Emergency Bat Removal in London: When Should You Call Wildlife Experts?

Emergency Bat Removal in London When Should You Call Wildlife Experts

You wake up at 3 a.m. to a soft flutter above the bed. A small dark shape loops around the room, then disappears behind the dresser.

Emergency bat removal London homeowners need starts the moment a bat is in a room where people or pets sleep, or anyone has touched one. Call a wildlife professional right away in those cases, and call your local public health unit too. Bats in an attic or wall are a different kind of problem. They need a plan, not a panic.

Here is why caution is smart. Ontario confirmed 121 rabies cases in 2025, and 116 of them were in bats. At The BS Pest Control, we wrote this guide to help you tell a true emergency from a problem that can wait.

Key Takeaways

  • A bat in a bedroom, a bat that touched someone, or a bat that a pet got hold of is an emergency. Do not release it until you speak to public health.
  • Never touch a bat with bare hands, dead or alive.
  • Bats in an attic or wall are not always an emergency. In Ontario, removing a colony has strict timing rules because flightless pups die if their mothers are shut out.
  • Sealing a roost during the wrong season is cruel, often against the rules, and creates a smell and cleanup problem.
  • Real bat removal London work includes finding the entry points, using one-way doors at the right time, cleaning up droppings, and sealing the gaps.
  • Costs depend on the size of the colony, how hard the roost is to reach, and the amount of sealing. A free inspection gives you a clear quote.

Table of Contents

  1. What Counts as a Bat Emergency?
  2. What Should You Do If a Bat Is in Your Home?
  3. What Does Emergency Bat Removal in London Involve?
  4. When Can Bats Be Removed From a Building in Ontario?
  5. Why Is DIY Bat Control Risky?
  6. How Much Does Bat Removal Cost and What Should You Look For?
  7. FAQs
  8. Conclusion

What Counts as a Bat Emergency?

A bat emergency is any situation where a person or pet may have had contact with a bat, or where a bat is trapped inside your living space. These cases need action the same day.

Treat it as an emergency if:

  • A bat is in a bedroom or a room where someone was sleeping
  • A bat is in a room with a young child, or with an adult who cannot say what happened
  • Anyone was touched, scratched, or bitten, or a bat landed on them
  • A pet caught, bit, or played with a bat
  • A bat is stuck inside and cannot get out
  • Several bats are flying through the living areas

Bat bites are tiny and easy to miss. That is why waking up with a bat in the room is taken seriously, even with no visible mark.

Some situations are urgent but not emergencies. Scratching or squeaking in the attic, droppings under a vent, or bats leaving the roofline at dusk are signs of a roost. A trained emergency bat removal London team can check these out quickly, but the fix may need to wait for the right season.

What Should You Do If a Bat Is in Your Home?

Stay calm, keep people and pets away, and close the doors to other rooms. Do not touch the bat with bare hands, and do not release it until you know whether anyone was exposed.

  1. Check for contact. Ask everyone in the home if they felt anything touch them. Look at skin for scratches.
  2. Wash right away if touched. If skin touched the bat, wash the spot with soap and water for 15 minutes, then call your public health unit.
  3. Call public health if the bat was near someone who could not tell you. That means a sleeping person, a young child, or an adult who is impaired. Public health decides whether treatment is needed.
  4. Contain the bat if you can do it safely. Close the doors to the room. Cover the bat with a container and slide a piece of cardboard under it. Wear thick gloves. A bat that can be tested may save a person from unnecessary shots.
  5. Call a wildlife professional. They can capture the bat safely and find out how it got in.
  6. Call your vet if a pet was involved. Do this even if your pet is vaccinated.

If nobody had contact and the bat was only flying through, open a window and door to the outside, close the other doors, and let it leave on its own. Ontario’s ministry guide says to give the bat a reasonable amount of time to find its way out before trying anything else.

Do bats carry rabies?

Some do. Rabies is found in bats across all regions of Ontario. It is rare for people to catch it from bats. Canada recorded only seven human cases of bat rabies from 1950 to 2019. Rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms start, which is why quick action after contact matters.

What Does Emergency Bat Removal in London Involve?

It involves a safe capture or exit of the bat, a full inspection, a plan for the entry points, and cleanup. The goal is to keep people safe and the bats unharmed.

