A Harris County family thought they had a simple odor problem in their rental home.
HOUSTON — Bats have turned a north Harris County home into a bat cave. The person who rents the home believes there’s a colony living in the walls. And while she and her family wait for the bats to leave they’re concerned for their safety.
The Taylor family has quite a few unwelcomed guests. A colony of bats has made itself comfortable in this home.
“And now that I know that’s what it is. I’m sick to my stomach,” she told KHOU 11 over the phone.
For weeks the family noticed a bothersome smell, they couldn’t’ quite pinpoint. But when neighbors sent them a video of bats darting out the side of their rental home, a wildlife control specialist were called, and quickly identified the odor.
“As soon as the inspector came yesterday as soon as we open the door, he said that he smelled he said I smell guano. I said what is that he says that’s the bat feces.”
Taylor says she noticed bats in the fireplace a couple years ago when a storm blew off the chimney cover. Months later the piece was replaced. And she believes those bats were trapped and scratched their way unnoticed into the wall, growing into what they call a colony.
Zack VanDerMost with Critter One has been hired to clear them out. But it’s not likely a quick job.
“The most important thing is getting them out of there. They’re a protected species so you have to handle them in a certain way,” he said.
The Taylors say the bats can’t be removed until the end of August when mating season finishes, but with bat waste possibly lining the inner wall they wonder if the air quality is suitable.
“With bats, their feces are unique in the sense that all droppings are bad to breathe in, but their droppings carry specific diseases,” said VenDerMost.
The renters shared an email from the property owner with KHOU 11. The email says contractors have been hired to address the problem. Adding it could take weeks to put mechanisms in place that’ll force the bats out on their own. The wait leaves this family feeling uneasy.
“Until somebody comes out I guess and declares it unsafe whoever is supposed to do that we’re just there and unnerved.”