Bat Removal in Toronto & the GTA
The big brown bat is the species most often found roosting in GTA buildings, with several smaller species — including the endangered little brown bat — also turning up in attics, wall voids, and behind shutters. Bats squeeze through surprisingly small openings: a gap of roughly 1.5 cm at a roofline junction, chimney, or fascia board is enough. A colony can occupy an attic for years while leaving little visible trace beyond droppings accumulating below the entry point.
Bats are not aggressive and they are genuinely useful animals — a single bat eats enormous numbers of insects nightly. The problems they create indoors are real, though: guano accumulation supports the fungus that causes histoplasmosis, urine staining damages finishes, and bats are a rabies-vector species in Ontario. Any direct contact, or a bat found in a room with a sleeping person, needs to be treated as a potential exposure and assessed with public health.
Removal is exclusively about exclusion. Bats in Ontario are protected and cannot be killed, poisoned, or trapped out of season — the legal and effective method is a one-way exclusion device that lets the colony exit at dusk and prevents re-entry, followed by sealing every gap on the structure. Timing matters more than with any other animal: during maternity season, roughly June through early August, flightless pups are in the roost and exclusion has to wait until they can fly.
- Licensed & insured — Ontario Reg. 63/09
- Same-day & next-day service
- Humane methods
- 5-year warranty on sealing work
- Across the GTA, Oakville to Oshawa
- 24/7 emergency line
Signs you have bats
- Droppings (guano) accumulating on a windowsill, deck, or the ground below one spot on the roofline — they resemble mouse droppings but crumble to a shiny dust
- Dark staining or greasy rub marks around a small gap at the roof edge, chimney, or attic vent
- High-pitched chittering or scratching from the attic or a wall void around dusk and dawn
- Bats seen exiting the roofline at dusk, often from the same gap night after night
- A single bat appearing inside the living space — often a juvenile that took a wrong turn, and usually a sign of a roost in the structure
- An ammonia smell in the attic from accumulated urine and guano in a long-occupied roost
How we handle it
Roost inspection and exit-point mapping
We inspect the attic and exterior to confirm bats (not mice — the droppings are commonly confused), locate the roost, and watch the structure at dusk where needed to confirm the active exit points.
One-way exclusion device installation
Outside maternity season, one-way devices are fitted over the active exits. Bats leave to feed at night and cannot get back in. The devices stay up long enough for the full colony to clear the structure.
Full exterior sealing
Every gap a bat could use — roofline junctions, fascia, vents, chimney gaps down to about 1.5 cm — is sealed with durable materials. Partial sealing fails with bats; the work has to cover the whole structure. The sealing carries our 5-year warranty.
Guano assessment and cleanup
For long-occupied roosts we document the contamination and quote attic cleanup separately — guano removal needs HEPA equipment and respiratory protection because of the histoplasmosis risk.
Ontario law, maternity season, and rabies protocol
Bats are protected under Ontario's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, and several Ontario species — including the little brown bat, devastated by white-nose syndrome — are listed as endangered. Killing or poisoning bats is illegal; exclusion is the only lawful method, and it cannot be performed during maternity season (roughly June to early August) while flightless pups are in the roost. Separately, bats are a rabies-vector species: if a bat is found in a room with a sleeping person or anyone who cannot confirm there was no contact, contact Toronto Public Health before the animal is released — that assessment comes first.
Bat exclusion done at the right time of year, with the whole structure sealed, is a permanent fix — colonies have strong site fidelity, and a half-sealed roofline just moves the entry point. If you've found guano or are hearing activity at dusk, book an inspection and we'll confirm what's roosting and the right exclusion window.
Service Areas for Bat Removal
We provide specialized bat removal services in the following neighborhoods and cities:
Wildlife Removal + Exclusion
Humane removal and permanent exclusion — same-day across the GTA.
View planBat Removal — Frequently Asked Questions
A bat got into my house. What should I do?
If the bat was in a room with someone sleeping, a child, or anyone who can't rule out contact, treat it as a potential rabies exposure and contact Toronto Public Health before releasing the animal. Otherwise, close interior doors, open a window to the outside, and call us — don't handle the bat with bare hands.
Can you just seal the holes where bats get in?
Not while bats are inside, and not during maternity season (roughly June through early August) when flightless pups are in the roost — sealing then traps them in the structure. We install one-way exclusion devices outside that window so the colony leaves on its own, then seal permanently.
Are bats protected in Ontario?
Yes. Bats are protected under Ontario's Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act, and several species, including the little brown bat, are endangered. They cannot be killed or poisoned — exclusion is the only legal and effective method, and the timing has to respect the maternity season.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Durapest is licensed by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and operates in line with Ontario Reg. 63/09. Our technicians are trained and insured for both residential and commercial work.
Do you offer a warranty?
Yes. Treatments come with a warranty, and any sealing or exclusion work is backed by our 5-year warranty. If covered pests return within the warranty period, we come back and re-treat at no extra cost.
How soon can you come out?
We offer same-day and next-day service across most of the GTA, from Oakville to Oshawa, with 24/7 dispatch for emergencies. Call us and we'll give you a straight answer on the next available slot for your area.