in late fall in most areas, which makes winter a good time for exclusion. Fountain Valley winters are mild, so we inspect first. UC IPM says no pesticides or chemical repellents are registered in California for bats, so we use one-way devices followed by permanent sealing; no bat is sealed inside.

Planning an exclusion? See our fall and winter bat exclusion guide, the maternity season guide or the bat eviction season checker. For what California law allows, read are bats protected in California?

Nearby city pages: Huntington Beach bat removal, Westminster bat removal, Costa Mesa bat removal, Santa Ana bat removal, Garden Grove bat removal, Newport Beach bat removal. This Fountain Valley page covers the whole city, from the neighborhoods around Mile Square Regional Park to the tracts along the Santa Ana River and the southwest corner toward Huntington Beach. Many townhome and condo communities have HOA rules about roof and exterior work, so we document the scope with photos and match closures to the existing tile, stucco color and trim.

Sources

Fountain Valley roof types & where bats get in

One- and two-story 1960s–70s stucco tract homes with composition shingle or concrete tile (82% of homes predate 1980, per the City's Housing Element), plus townhomes, condo and apartment buildings and a small number of mobile homes.

Entry points we check first on Fountain Valley homes:

  • gaps where fascia board meets stucco or the roof deck
  • clay or concrete tile ridge and eave closures (bird stops missing or broken)
  • gable and attic vents with torn or missing screens
  • stucco weep screed separations at the foundation line and wall-to-roof transitions
  • open or loose soffit panels and rafter tails
  • ridge vents and the ends of ridge caps

Bats can fit through gaps of about 3/8 inch (California Dept. of Food & Agriculture vertebrate pest handbook). Not sure? Use our signs-you-have-bats checklist.

Fountain Valley climate & bat season

Fountain Valley is flat, low-lying and a few miles inland from the coast, with mild winters and warm summer evenings. Its older stucco and tile rooflines warm up enough in summer to draw maternity colonies.

Maternity season rules for Fountain Valley bat exclusion

California treats bats as protected nongame mammals, so they may not be killed, poisoned or trapped. Exclusion is the humane, legal route. UC IPM advises against excluding colonies when flightless young could be present, usually May through September in California, because the parents get shut out and the pups starve inside the walls. We inspect and plan during that window, then exclude once the pups can fly. Fall, winter and early spring are the usual exclusion months. The CDFW bats page covers safety and conflict guidance, and you can report a colony to CDFW. Timing source: UC IPM bats. Guano health: CDC on histoplasmosis.

Planning for this fall or winter? Read our fall and winter bat exclusion guide for California timing, and are bats protected in California? for what the law allows.

Is it safe to evict bats now? Check the season

Local housing & attic patterns in Fountain Valley

The City's history says the area was once called "Gospel Swamps" and took its name from its artesian wells; Fountain Valley incorporated in 1957 as Orange County's 21st city and grew in the 1960s under a master plan. The population jumped from 2,068 in 1960 to 31,886 in 1970 and 55,080 in 1980, and the City's Housing Element says 82% of its homes were built before 1980, nearly all of them in the 1960s and 1970s. About two-thirds of the housing (12,201 homes in 2019) is single-family detached, with roughly 1,750 attached townhomes, about 2,570 units in larger apartment and condo buildings, and 321 mobile homes. Most of it is one- and two-story stucco tract housing with composition shingle or concrete tile, long eave runs, gable and attic vents, fascia boards meeting stucco and stucco weep screeds; some early tracts, like the Stardust tract that the Los Angeles Times described in 2000, have decorative shutters, second-story balconies and brick and stone trim. UC IPM says the bats that most often use structures in California urban areas are Mexican free-tailed bats, big brown bats, Yuma myotis and other Myotis, and pallid bats, and that bats can squeeze through openings as small as about 1/4 inch. We confirm the species and map every entry point before any exclusion device goes on.

Bat seasonality around Fountain Valley

UC IPM advises against excluding a colony while flightless young may be present, usually May through September in California, and notes that most bats leave buildings in late fall. Late fall and winter are therefore the usual Fountain Valley exclusion window. The California Department of Public Health's provisional 2026 table lists 31 rabid bats in Orange County from January 1 through October 14—county-wide lab results, mostly from sick or grounded bats, not a count of bats living in Fountain Valley. Winters are mild a few miles from the coast, so a bat can still turn up in a heated building; call any month if you hear scratching, smell ammonia or find guano.

Neighborhoods & landmarks we know

We cover all of Fountain Valley, from the tracts around Mile Square Regional Park and the Recreation Center to the neighborhoods along Brookhurst, Magnolia and Bushard, the homes near the Santa Ana River on the east side, the southwest tracts toward Huntington Beach, and the townhome and condo communities near the I-405. OC Parks says Mile Square Regional Park has two fishing lakes and a 15-acre nature area, and the Santa Ana River runs along the city's eastern boundary—water and open space that support dusk insect activity without implying a roost on any specific property. Nearby city pages cover Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Santa Ana and Garden Grove.

Why hire a local Southern California crew

Fountain Valley bat problems are almost always on 50- to 60-year-old stucco tract homes and the townhomes and condos built alongside them, so the job is finding every small gap along the eaves, vents and tile ends—not just the one with droppings under it—and closing it so it holds up. We seal with custom inserts and clear products instead of spray foam, provide photo documentation for owners, landlords and HOAs, and route Fountain Valley jobs with nearby Huntington Beach, Westminster and Costa Mesa work when schedules allow.

  • Bat specialists since 2011 — bats are our flagship service
  • Documented inspection: openings numbered, photographed, primary vs. secondary
  • Targeted repair or whole-structure seal (warranty on whole-structure)
  • Humane one-way exclusion · maternity timing per UC IPM (usually May–September)
  • High-rise / rope-access capacity for elevated buildings
  • We finish failed prior jobs—remove old foam and devices
  • Two-year written warranty on sealed whole-structure work
  • Local owners, California coverage, backed by a multi-state team

Typical Fountain Valley jobs start with a phone consultation, then an attic inspection, followed by humane exclusion and optional guano cleanup. Commercial properties can use our commercial bat removal program.

Fountain Valley bat removal FAQ

Yes. Sea and Sage Audubon says sixteen bat species occur in Orange County, and the three most common—the Mexican free-tailed bat, Yuma myotis and big brown bat—all roost in buildings. Mile Square Regional Park's lakes and nature area and the Santa Ana River give them insects to hunt close to Fountain Valley neighborhoods. There is no Fountain Valley-only species list for buildings, so the bat in a specific roof is confirmed at inspection.

Fountain Valley & nearby OC cities

Bat problems in Fountain Valley? Let's talk.

Humane exclusion for Fountain Valley and the surrounding Orange County. Two-year written warranty on whole-structure work. Same-day often available across Southern California.

Call (424) 722-6374Email info@californiabatremovalpros.com