Bats create a flap in old Madison County Courthouse

<p>A few weeks ago, Charlotte Kesler heard something fluttering against the window blind of her office in the historic Madison County Courthouse.</p><p>Then it fell to the floor.</p><p>It was a bat. Looking up, she saw another little black mass clinging to a bar that holds up the window blinds. Later Kesler found another bat flying around her office.</p><p>Bats have long been a big problem in the 104-year-old former courthouse, which is now used for office space. They've been found in an office kitchen area and seen clinging to a hallway light fixture. Screaming from surprised workers or guests is a common sound in the building.</p><p>Another problem is that guano from the Mexican free-tailed bats piles up in the building's chimneys. Officials are concerned that people could catch diseases from breathing in guano vapors and they are also fearful the flying creatures could transmit rabies through bites.</p><p>"They're kind of cute, but I don't want to live with them," says Susan Berryman of the county's Chamber of Commerce, which has its office in the building.</p><p>Officials created a temporary fix for the guano problem _ county workers sprayed foam insulation and propped up boards in the building's fireplaces to prevent the guano from dropping down the chimneys.</p><p>Dealing with the bat problem is difficult, officials say, because they are a federally protected species, which prohibits people from harming them.</p><p>One solution being considered are "bat valves" _ devices that would allow the bats to escape their chimney nesting places at night when they hunt for bugs but will not allow them to get back in.</p><p>"It's something we're going to have to deal with," said Marvin White, chamber of commerce executive director.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1d09784)</p>