A Clear Lake tenant says she jolted awake to find a bat circling her bedroom, a late-night scare she describes as just one chapter in a years-long bat problem at her Houston apartment building. Cellphone video she shared with reporters shows bats pouring out of gaps in the siding at dusk and sometimes smacking into windows, while neighbors say the overnight soundtrack includes scratching and clawing in the walls. The resident says she has logged 311 complaints and repeatedly pushed property management to act, but maintains that the infestation has dragged on for roughly three years.
According to KHOU, resident Melonie Byrd told reporters that around 6:30 p.m. is when the activity ramps up, with bats appearing to “dive out” of cracks in the roof and siding. Byrd shared video of a bat flapping around inside her bedroom and said wildlife specialists were expected to evaluate the complex, while property managers had not responded to the station’s requests for comment. KHOU’s Feb. 9 report amplified tenants’ calls for a full-scale professional exclusion and cleanup effort.
What City And State Rules Say
The city’s animal-control guidance tells residents to call 311 if a bat is found inside a home and notes that bat complaints are handled as a high priority, while any structural exclusion work and cleanup typically falls on the property owner. Officials urge people not to touch bats and to hire licensed pest- or wildlife-control companies for removals. State law generally protects bats from being hunted or sold but makes clear that they may be removed when they are inside or on a building where people live or work, with exclusions discouraged during the pup season. (Houston Animal Resource Center, Texas Parks & Wildlife Code §63.101.)
Health Concerns And What To Do…