Bat exclusion

Seal the house, fit one-way valves at the exits, and do it only outside the pup season.

Bats get in through gaps as narrow as a pencil: along the ridge, behind fascia boards, at chimney flashing. The little brown bat, once the most common attic bat in Ontario, is listed as endangered under Ontario's Endangered Species Act, and bats may not be killed.

From about May to mid-August, female bats raise flightless pups in the roost. Sealing a house then traps the young inside. Wildlife contractors in Ontario generally do exclusion from mid-August, once pups can fly, until bats go into hibernation in late fall. Book early in that window.

We seal every gap on the building except the exits, then fit one-way valves there. After the bats have left, the valves come off and those gaps are sealed. If you or a pet may have touched a bat, call Ottawa Public Health about rabies risk the same day.