Here is how a visit usually goes:

  1. Safe response. The technician captures a bat that is stuck indoors, or helps it out, using gloves and the right gear.
  2. Inspection. The team checks the attic, soffits, vents, chimney, and rooflines for gaps. Bats can squeeze through openings as small as 1 cm.
  3. Roost check. They look for droppings, stains, and sounds that show where the colony lives and how big it is.
  4. Timing plan. The team picks the right window for one-way doors based on the season.
  5. Sealing and cleanup. Once the bats are gone, the gaps are closed and droppings are cleaned out.

Our bat removal service follows this order. If the noise in your attic turns out to be squirrels or rodents, we also handle squirrel removal and rodent removal.

When Can Bats Be Removed From a Building in Ontario?

It depends on the season. Ontario bats raise their pups in buildings in summer, and pups that cannot fly will die if the adults are shut out. That is why timing matters more than speed.

Ontario’s ministry guide sets out these windows:

Time of yearWhat is happeningWhat can be done
April to early MayBats are back, no pups yetInstall one-way doors
Mid-May to mid-AugustFlightless pups are in the roostNo exclusion. Watch the exits at dusk to find the openings
Late August to NovemberSome bats may remainInstall one-way doors
December to MarchA few bats may be hibernating insideSeal only after you are sure none remain

Evicting bats in the middle of winter would likely kill them, because they are very vulnerable to the cold. Some bat species in Ontario are also listed as endangered, so permission from the province can be needed in some cases.

So even in an emergency, the plan can be to protect your family now and remove the colony at the right time.

Why Is DIY Bat Control Risky?

DIY bat control puts your health at risk and often fails. Bats are protected, bites are hard to see, and a rushed fix can leave you with dead bats in your walls.

Here are the mistakes we see most often:

  • Handling a bat with bare hands
  • Sealing the entry points in summer, which traps pups inside
  • Skipping the one-way doors, so bats stay trapped in the building
  • Missing smaller entry points, so the colony simply moves to another gap
  • Leaving droppings and smell behind, which can attract more bats

Good bat control London work also means a follow-up plan. Bats come back to the same roosts year after year if the building is not sealed properly. If you have a pet that has been near a bat, or a child that may have been touched, skip DIY and call a professional.

How Much Does Bat Removal Cost and What Should You Look For?

There is no flat price, because every roost is different. Most companies quote after an inspection. These things affect the cost:

  • Size of the colony and how long it has been there
  • How hard the roost is to reach (attic, chimney, or wall)
  • The number of entry points to seal
  • Cleanup of droppings and treatment of the area
  • Follow-up visits or checks

Before you agree, ask three questions. Is the sealing included? Is there a guarantee? What happens if bats come back?

When you search for bat removal London, look for a company that treats bats as a protected species and follows the season rules. Use this checklist:

  1. License and insurance. Ask for proof.
  2. Humane methods. Ask how they handle pups and one-way doors.
  3. Timing plan. A good company will explain the seasonal rules.
  4. Cleanup included. Ask about droppings and odour.
  5. Written quote and guarantee. Get both.
  6. Fast response. A bat in the bedroom should not wait a week.

The BS Pest Control is licensed and insured, uses eco-friendly and humane methods, offers same-day or next-day service in most areas it serves, and stands behind its work with a satisfaction guarantee. Inspections and quotes are free. A trusted emergency bat removal London team will also tell you honestly when a job can wait for the right season.

FAQs

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

Keep everyone away from it and close the door. Do not release it yet. Call your public health unit, especially if someone was sleeping or a child was in the room. Then call a wildlife professional to capture the bat safely.

Can I remove bats from my attic myself?

It is not a good idea. You could handle a bat by mistake, seal out the adults while pups are inside, or miss the other entry points. A professional follows the season rules and uses one-way doors the right way.

When is bat season in Ontario?

Bats raise pups in buildings from about mid-May to mid-August. During that time no exclusion should be done. One-way doors can go in from April to early May, and from late August to November.

Is it illegal to kill or seal in bats in Ontario?

Bats are protected, and some Ontario species are endangered. Sealing them in or harming them can break the rules and is not humane. The right approach is exclusion with one-way doors at the right time.

How long does bat removal take?

A single bat in the house can be handled in one visit. A colony usually takes longer, because the bats must leave on their own through one-way doors before the gaps are sealed. A bat control London plan from a professional tells you the steps and dates up front.

Conclusion

A bat in the bedroom is scary, and a colony in the attic is stressful. Both are easier to handle when you know the rules and call the right people. Emergency bat removal London homeowners can count on keeps your family safe first and protects the bats second.

Do not guess or wait. Call The BS Pest Control at +1 (437) 329-4500, message us on WhatsApp, or request a free quote today.