“It was a perfect storm of just really unfortunate things that happened that led us to leaving the house,” Rachelle Swan said of the bat infestation that forced her and her family out of their home.
Bats may seem harmless, but these little creatures have left a big impact on the Spiritwood, Sask., family.
Swan says the family had been battling the issue since purchasing the home, with the bats already inside, in 2022. The entire family had to receive rabies shots, which were covered by the Ministry of Health. After thousands spent to fix the property, Swan and her family foreclosed their Spiritwood home in May due to the infestation – a decision she says was a last resort.
“It’s just been a circle of politicians and ministries and roofing experts and all of it just leading us back to really we didn’t have any other option,” Swan said.
The Ministry of Environment told Global News in a statement that, “In Saskatchewan, bats and the places they inhabit are protected under section 4 and 6 of Wildlife Regulations under The Wildlife Act.”
Swan says the bats’ protected status further complicated their removal.
“It just seems like there’s a really, really big gap there. Like someone made a policy but didn’t think of the repercussions of the policy, and that’s all fine and well for them sitting in their offices. But for me and my spouse and my three kids, we lost our house because there was gaps that nobody thought of.”
The Ministry of Environment says homeowners are responsible for all costs associated with bat removal, noting removal is not always possible for some buildings like the Swan home, which has no attic and vaulted ceilings.
The family of five now resides in low-income government housing and Swan says all they can do is try to carry on after their losses.
“Going forward, there’s nothing we can do. Like, we lost everything. Like I said, we lost our house. We lost her down payment. We lost our credit. There’s nothing left for us to do but just pick up the pieces and hope that it won’t happen to somebody else.”
