REGINA — The Ministry of Environment is reminding Saskatchewan residents that May is a good time to most effectively exclude or evict bats from buildings.
Bats can be difficult to find inside buildings and removal is not always feasible or cost-effective. Installing one-way exits (also called exclusion devices or bat cones) at the appropriate time of year works with the biology of the bats; it lets them leave and does not allow re-entry.
Bats and humans can co-exist in a building. However, exclusion may be the best option if:
- Bat hazards and/or issues cannot be rectified;
- Living areas cannot be sealed to prevent bat access; or
- Major repairs, renovations or demolition are planned.
Bats can be effectively excluded from buildings in May and again in September. In May, one-way exits can be installed because it is the time between hibernation and the birth of pups (baby bats), when adult bats can find a new home.
But remember, bats aren't pests - they are pest control. Bats are important to Saskatchewan's ecosystem as they eat insects, including crop and forest insect pests. The benefit of their pest consumption is valued at over $3 billion per year in North America.
Many bat species are suffering from habitat loss and other threats, such as white-nose syndrome, which only affects bats. White-nose syndrome has killed over 12 million bats in North America and affects the little brown bat, one of the species that sometimes roosts in buildings in Saskatchewan. There is no known cure for white-nose syndrome.
Bats are protected wildlife under The Wildlife Act in Saskatchewan, meaning you need a licence to kill bats or disturb their place of habitation and two of the eight bat species in Saskatchewan are listed as Endangered under the federal Species at Risk Act. For more information about bats including exclusion times, exclusion permitting, and bat-proofing home tips, visit the Ministry of Environment page. You can also contact the Ministry of Environment Inquiry Centre at 1-800-567-4224 or [email protected].
