WILDLIFE REMOVAL

Bat Removal in Toronto, Oakville & the GTA

Bat exclusion timed to Ontario's windows, then every gap sealed

Bat removal in Toronto, Oakville and the GTA is done by exclusion, not trapping. A one-way door goes over each gap the bats use, so they can fly out at dusk and cannot get back in. Then the gaps are sealed. Our wildlife removal team puts doors on only from April to early May, or from mid-September to the end of November, inside the windows Ontario's guidance allows.

Bat in a room where someone was asleep, or did it touch anyone? Don't let it out and don't touch it: close it in the room. Wash any skin it touched with soap and water for 15 minutes, see a doctor, and call 311 in Toronto or Halton, or your local public health unit.

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AT A GLANCE

Bats at a Glance

Big brown bat, the bat most often found in southern Ontario buildings

Size: About 8 cm long, 30 cm wingspan, 14 to 20 g
Colour: Glossy brown fur
Body: Furred body; wings of skin over long finger bones
How to tell: Much heavier than the little brown bat, which weighs 4 to 11 g
Active: Spring to fall; the one Ontario bat that may winter in buildings
Where found: Attics and eaves of houses
Rabies: Tiny teeth; a bite can go unnoticed and can pass on rabies

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Signs of Bats in the Attic or Walls

If you’ve noticed any of these, call and a licensed technician will tell you what it points to.

Call (905) 739-7888

Piles of dry, black, rice-sized droppings under one spot in the attic
Droppings on the siding below a gap near the roofline
Bats flying out of the roof peak, a vent or the eaves at dusk
A brown stain around the edges of a gap bats have used for years
A bat flying inside the house, most often in August and September
Scratching or squeaking in the attic, though squirrels and mice sound much the same

Ontario's Bat Exclusion Windows

One-way doors go in from April to early May, before pups are born, or from mid-September to the end of November, once the young can fly. Both sit inside Ontario's timing table. From mid-May to mid-August, flightless pups would be left inside. From December to the end of March, no bat is shut out of a building: in the cold it would likely die.

Ontario's timing table for bat exclusion (PDF)

IDENTIFICATION

How to Identify Bats in Your House

Most bats in southern Ontario houses are big brown bats: glossy brown fur, a body about 8 cm long and wings that spread to about 30 cm. The little brown bat, the other bat that raises its young in buildings, is smaller at 4 to 11 g. Bats rarely show themselves by day. Open the attic and they crawl back into cracks between the rafters instead of flying, so droppings are the surest sign. The species matters in Ontario, because seven of the eight are endangered.

Bat or mouse droppings: bat droppings pile up under the roost; mouse droppings are scattered in small amounts across the attic.
Bat or chimney swift: both fly out at dusk. Chimney swifts are birds that nest and roost in chimneys, and they are threatened in Ontario.

TYPES

Types of Bats in Ontario, and Which Ones Use Houses

Big brown bat
Eptesicus fuscus
One of Ontario's largest bats, with glossy brown fur and a 30 cm wingspan. It is the bat most often reported in Toronto.
Where found: Attics and eaves in summer. It is the only Ontario bat that may also hibernate in a building.
Not on the Protected Species in Ontario List, but, like every Ontario bat, a specially protected mammal under Ontario's wildlife rules.
Little brown bat (little brown myotis)
Myotis lucifugus
Small, with glossy brown fur and a 22 to 27 cm wingspan. It weighs 4 to 11 g, about as much as a loonie or a toonie.
Where found: Attics, barns and empty buildings in summer, often near woods and streams; caves and mines in winter.
Endangered in Ontario; one of two Ontario bats known to raise young in buildings.
Northern long-eared bat (northern myotis)
Myotis septentrionalis
Dull yellow-brown fur with a pale grey belly and long, rounded ears. It looks much like the little brown bat.
Where found: Forests, under loose bark and in tree cavities in summer; caves and mines in winter.
Endangered in Ontario.
Eastern small-footed bat (eastern small-footed myotis)
Myotis leibii
Ontario's smallest bat at 4 to 5 g, yellowish-brown with a black face mask and feet only 7 to 8 mm long.
Where found: Rock outcrops, bridges, caves and sometimes buildings, often moving to a new roost each day.
Endangered in Ontario.
Tri-coloured bat
Perimyotis subflavus
A small bat known from southern Ontario, not yet officially documented in Toronto.
Where found: Tree leaves, where pregnant and nursing females roost in groups.
Endangered in Ontario.
Eastern red, hoary and silver-haired bats
Bats that spend the summer in trees and migrate south for the winter. The hoary bat is the largest Ontario bat at about 30 g.
Where found: Trees in summer; red and hoary bats hang among the leaves. All three pass through the Toronto Islands in fall on the way south.
All three are endangered in Ontario.

