DANIEL TYLER GOODEN

PHOTO: LIKE OUT OF A HORROR FLICK this bat swoops out of its hiding place. The Lutcher High Middle School gym was full of the little brown bats, trying to escape the pest control experts and the contractors sealing them out of their home. (Staff Photo by Daniel Tyler Gooden) LUTCHER – They turn into vampires, carry off children, like to nest in your hair and can kill with a bite, that’s what the old wives tales say, and most people remember them more than know the truth, said Barney Beebe, of Beebe’s Pest Control of Baton Rouge. The only real concern with bats, outside of the nuisance of them, is the disease they spread through their feces, which is usually in the attic or other dark places you usually don’t go. All the concern about bats has arisen after a colony of the little brown creatures started causing trouble in Lutcher High School. About a year ago the bats started making their appearance in the school. Turning up in the hallways and the classrooms, the bats were seen one by one. They could be heard in the walls, and a few dead ones were found in the urinals in the boys bathrooms, said one school janitor. The swift flying creatures navigate by sound, turning tight circles and right angles almost faster than the eye can see. The small bats are much more of a nuisance since they can fit though any space three-eighths of an inch wide. One critter was witnessed flying down the hall and swooping down to fly under a door without even a blink. By Jan. 24 the school knew that something had to be done, and officials called in the troops. “The kids are a little scared, but Beebe says the bats won’t do them any harm,” said Tina Rock. Contractors began sealing up the holes larger than 3/8 of an inch. The few bats, which had showed up in the middle gym, were followed by a few hundred of their friends. Standing in the gym at Lutcher High, the bats at times seemed like a dark cloud whipping about. On Thursday night Beebe and employees of Bordelon Pest Control of Lutcher were in the gym nabbing the bats with nets and transporting them deep in the swamp. Some bats ran for cover in the corners of the gym, others dove and skimmed across the glossy floor, almost as if looking for a drink. Walking across the gym was no challenge, the bats dodged around but never came close and never went for the hair. The few thousand bats are slowly being shut off from the school. The contractors have sealed up the gym and parts of the exterior. The difficulty in the process, is that most of the new building was built right over the old school, leaving 50 feet of space between the drop ceiling and the roof in some areas. With plenty of places for the small bats to hide, the crews are planning to seal off all the holes into the building, except for the main routes. When ready, the men will wait for the bats to depart for their night of foraging for bugs and other edibles and then seal up the rest of the school. When the bats return, they will be forced to find another residence. “We hope they find another abandoned building or a hollow tree to stay in,” said Beebe. The colony, which is bigger than most Beebe has come across, will hopefully shy away from most residences where space would be limited. The bats probably ended up at Lutcher High in the same way, needing a large space to stay or losing their old residence. With such a big colony they probably moved their rather than have grown there, said Beebe. Since the bats are considered a protected species, they need to be removed rather than exterminated. Simply sealing the bats in would cause an particularly odorous and unsanitary problem as they died off. The work should be completed within a week or 10 days, said Beebe. With the exit routes clearly visible on the west side of the building, by the school bus drop, every evening, Beebe is sure they can successfully remove the bats.