Westchester Homes Are Being Inundated by Potentially Rabid Bats
Residents of Westchester County, N.Y. have been dealing with a severe uptick in the bat population, according to CBS New York. August has seen nearly 50 cases of bat invasions with no real end in sight.
According to Austin Jahner of Tri-State Wildlfe, a baby bat can fit into a space the size of your pinky. A hole in your screen door that maybe lets in a few flies at night is essentially a VIP entry for teen bats. The bats can breed fast and create a colony in the corner of your guest room, or under your patio umbrella, a teeming mass of furry yet leathery bodies, all of which are possibly rabid.
While your natural instinct is to shriek and kill without remorse, the Westchester County Board of Health advises otherwise. All you need is some gumption, a coffee can, and the willingness to trap, bag, and freeze the fucker for testing.
Assistant Commissioner Pete DeLucia of the Westchester County Board of Health warns against smashing them into oblivion. "We don't want anybody taking a rolled up magazine or their shoe and smashing the bat because we need the head of that bat intact so we can test it," he said. In other words, bring us the heads of your bats, Westchester County residents.
If you're lucky enough to encounter one of these precious angels in your home, you can follow these instructions on how to remove them from your home, or watch as this calm woman removes a bat with only an empty yogurt tub and a flimsy piece of cardboard.
[Image via Shutterstock]