OUR APPROACH

How Bat Removal Works: Exclusion in Ontario's Windows

Step 1
Inspect and Watch
We check the attic and the outside of the house for droppings, stains and gaps, then watch the roofline at dusk to see where the bats come out. Bats use spots where materials have warped or pulled apart: the roof peak, loose vent screens, lifted flashing, shingles and chimneys.
Step 2
One-Way Doors, in Season
In April and early May, or from mid-September to the end of November, a one-way door goes over each gap the bats use. They fly out at night to feed and cannot get back in. The doors stay until no bats are left. From mid-May to mid-August, when pups cannot fly, no door goes on.
Step 3
Seal Every Gap
Once the bats are out, the doors come off and the openings are closed with caulking, screening or hardware cloth, plus a chimney cap where needed. Bats do not chew new holes the way mice do, so closing the gaps that exist keeps them out.
Step 4
Clean Up the Droppings
Large piles of bat droppings can carry the fungus that causes histoplasmosis, caught by breathing in spores when droppings are stirred up. Workers wear respirators, and the droppings are dampened to keep dust down, then bagged and taken out.

RABIES

Do Bats Bite? Bats and Rabies in Ontario

Most bats will not harm you if left alone, but a bat that is handled can bite, and bats are one of the main animals that spread rabies in Ontario. Their teeth and claws are so small that a bite or scratch can go unnoticed, so Ontario says any bat you may have been exposed to should be treated as rabid unless it is caught and tests negative. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms start, but treatment works if it begins before then, and OHIP covers it.

A bat touched or bit someone: wash the area with soap and water for 15 minutes, call your doctor or go to the nearest hospital, and report it to your public health unit.
A bat was in a room with a sleeping person, a child, or anyone who cannot say whether it touched them: keep the bat in the room and call your public health unit.
A pet had contact with a bat, or was alone in a room with one: call your veterinarian.
Health advice at any hour: Health811 at 811. Emergencies: 911.

RISKS AND DAMAGE

What Damage Do Bats Cause? Droppings and Odour

Bats do not chew wiring or wood. The trouble is what builds up under them. Droppings pile up below the roost, can lie deep across the attic floor after years, and smell. They are dry, so they rarely cause wood rot. The health concern is histoplasmosis, a lung infection caught by breathing in spores from large build-ups of bat or bird droppings when they are disturbed; the fungus is found in Ontario. Rabies is not spread by droppings.

Droppings and odour in the attic
Histoplasmosis risk when large piles are disturbed, for example in a renovation
Bats getting into the living space, most often in August and September

One bat indoors is a health call first; a colony in the attic is a timed job that needs a professional and Ontario's dates.

CAUSES

Why Bats Roost in Your Attic

Big brown and little brown bat nursery colonies once lived in large hollow trees, and both species have adapted to buildings. An attic suits a nursery colony, and a big brown bat can spend the winter in a spot that stays just above freezing. In Toronto, bats are more active in parks, wooded ravines and along streams than downtown.

What Draws Them In

An attic or wall space where females can gather to raise their young
Spots in walls or eaves that stay just above freezing all winter
Parks, wooded ravines and streams nearby, where Toronto's bats are most active

How They Get In

Gaps as small as 6 mm at the roof peak, eaves and building corners
Louvered vents with loose screening, and lifted flashing
Uncapped chimneys and gaps between shingles
Holes where pipes and wires pass through walls or ceilings

HABITS

Life Cycle and Habits

Habitat

In summer, bats roost by day in trees and buildings, and pick attics, barns and empty buildings for nursery colonies. Big brown and little brown bats are the two Ontario species known to raise young in buildings. Several other Ontario bats roost in trees, and the hibernating species fly to caves and abandoned mines for winter, some up to 1,000 km away.

Diet

Ontario bats eat insects, caught at night. Little brown bats are busiest in the two or three hours after sunset and prefer mayflies, caddisflies and midges, with the odd mosquito. Big brown bats take beetles. A nursing female can eat more than her own weight in a day.

Life Cycle

Bats mate in late summer and early fall; females store the sperm and become pregnant in March or April. Big brown bats have two young in late May, and the mother carries them for about the first week, until their eyes open. A little brown bat has one young a year, which can fly and feed itself at about three weeks. Bats breed slowly and can live long: one little brown bat in Ontario was recorded at 31 years. In some species about half the young die in their first year.

