Bats in Ontario

It is bat season for Wildlife Custodians across Ontario. Bats are very interesting creatures. They are the only flying mammals we have. Unlike popular believe Ontarios bats are all strict insectivores. The bat population across North America is declining rapidly for a variety of reasons.

In Ontario we have 8 species of bats. Out of these 8 the Little Brown Bat and the Northern Long Eared bat are listed as Species at Risk Ontario and as such receive special protection under the Endangered Species Act.

The majority of species of bats in Ontario are tree dwelling migratory bats. These bats dont hibernate. They simply fly South for the winter.

The 2 species of bats who are hibernating cave dwelling bats are the Little Brown Bat and the Big Brown Bat. Both these bats species look very similar. A Big Brown Bat weighs somewhere between 14-21 gr were as a Little Brown Bat weighs 5-14 gr.

Ontarios largest bat species is the Hoary Bat with an average weight of 26 gr.

Bats in homes

Another way that separates our migratory bats from our hibernating bats is that hibernating bats live in colonies and the migratory bats live a mostly solitary life. This generally means that if you find a bat in your home you likely have a colony living between your walls or in your attic.

The bats most commonly found in homes are actually Big Brown Bats not Little Brown Bats as many people believe.

It is important to note that you should not attempt to remove a bat colony from your home during the winter or early spring because that will cause certain death for the whole colony. If you need a colony of bats removed you best hire a reputable wildlife removal company to do the job.

During the cold winter months bats in Ontario should be hibernating, however there are many reasons that might cause a hibernating bat to be wake. These reasons vary from a disturbance, temperature fluctuation or rabies.

Every year Ontario has bats who test positive for rabies. The exact number of bats with rabies is unknown because testing only occurs when there has been a bat/human or bat/domestic animal interaction. Rabies is most often transmitted through saliva into a bite wound. Rabies is almost always lethal and any mammal can contract it.

It is for this reason one needs to be extremely cautious if a bat is found awake during winter months. It is important to never handle a bat with bare hands. Their teeth are small and a good pair of leather gloves will protect your hands adequately.

A better method to contain a bat is using a disposable tupperware type container. Put the container over the bat and slide the lid underneath. Now you can close the lid without ever having touched the bat. Adding some paper towel to the container prior putting it over the bat will give the bat something to snuggle down into. Make sure you dont forget to add some air holes to the container.

If the bat is flying around stepping into the flight path while suspending a towel between your (gloved) hands is a fairly successful method. After which you can insert the towel into a box or container. Bats are very tiny and they are excellent escape artist and so it is important to tape up all cracks and corners of a box, but again make sure to make some small air holes.

What you should do with a bat you caught in your home depends on some circumstances. If the bat was found in a bed room, or some type of human/bat interaction is suspected or confirmed you need to contact your local health unit. At that point the bat needs to be send for rabies testing. To test for rabies the bat needs to be euthanized and the brain of the bat examined.

The reason a bat flying around in a bedroom puts human lives at risk is that their teeth are so small that if they bite you it wont wake you nor will you find much of evidence on your body of a bite. Their bite marks much resemble an injection with a hypodermic needle.

If domestic animal/bat interaction is suspected or confirmed you need to contact the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture.

If there has been no suspected or confirmed contact with the bat in your home than please contact a local Wildlife Custodian. A Wildlife Custodian is able to provide the care a bat needs until spring when the bat will be released back in to the wild. You can find a list of Authorized Wildlife Custodians on the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry website.