Plzeň residents facing a late summer bat invasion
The oppressive late summer heatwave is not the only thing that is making life difficult for some city residents. The West Bohemian city of Plzeň is currently fighting an infestation of bats that swarm to urban areas on warm and humid summer evenings. People who carelessly leave their windows open at night may be in for a nasty surprise.
The Noctule bat is a migratory bat species common throughout Europe, Asia, and North Africa. For them, the city is an ideal environment for hunting insects that gather around street lamps and other lighting. Swarms of these reddish-brown bats mate in the area at this time of year and lights and open windows in the summer heat annually attract hundreds of these nocturnal creatures into the homes of Plzen residents.
Karel Makoň, head of the Plzeň Pest Control team says the bat infestation has become an annual problem.
“Every year at this time we warn people that in the high-risk period, which lasts for 2 to 3 weeks, they need to take measures to make their flats and houses secure against a bat infestation, that they need to install insect screens in their windows if they are going to leave them open at night. But people are still careless and it happens a lot. And you can end up with dozens or hundreds of bats in your house. That’s something you really don’t want to experience.”
Karel Makoň says that the worst cases of bat infestation are when people go on holiday and leave a ventilating window open or in larger villas where you have rooms that are not used that often. During this critical time of year the pest control team is on call around the clock, cleaning people’s apartments.
“Usually one or two bats fly in first and if they are not disturbed by human activity, then others quickly follow. You can end up with 50 or 100 bats. We even found 500 bats in one apartment. Sometimes it happens that a bat gets stuck in a place from where it can't get out - usually a vase or a chandelier. It starts to squeak for help and another 100 bats fly to its rescue. The damage to property as a result is considerable. Basically you have to throw everything out and repaint."
Karel Makoň says that even with a smaller infestation he does not recommend taking action to get rid of them alone. People are at risk of being bitten by a bat, in which case it is essential to try to catch the animal so that it can be tested for rabies.
“Rabies is a very dangerous disease for humans. This is why we should do everything possible to prevent bats from infesting our homes. Unfortunately, people still underestimate the threat and the situation is repeated every year in the same streets and houses. One of my colleagues got bitten recently and we are awaiting the tests result to see if he will need to undergo vaccination which is quite a demanding procedure.
Once a bat or a swarm of bats get into an apartment, they are difficult to evict. It is necessary to check every nook and cranny such as furniture, pictures, behind curtains and vases, preferably with gloves. But ideally, the job should be left to professionals.
