According to Saskatchewan's Ministry of Environment, bats can be excluded from buildings in May or September under the province’s Bat Exclusion Policy, with a permit. (VitalisG /Depositphotos.com)

By CKOM News - Mia Holowaychuk

Bat problems

Severe bat infestation drives Spiritwood family out of their home

Nov 2, 2024 | 5:26 PM

WARNING — This story contains images of dead bats.

For two and a half years, Rachelle Swan has been living a nightmare in a home plagued with bats.

The infestation became so severe it has now forced the Spiritwood woman and her family to hand the keys to the bank and “foreclose” their home.

“It’s pretty unfortunate,” she said.

It started in the summer of 2022 when Swan found a live bat in her living room, then another live one on her porch.

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Since then the family has had multiple rabies shots, and had to deal with the accumulation of bats settling inside their walls.

“They were really noisy, like we’d be down in the living room watching TV and you could hear them over the TV way up in our vaulted ceilings …squawking and screeching and scratching,” she said.

A bat found in a fish tank in Rachelle Swan’s home in Spiritwood. (Rachelle Swan/Submitted)

Swan would also find bats in her kitchen, living room and even in her fish tank but she said the final straw was around Easter when she found a bat sleeping in the sun in her kitchen.

“That’s not normal behaviour,” she said.

Swan took countless measures to resolve the issue — reaching out to exterminators, contacting a roofing company to relocate the bats, and investing thousands of dollars to install bat cones in her roof.

Bats protected in Saskatchewan

According to Saskatchewan’s Ministry of Environment, bats are not considered pests under provincial law, and all bats and the places they inhabit are protected under the Wildlife Act.

A number of bat species are facing impacts from habitat loss and an incurable disease called white-nose syndrome.

Swan said the regulations added to the challenges of removing the bats from her home, and noted bats have extreme location loyalty.

“They’re coming in, they’re having their babies, and they’re living their best life,” she said.

Bat found in Rachelle Swan’s home in Spiritwood. (Rachelle Swan/Submitted)

Swan said getting the bats out the walls effectively would be a major demolition project with a price tag costing thousands more than she had already paid.

Swan said she had contacted the Ministry of Environment, but expressed frustration with the lack of response or assistance.

“This has resulted in me, my family, losing our home and our credit and our down-payment and everything,” she said.

Six months ago, Swan’s family moved into a low income rental unit.

According to the Ministry of Environment, bats can be excluded from buildings in May or September under the province’s Bat Exclusion Policy, with a permit.

Outside those months, the ministry evaluates situations on a case-by-case basis while considering human health, building use, and feasibility before allowing any action. The ministry notes that bats can be difficult to find inside buildings and exclusion is not always doable or cost effective.

“Homeowners who contact the Ministry of Environment are advised of legally available options to manage their specific situation. Homeowners are also made aware that they are responsible for all costs associated with exclusion efforts,” a statement from the ministry said.

“Regular home maintenance helps to ensure that wildlife do not gain access to buildings. There is no provincial program to assist property owners with bat exclusion or other wildlife-related remediation costs.”

Rachelle Swan says the infestation of bats in her Spiritwood home forced her to move out. (Rachelle Swan/Submitted)