WTOC, Savannah, Georgia, news, weather and sports | Bats Take Over Woman's Home

Bats Take Over Woman's Home

SAVANNAH, GA--1426 Augusta Avenue in Savannah looks like a house in a scary movie: hundreds of bats swarming outside it, trying to find a way in. But for Betty Curtis, this isn't a movie, it's her life.

"They come out about 8pm and be flying around," said Curtis.

Night after night, Curtis has to listen to them in the walls and find ways to keep them out, but no matter what she seems to do, they keep getting in. Curtis said she uses a pitcher to hit them, then scoops them up with tongs and flushes them down the toilet.

Her entire home smells of bat excretions, and what makes the situation worse, Curtis says her landlord isn't doing anything about it.

"I done told him," she said. "He said he was going to do it, he passed a while ago, blew his horn and went on about his business."

WTOC contacted Alderman Van Johnson, who represents the district, to come out and take a look at what we were seeing. "People should not have to live like that," said Johnson.

Within minutes of being there, Johnson was on the phone, wanting answers.

Johnson says the biggest problem is there are no clear-cut rules governing landlord responsibility. "Our council has been fighting for one," he told us. "We've been asking the state to allow us to have one."

Johnson was truly upset at what he was seeing, and has one message for landlords who don't take care of their tenants: "You have a responsibility to provide safe places for people to live and if you're not going to do that, then get out of the property management business."

WTOC also contacted Curtis' landlord. He said he knows about the bats and will deal with them next weekend. Curtis is hoping that will happen, but says if not, she will keep fighting. "I'm not going to let nothing run me out," said Curtis.  

Bats are federally protected, so they can't just be killed. They have to be chased out, but unless the house is sealed up properly, they will come right back.

Reported by: Christy Hutchings, chutchings@wtoc.com