Saint-Liboire, a municipality in the Montérégie region neighbouring Saint-Hyacinthe and crossed by Highway 20, has a residential and agricultural environment whose buildings offer many potential refuges for bats. In a residential area of the municipality, a condominium association contacted our team after several co-owners had reported to the building manager the presence of bats in the common areas and in some condominiums on the top floor. The collective nature of the property made the intervention more complex, as decisions concerning the common elements had to be approved by the syndicate council. Our team in Saint-Liboire accompanied the union step by step in this process.
Specific issues of divided co-ownership
In a divided co-ownership, the question of liability between common and private portions is central. Our technician first carried out a complete inspection to determine that the bat colony was staying exclusively in the space between the roof and the false ceiling of the common areas, an area clearly under the syndicate’s control. This clarification facilitated the decision making by the union council. The inspection identified entry points on the roof of the six-storey building, including around bathroom ventilation outlets and chimney flashing joints. Our bat capture service always includes complete documentation allowing this type of legal and administrative clarification.
The colony numbered about fifty individuals and seemed to have been established for several years given the quantity of guano present. Some co-owners of the sixth-floor units complained of nocturnal noises in their ceilings, which confirmed the location of the colony in the technical spaces immediately above. Check out our work in a comparable condominium building to see how we handle this type of situation.
Planned exclusion with the union council
A detailed intervention plan was presented at a meeting of the union council. This plan specified the dates of intervention, the work zones, the measures to minimize inconvenience to residents and the decontamination schedule. The exclusion was programmed outside the calving period to comply with species protection requirements. The exclusion devices were installed on the eight active entry points, in coordination with the building management company, which secured access to the roof. Our expertise in closing entry points made it possible to intervene effectively on a large surface roof with many technical complexities.
During the active exclusion phase, nocturnal observations were conducted three evenings a week. The results were regularly communicated to the building manager, who relayed them to the co-owners concerned. This transparent and proactive communication maintained the trust of residents throughout the exclusion process, avoiding any unnecessary worry. After two weeks of rigorous monitoring, the colony had left the site entirely and no movement was detected at the exits. Our extermination company then proceeded to the final and permanent sealing of all the identified accesses, with resistant materials adapted to the structure of the concrete roof.
Decontamination and report for the syndicate
The decontamination of the roof space was carried out by a team of three integral protection technicians. The guano was fully vacuumed and disposed of according to applicable standards. The surfaces in contact with the accumulations were treated with a fungicidal disinfectant. Defective chimney flashings and ventilation outlets were replaced or repaired as part of the decontamination of the attic and roof spaces. The final report submitted to the union council included complete photographic documentation, safety data sheets for the products used, and a prevention plan detailing the checks to be carried out annually to avoid any recurrence. This report was also useful to the syndicate in the context of the renewal of the building’s insurance, as the insurer required proof of a certified professional intervention. The intervention in Saint-Liboire illustrates our team’s ability to manage complex mandates involving multiple stakeholders, while scrupulously respecting the legal protections governing bats in Quebec.