Lane County officials dealing with bat colony in public works building
By Robert Desaulniers
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EUGENE, Ore. (KEZI) — Lane County officials are calling in professionals to deal with a recurring bat problem in one of their public works buildings.
Lane County officials confirmed that bats have set up a small colony in the McKenzie Building on the Public Works yard on Delta Highway. Officials said bats have been a recurring problem that appears to be seasonal based on the migration patterns of the flying mammals. Officials said bats have been successfully shooed out of the building before, but recent construction seems to have opened up routes for bats to get back into the building.
Devon Ashbridge, the public information officer for the Lane County Government, said that to keep employees away from the bats, schedules have been adjusted and work stations have been moved from upstairs to downstairs, where the bats are much less active.
“Our employees do incredible work on behalf of the community but it’s harder to do that work when there’s disruption not only from a short-term construction project but also the wildlife that’s been stirred up from that,” Ashbridge said.
A professional bat exclusion company has been called to remove and release the bats, then close up any access points. Lane County officials said bats are a protected species, so no lethal methods will be used to remove the bats. County officials said they hope to implement a permanent solution so the bats do not return to the building.
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