DURHAM BAT REMOVAL

BAT REMOVAL PROCESS

Bats in Durham

Bat colonies love to shelter inside attics and wall spaces in Durham. As nocturnal creatures who hibernate away in the winter months, many residents are not made aware they have a colony living in their home until they find a bat flying around their living space. Bats can create serious health concerns for Durham homeowners, which is why Skedaddle is proud to provide services that protect families and wildlife in the process. Skedaddle’s team of bat removal specialists is available to separate myth from fact when it comes to bats and help homeowners safely and humanely prevent future run ins.

Bats are vital to the ecosystem through Ontario, and as their populations decline, the Durham region provides many natural and urban spaces for colonies to live. Since 2006, when a disease known as “white nose syndrome” was first discovered, 95% of little brown bats have been wiped out. This disease creates a deadly fungus that spreads among hibernating bats and wakes them before their natural hibernation cycle is complete. Since little brown bats are the most common of the eight bat species in Ontario to seek shelter inside the attic or wall space of a home, removal is very complex.

In 2017 students at a Clarington elementary school committed to building 25 bat houses for their community in hopes to help local bat populations stabilize. Efforts like these help give bats alternative roosting spots for their winter hibernation and help limit the disease from spreading colony to colony. However, many bats in Durham still select attics and wall spaces for their winter hibernation home. As one of the most fragile of Ontario’s urban wildlife species, the little brown bat requires humane removal techniques that protect the colony during removal, which is why they require humane removal and care. Skedaddle bat-friendly removal services use over 30 years of expertise to remove each bat in the home safely.

Big brown bats are also known to use homes to hibernate inside the wall or attic of Durham homes. This species is found in larger numbers because they are less affected by white nose syndrome. Evicting bats at the wrong time and with the wrong methods can result in the death of a colony, and costly fines for the homeowners. Skedaddle works to conserve bat populations by using humane removal methods at specific times of the year and protecting homeowners from the worry of breaking wildlife protection laws. In part of our commitment to protect local wildlife in Durham, Skedaddle is a proud partner of Soper Creek Wildlife Rescue, the only rehabilitation center in the Durham region.

Whether your home has a colony of big brown bats or little brown bats roosting inside, professional bat removal is the safest source of action. Bats have complex behaviours that can make humane bat removal challenging. Skedaddle’s experienced humane bat removal team protects homes and families from the dangers of bats while keeping colonies intact.

Skedaddle gives viewers an in-depth look at how they humanely remove bat colonies from a home. Using a three-step process, Skedaddle technicians are able to remove colonies safely, clean the areas they lived in and prevent their ability to re-enter the home

Why Bats Create Health Risks for Durham Residents

As many residents in Durham know, bats are able to carry and spread the rabies virus. In 2015, the rabies virus outbreak began to spread throughout Ontario. Unfortunately, the Durham region was not immune to the spreading problem and has recently been home to several rabid bats throughout different communities. In 2019 alone, the Durham region’s Health Department reported three separate cases of bats carrying the rabies virus. The bats were found in Whitby, Port Perry and Pickering. These areas are spread throughout Durham and have close access to nearby lakes, which makes them an ideal place for bats. Homeowners in Durham put themselves at risk of becoming infected with the rabies virus when they attempt a DIY removal. Our team understands that without proper removal, the rabies virus can be spread to other colonies and other wildlife species in the area. With tested techniques used for over 30 years, Skedaddle technicians can remove a healthy or sick colony while keeping every person living inside the home safe.

Rabies is not the only disease that bats can potentially introduce to the home. When a colony settles inside an attic or wall space, the guano they leave behind can often hold a variety of other transmittable infections, such as; histoplasmosis, salmonellosis. The most common danger associated with bat droppings is histoplasmosis, a long infection that can result from breathing in fungal spores found in large amounts of bat droppings. For this reason, professional cleaning services are necessary to protect every person living in the home. As part of our three step process, our trained technicians clean and decontaminate all the areas the bat colony and their droppings have been found.

Why Do Bats Love Durham?

Flying insects are bat’s main source of food, and since insect species thrive close to water, the Durham region’s surrounding lakes make it a haven for hungry bats. Places like Cedar Valley Conservation Area and Heber Down Conservation Area provide bats with secluded environments away from people, however these areas do not provide the caves or crevices that bat colonies love to hibernate inside. As an alternative, bats find their way into attics and wall spaces for shelter from the winter and a place to birth their babies in the summer. Each year our team finds bats in the Durham region hibernating inside new and old homes. Peterborough, Ajax, Whitby and Oshawa are all situated between lake Ontario, conservation areas and farmland, which makes the homes in these cities an ideal location for bat colonies to settle in. Despite newly developed condos and residential communities, bats make their way inside even the newest building in the cities.

Get an up-close look at how bats enter homes through tiny gaps. Bats only need a hole the size of a dime to squeeze their way inside

New and old homes are made with small gaps and holes along the exterior and roof line that allows for natural airflow into the home. Unfortunately, these spaces also act as the perfect front door for a bat colony. Oftentimes at the highest points of a home, bat entry can go unnoticed by homeowners until the colony has created significant damage. Bats only need an opening the size of a dime to gain access to an attic space. Due to this ability, no home is safe from their ability to gain access. Older communities like Clarington and Courtice are home to properties that are often made of wood materials that deteriorate to weather overtime. Bats use the damage on a home to their advantage to gain access, and will often select a home where they can find easy entry over a home with recent home maintenance repairs.

When is The Season For Bat Removal in Durham?

Summer and early fall are the busiest season for bats. During this time of year bats are busy feasting on flying insects and fattening up for their winter hibernation. The fall is also the time for bats to mate, although fertilization will not take place until the following spring. Once the winter arrives the food sources that exist in the spring and summer have died off, and bats rely on their stored fats and lowered energy to survive the winter. Any removal at this time would awaken bats before their food source is available, and result in the death of the colony.

As the winter snow in Durham melts away and residents begin walking through Duke Forest or the Cole Mill Trail, bats are waking from hibernation. This is the time when many homeowners begin to hear noises from their attic or wall spaces that alert them to a colony in their home. Now that their eggs have fertilized, mother bats will begin to give birth in the early weeks of June, giving birth to a single pup. Until mothers have nursed their babies to be independent, a removal of the colony cannot take place. The experts at Skedaddle will assess the damage and size of the colony, and perform preliminary exclusion techniques until the colony can be removed in the fall.

With their extensive hibernation and birthing habits, bats create a very small window for removal. The best time for bat removal is during the late summer and into fall. August and September are the most ideal months for bat removals. At this time, bat colonies have long been awake from their winter hibernation, and the babies they birthed in the early summer have become old enough to fly.

Humanely removing and excluding bats is detailed and often challenging work. Their complicated biology, combined with the dangers of safely climbing ladders and scaling roofs to install one-way doors and seal up potential re-entry areas, requires a professional approach. For over three decades Durham homeowners have trusted Skedaddle’s bat-friendly removal techniques. At the first sign of bat activity inside your home contact Skedaddle to schedule a property assessment and begin the process of humane bat removal.

Skedaddle CEO and President, Bill Dowd, explains the mating habits of bat colonies to viewers. Dowd details when babies begin to arrive, how long they take to grow, and how their presence can make removals more complicated.

Bats Facts

There’s nothing wrong with a colony of bats near your home. These helpful mammals eat many insects that you are glad to see removed from your property. Unfortunately, bats in your home can cause a number of health and safety concerns. Here are some key bat facts and reasons why you need professional wildlife control in Durham:

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