Two neighborhoods, the city center, schools, universities, restaurants, and markets in Las Tunas are being besieged by an overpopulation of bats. To protect themselves, families are forced to sleep with mosquito nets. The Office of Regulation and Environmental Safety recommends repelling them but not killing them "under any circumstances": they are protected by Law 150 of the System of Natural Resources and the Environment.
There are children and elderly people living with them in their homes. In some houses, they sleep all the time with mosquito nets because bats fly around at night among the high rafters. Manuel Jiménez, delegate of constituency 11, Popular Council 1 of Las Tunas, pointed out to local newspaper Periódico26 that there is concern about the health risk due to exposure to their excrement (guano) and urine. He mentioned that bats are carriers of histoplasmosis (infection by inhaling spores found in the animal's feces) and rabies virus.
However, some housing on Vicente García street, near establishments such as El Tunero market or 2007 restaurant, are constantly besieged by bats. In fact, they have colonized San Gerónimo parish.
"They also harm the special semi-boarding school Camilo Cienfuegos. It can be clearly seen during the day, because the remains of guano are on the walls and the stench lingers," added the delegate, who claims to have processed this case "on repeated occasions" because the neighbors "complain incessantly," but the experts from the Department of Hygiene and Epidemiology have never responded."
Just by walking down Vicente García Street when night falls or as the day is dawning, you can see them fluttering at will in the doorways, forcing pedestrians to leave them and often continue their journey right on the street," assures the official newspaper, which lists among the great sufferers of the bat invasion the security guards who watch over state-owned companies at night. They do so, it adds, wearing masks and forced to listen to the sound emitted by the bats all night long.
The delegate also adds that they have received reports of bats being constantly present in places such as the University of Medical Sciences, in areas of the Buena Vista and Aguilera neighborhoods, as well as the downtown area, which has several affected areas with a notable colony, including both residential houses and work premises.
They can mainly be seen in empty places, close to the fruits and the food they like: insects, flies, termites, nectar, flower pollen, and even fish, depending on the species. To scare them off, they recommend, among other things, "illuminating the places", especially now that Las Tunas is experiencing frequent blackouts. In fact, five days ago, the neighbors took to the streets to protest with pots and pans.
They also suggest to the affected individuals "cover the gaps through which they can enter, use scents that are repellent to them, and sounds of animals that are their natural predators."
