Sainte-Madeleine, a village in the Montérégie region located near Saint-Hyacinthe in the Yamaska Valley, combines a residential environment with agricultural land, an environment where streams and wetlands encourage the presence of large colonies of bats that take advantage of these areas to hunt. Our team in Sainte-Madeleine responded to a call from a property manager in charge of a distribution warehouse whose employees had noticed the regular presence of bats inside the premises, particularly in the loading area and in the heights of the warehouse. The management had legal obligations in terms of the sanitation of the workplace, making the intervention urgent.
Evaluation of a large-scale industrial building
The inspection of an industrial warehouse is significantly different from that of a residence: the areas to be covered are much larger, the ceiling heights often reach eight to twelve meters, and the potential access points can be counted in the dozens. Our technician, equipped with a boom lift, inspected the entire exterior perimeter and roof of the building. The main accesses identified were at the joints between the precast concrete panels, where the rubber joints had aged and shrunk, as well as around the electrical cable passages on the façade. An estimate of the size of the colony, based on the analysis of traces of guano on the floor and shelves of the warehouse, indicated the presence of at least one hundred and fifty individuals, which is significant even for a large industrial building.
The human resources manager was informed of the potential health risks to employees, including the risks associated with inhaling guano particles and, to a lesser extent, the risk of contact with injured animals. Temporary protective measures have been recommended, including the wearing of filtering masks in areas with high concentrations of guano. Our bat capture service always incorporates a risk assessment for the occupants of the building.
Large-scale exclusion and logistical coordination
Excluding a colony in a working warehouse requires close coordination with the site manager. The work on the roof and façade was planned at night so as not to interrupt deliveries. The one-way exclusion devices were installed at the eighteen active entry points identified. The installation was carried out in two successive evenings to cover the entire perimeter. All other panel joints with openings were temporarily sealed with fast-setting polyurethane foam beads. This large-scale intervention is based on our documented experience in comparable interventions in industrial settings.
Night surveillance during the exclusion period confirmed the progress of the colony’s departure. After ten days, no more bat movements were observed on the outing. The devices were removed and the joints permanently sealed with an elastomeric sealant suitable for concrete structures. Our industrial caulking work ensures a long-lasting waterproofing of the building envelope. See also our achievement on exclusion in the warehouse in Sainte-Madeleine.
Industrial cleaning and compliance
The decontamination of a big-box warehouse mobilized a team of four technicians for two days of work. The guano was sucked up using industrial equipment equipped with HEPA filters, from the metal decks at height to the storage areas on the ground. The affected surfaces were treated with an enzymatic disinfectant that neutralizes pathogens without leaving hazardous residues for the stored goods. Our extermination services in Quebec adapt to the specific constraints of industrial environments, including the traceability and documentation requirements required by property managers and insurers. The manager of the Sainte-Madeleine warehouse received a complete file including photos before and after the intervention, the technical sheets of the products used, and a certificate of decontamination to meet the requirements of the Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail.