SAN ANTONIO -- People aren’t the only ones living at the Casiano Homes: in a small crevice between two buildings, there’s a living space for another group: a colony of bats.
“It’s a show. Feels like I’m at Natural Bridge Caverns or something,” said one resident, who did not want to be identified.
“They pile up on there, and they fight to get in there. And it’s a sight to see,” said another.
And with cell phone video, you can see the bats leaving to go feeding in this unusually mild winter.
“They chirp, a little chirping noise like a young bird, maybe,” said one woman.
Residents said their roommates have been here for nearly a year. And they worry about the children in the area, and rabies and other health concerns associated with the flying mammals.
“Just respiratory problems, them (the children) catching something, asthma, right now they actually have a cough that comes and goes,” said one young father.
Residents tell us they pointed out the tiny droppings, bat guano, around the opening in the wall to maintenance personnel.
But SAHA officials say the bat signal was never shown to their front offices, until now.
Melanie Villalobos, SAHA’s spokesperson, said, “What we’ve done, is we have our pest contractor coming out this afternoon. We’ve got staff on the way to do some sealing, and we’re going to get this issue addressed.”
Getting rid of the bats could prove tricky. Bats are protected in Texas--most of them are Mexican Free-tail bats-- and it takes licensed pest control companies to “evict” them.
