Bats

Colour: Glossy brown, lighter belly.

Size: Length – 79-93 mm. Weight – 7-21 grams.

Common roosting areas: High buildings, attics, soffit and under siding.

Common areas of entry: Brick soffit gaps, roofline gaps, soffit intersections, along pipe entrances, roof vents and they may also enter through chimney and any damaged or open door/window areas.

Sounds that may be heard: Although possible, in most cases bats are rarely heard in their roosting areas or entering and exiting them. Bats can sometimes be heard flapping around window or soffit areas if not flying into them while catching insects in evening hours.

Signs of entry: Rub marks and droppings which are usually around exterior perimeter and may also have droppings running up exterior wall areas. Also, bats may be seen frequently flying around home or building and also may be heard hitting window or soffit areas while hunting insects. With deforestation, bats are increasingly losing natural roosting sites and therefore are using more and more man made structures.

Bat infestations in many cases will contaminate your attic with ample amounts of urine or guano, and therefore may need to be restored back to the state it was in before infestation occurred. This usually means cleaning out urine soaked insulation, removing all guano, disinfecting, and replacing all contaminated insulation.

Solution for humane removal of bats and bat infestations: Once common entry(s) has been located a one way door system will be set up within screening and/or caulking methods. If colony is immense in numbers then a mesh netting system will be used to allow a greater amount of bats to vacate at once. Also all other possible access points must be secured to prevent further entry.

PREVENTION AND EXCLUSION METHODS CAN INCLUDE:

Brick Soffit Gap: Filled with a clear silicone beading method.

Roof Vents: Roof vent is lifted up and then to be screened by covering roof vent cutout hole with a fine mesh hardware cloth and roof vent cover is to be resecured to roof.

Roof Soffit Intersections: Can be screened if soffit intersection gap is big and/or caulked if small.

Window Flashing: Can be secured with a fine mesh hardware cloth or caulking method.

Brick Vents: To be filled with steel wool.

Chimney: Secured and covered with a fine mesh hardware cloth.

Roofline Gap: Secured with a fine mesh hardware cloth and/or caulking method.

Bats that have gotten into living spaces can usually be caught and removed while onsite.

Diet: Bats are nocturnal and they hunt for food while in flight. The typical diet of bats in Ontario consists of insects, mainly mosquitoes. Bats can catch anywhere from 500 to 1000 mosquitoes per hour, and are highly important in contributing to keeping the insect population under control.

Baby removal: Bats will mate in fall and then go into hibernation (this is so that the presence of males is not needed in spring). Come spring females will gather in nursery colonies as the males segregate themselves from females and roost in small groups of 2-20. Bats are viviparous (birthing living young rather than eggs) and the young (pups) are mostly born in June and will usually consist of only 1 pup per year. Pups will usually become flight-capable after about 5-7weeks old.

Hazards: Studies show that bats have one of the lowest occurrences of rabies of any mammal. Accumulations of bat guano can become dry and airborne transmitting histoplasmosis (a systematic fungus). They are also known to harbor the Bat Bug and Bed Bug. If bats have been excluded from the roosting site and Bat Bugs or Bed Bugs were present they may venture into a home in search of new hosts.