Seasonal Behaviour in Ontario

April to early May: bats are back, with no pups yet. Mid-May to mid-August: pups that cannot fly are in the roost. August is the busiest month for bats in Ontario, and in August and September young bats are flying and some get into houses. From October or November to March or April, most bats hibernate in caves and mines or migrate south; some big brown bats winter in buildings.

PREVENTION

How to Keep Bats Out of Your House

Caulk gaps along the roofline, siding and building corners; bats can fit through openings as small as 6 mm.
Fill holes around pipes and wires with caulking or steel wool where they pass through walls and ceilings.
Put a cap on the chimney, replace loose screening on louvered vents and fix flashing that has lifted.
Install window screens and repair any tears, and make sure exterior doors close tightly.
Fit a draft guard under the attic door so a bat in the attic cannot reach the living space.
Seal only when you are sure no bats are inside: Ontario suggests October to March, but big brown bats can winter in a house, so check first.
Keep cats and dogs up to date on rabies shots, as Ontario law requires for pets over 3 months old.
Tell children to stay away from bats and to tell an adult about any contact.

How to Get Rid of Bats: DIY or a Professional?

One bat flying in a room can often be let out without help. If it has not touched a person or pet and was not found in a room where someone sleeps, Toronto's advice is to close it into that room, open a window so it can fly out, and shut the door behind you. A colony in the attic is different: the gaps are usually high on the roofline, every one has to be found, and a one-way door put on at the wrong time leaves flightless pups to die inside.

You can do: watch the house at dusk from each side and note where bats come out.
You can do: close gaps between the attic and the living space, such as under the attic door.
Never: seal gaps while bats are inside, touch a bat, or use a one-way door from mid-May to mid-August.

WHY CHOOSE US

Why Ontario Homeowners Choose Sting Out

No Binding Contracts

Cancel anytime, with no lock-in and no pressure. If you keep us on, it should be because the work is getting results.

Licensed Trapper on Staff

When an animal has to be caught, a licensed trapper on our staff live-traps it. Bats are never trapped: they leave through one-way doors, in Ontario's exclusion windows.

Ontario's Release Rules

A live-caught animal is released within 24 hours, close to where it was caught, and only on property whose owner agrees. Sick, injured or orphaned animals go to an authorized wildlife rehabilitator.

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COMMON QUESTIONS

Bat Removal: Questions We Get

When can bats be removed in Ontario?

From April to early May, before pups are born, or from mid-September to the end of November, once the young can fly. Those are the only times a one-way door goes on. Ontario's timing table opens the fall window in late August; we start later, in mid-September. From December to the end of March, bats still in a building are left alone, because a bat shut out in the cold would likely die. Inspection and planning can happen any time of year.

What should I do if I find a bat in my bedroom?

If someone was asleep in the room, don't let the bat out and don't touch it. Close the door, keep people and pets out, and call 311 in Toronto or Halton, or your local public health unit elsewhere. A bat bite can be too small to notice, and a bat that is caught can be tested for rabies.

Can you get rabies from bat droppings?

No. Ontario says rabies does not spread through the urine, feces or blood of an infected animal; it spreads through saliva, mostly by bites. Bat droppings carry a different risk: large piles can hold spores of the fungus that causes histoplasmosis, a lung infection caught by breathing in dust when the droppings are disturbed.

Are the bats in my attic endangered?

Probably not, but it can't be assumed. The bat most often found in southern Ontario buildings is the big brown bat, which is not on the Protected Species in Ontario List. The little brown bat also raises young in buildings, and it is one of seven endangered Ontario bats. All eight Ontario bats, the big brown bat included, are specially protected mammals under Ontario's wildlife regulation.

Why is there a bat flying in my house in winter?

Most likely a big brown bat, the only Ontario bat that may hibernate in a building. They can wake during warm spells in winter. Don't touch it. If it seems sick or can't fly, close it in one room, keep people and pets away, and call 311 in Toronto or your local animal control. If anyone had contact with it, call your public health unit.

What affects the cost of bat removal?

Mostly the building: how many gaps there are and how hard they are to reach. A chimney or a second-storey roofline takes more work than a gap you can reach from the ground. Whether droppings and soiled insulation need cleaning up matters too.

Sources

Last reviewed October 2026

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Bat Removal Across Toronto, Oakville & the GTA

We remove bats from homes and businesses throughout Toronto and Southern Ontario.

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