Lately, Skedaddle Humane Wildlife has noticed an increase of calls from homeowners experiencing bat invasions in their homes.
Unfortunately these homeowners have a colony of bats hibernating in their attic or walls. Contrary to popular belief not all bats hibernate in caves. There are two species of bats that colonize buildings in Canada, Little Brown Bats and Big Brown Bats. The little brown bats are the ones who during the winter months hibernate in caves and abandoned mines. If you have bats flying in your house during the winter then you definitely have a Big Brown colony infesting your house as these are the only bats that hibernate in buildings all year round.
If they are hibernating why are they flying in my house?
During hibernation Big Brown bats commonly wake up every couple weeks. During this period, they may move around or even fly short distances. While moving around they may accidentally exit a gap in a recessed light fixture, cold air return, open attic hatch or wall. People commonly report finding bats in basements. Another factor that forces the bats to wake up and move around are sudden temperature variations. If the temperature becomes drops or increases very quickly compared to seasonal norms, bats will wake up and try to find another location in the house where it is more suitable for them.
Can I exclude them during the winter?
Unfortunately, there are limited actions to take during the winter season to get the bats out of the house but that doesn’t mean you should ignore the problem. To remove the colony for good we need to identify how they got inside in the first place.
Once we know the entry and exit points, we can install one-way doors over top of them. This will prevent more bats getting in. Once spring arrives and the temperatures warm up, bats will awake from hibernation and exit the attic and walls in search of food. Once they pass through the one-way door they won’t be able to get back in and the colony will be evicted.
For more information on how we can protect your home from bats call us at 1-877-222-9453. Proudly Serving: Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Mississauga, Brampton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, Cambridge and the Niagara Region
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