It’s a difficult situation.
When 500 University of Georgia students returned to campus for the spring semester earlier this month, they were shocked to find that bats had taken over their dorms.
“It’s very worrying,” said student Eva Saldon. he told Fox 5 Atlanta.
“There was one in the lobby, and it was kind of on the floor, and then all of a sudden it got up and started flying at me, so I ran back to my room.”
The bat was first discovered on January 14, when school officials say it entered the Orgelthorpe House dormitory, where students pay more than $3,000 a semester, through a mechanical space on the roof of the building where boilers are stored. It is considered.
Since then, students have posted photos online of bats hanging from dorm room doors and stairwells.
At one point, university officials had to close the building’s stairwell due to intrusion. According to Atlanta News First.
The latest bat sighting occurred Thursday, when a local pest control company found about 30 bats clustered in the rafters of the mechanical space, university officials said.
A pest control company is currently on standby in case the students find more bats.
It’s unclear which species of bats have taken up residence in the dorms, but Georgia’s three species of bats are protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, so they can’t be killed or harmed during removal. .
School officials said they are working to prevent the winged creatures from entering the building any further.
As of Sunday, all known holes where bats could enter the building have been sealed, Linda Kasper, executive director of university housing, told FOX 5.
Officials also installed a one-way valve in the rooftop mechanical space to allow the winged creatures to leave the dormitory, but not to re-enter. According to WSB TV.
But freshman Ella Jones said she believes the school should do more to protect her and her fellow students who fear rabies.
“I don’t know how extermination works, but I feel like more can be done,” she told Atlanta News First.
She said she knows at least some bats may be a protected species, but “I go to school here, so I’m not a protected species?” I asked. I certainly hope so. ”
Georgia health officials say there is less than a 1% chance that bats in dormitories can transmit rabies.
The Northeastern Health District said in a statement that it is “in the process of gathering information and interviewing individuals identified as potentially at high risk of exposure to recommend appropriate care.” .
“The need for post-exposure rabies vaccination is based on the individual’s specific circumstances, including potential contact with bats,” health officials said.
The school is also working with local health authorities to provide information to students about potential exposure.
“We have been working with public health for the past week to ask everyone who has had contact with bats, who lives in this building or who has walked in this building, to complete a questionnaire. “I recommend it,” Kasper said. He said.
“From there, they connect with people and recommend health precautions they need to take as a result.”
Meanwhile, university authorities said in a statement: “We advise students if they spot a bat not to touch it, but to notify a staff member so that exterminators can safely remove it.”
