'We basically lost everything': Bats force Sask. family to abandon house

Rachelle and Kelly Swan live in a relatively cramped space now. But the upside to their rented low-income government house is that it's away from the haunting site their family occupied for two years, filled with screeches, high-pitched chirps and squeaks from constantly flapping bats. 

The couple bought their house in Spiritwood, about 170 kilometres northwest of Saskatoon, two years ago. They gave up their keys to the bank voluntarily in May, closing the door on the bat-infested house. 

Rachelle said that as far as the bank is concerned, they just stopped making their mortgage payments. The move a couple of blocks down the street, she said, has left her with a credit that's hit rock-bottom and a down payment she's never going to get back. 

"We basically lost everything," Rachelle said.

"We can't buy anything for up to seven years. We can't trade our vehicles. We can't even finance a new computer because we just have no credit whatsoever."

When Rachelle walks past the now-abandoned house, she said she can't help but feel disappointed in how the authorities failed their family. The family of five was also considered a high risk for rabies and had to get a total of 47 rabies injections.

"It really makes me angry that was really what it came down to — that [leaving] was our only option."

Rachelle and Kelly moved to the new place with their three kids and their oldest daughter's boyfriend. Between the six of them, they had one bathroom to share, and it's still cramped even after their daughter and her boyfriend left to go to university. 

"It was tight and it was, I mean, super grateful we got the place because it's a nice little house and it's, you know, it's safe and whatever, but it wasn't ideal," she said.

Rachelle said she went back to the house a few months ago to get some leftover items and she saw one bat "hanging out" on the wall, and one near the vent where her kitchen table once was.

According to Saskatchewan's Bat Exclusion Policy, bats can only be excluded with a permit, allowing exit but not re-entry, from buildings in May or September. It says considerations will be made by the Ministry of Environment on a case-by-case basis outside of May or September. 

"Taking steps to prevent bats from coming into living spaces while undertaking exclusion work during the permitted times respects both human and animal needs," the Ministry of Environment said in an emailed response.  

The ministry said homeowners are responsible for all costs associated with exclusion efforts. There is no provincial program to assist property owners with bat exclusion or other wildlife-related remediation costs, it said.

For two years, Rachelle said, they tried exploring "every option" available to them before handing over their house. She said they contacted exterminators, conservation officers and roofing companies.