TAMPA, Fla. — A Hillsborough County homeowner is desperate to relocate dozens of bats living in her chimney, but the problem is that it’s maternity season. It’s illegal to relocate bats if they’re not inside your house.
"You can start hearing them chirp like they’re talking to each other, then you can see a few fly out," Seanna Galarza said. "Then they all get the message that it’s safe to come out and they come out more and more."
Living near Sugarwood Grove in Tampa, she's dealing with bats in her chimney. Every night around sunset, she walks her puppy and sees dozens of bats flying out of her chimney.
"They would just come out in waves, like hundreds," she said. "It’s kind of unsettling. They fly pretty low so you kind of duck around."
It’s maternity season for bats, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. That means from April 16 to Aug. 14, it’s illegal to relocate bats if they’re not inside your house.
"This time of the year, there’s not a whole lot you can do unless they’re getting into the actual living space, meaning anywhere that’s air-conditioned," said a bat trapper, Jeffrey Weldon.
As the owner of Weldon Wildlife Removal, Jeffrey Weldon said Galarza's hands are tied until mid-August.
"If we do exclusion work this time of the year, it would be harmful to their young and the 13 species of bats we have here in Florida," Weldon said.
Galarza worries about her 6-year-old son and puppy around the bats.
"We just don’t want them here because if they do get in the house, I have an autistic son and if he gets a hold of it, it’s uneasy, it’s unsettling," Galarza said.
While she doesn't want the bats around, Weldon says bats are beneficial.
"They’re free pest control because of all of the mosquitos they eat," he shared.
One thing he explained is you do need to be aware of is guano, also known as bat droppings.
"It’s very harmful," Weldon said. "It can cause a respiratory infection."
It usually sticks to the walls of a chimney and should only be removed by a professional.
"Keep the doors closed, then August 15 we can come out and do a thorough inspection," he said.
Galarza hopes by the end of the summer, the bats can be relocated.
"Wherever they can relocate them, I don’t care, I just don’t want them here," she said.
For more information about Florida bats, visit FWC's website.