Bats found inside of Tazewell County school
Jun. 21—richlands, va. — Bats help the environment by devouring mosquitos and other bugs, but that doesn't make them welcome in homes and businesses, and certainly not in a public school.
Tazewell County Schools recently started working with Blue Ridge Wildlife and Pest Control out of Fredericksburg, Va. to safely remove bats that have roosted at Richlands Middle School, said Lindsey Mullins Woodard, the school system's director of public relations.
Since these trespassers are bats, they cannot be poisoned or trapped as if they were rats or mice.
"You cannot kill these bats," Woodard said Friday. "They're protected."
The species has been identified as the Indiana Bat, also known as the mouse-eared bat. According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Indiana bats are listed as an endangered species on both the state and federal level.
"They are going to safely remove the bats from the attic and relocate them for us," Woodard said. "We hope they will go back to Indiana."
The company covers the avenues bats use to enter a building, then install a one-way device which allows them to leave, but not get back inside.
School officials have been told that the bats are now in their breeding season and could have babies, so they cannot be removed right away, Woodard said. School is currently out for the summer.
The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources offers some tips for dealing with roosting bats. First, if bat droppings are found in an attic or other space, they should be cleaned up by a professional.
Owners of homes and other property can wait until dusk about half an hour after sunset and see where bats are leaving the structure, wildlife officials said. Once it had been made certain that all the bats are gone, cover the hole with wire mesh such as the type used for screen doors. Some young bats could remain from May to August.
Virginia wildlife officials also recommend erecting a bat house nearby to encourage them to roost away from homes. The bats can be beneficial by eating mosquitos and other pests. One bat can eat up to 600 mosquitos in an hour.
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com
