A Dundee woman says she is desperate to move out her council home after finding a roost of bats living in the walls.
Lucy Whelby, 48, first saw the animals in her home on August 28, when one entered her bathroom through a hole.
A NatureScot investigation found a maternity roost of pipistrelle bats.
However, one month on, she claims little has been done to fix the situation.
‘It looked massive’
Lucy moved into the Barnhill property in December 2020.
Due to a leak, workers created a hole in a plasterboard panel in the bathroom window recess. However, this provided an entryway for the creatures.
A stray bat was found in the bathroom at the end of August and removed by the Scottish SPCA the same day.
Lucy said: “It was a big bat. It was obviously a young one that had matured – it looked massive and I thought, it’s definitely alive.”
Bats are legally protected across the UK, so their roost cannot be removed from the home.
Damaging or destroying it could be considered a criminal offence.
Lucy says the discovery has terrified her 13-year-old daughter and now she cannot go the bathroom alone or sleep by herself.
She said: “My daughter has autism, so she’s having nightmares every night about living in that house.
“She is petrified that there’ll be more bats coming into our living space.
“Every single day she’s struggling. I’ve tried everyone I can but nothing’s happening —nobody seems to be doing anything.”
Lucy was shown one potential new property by the council, but she claims it was unliveable.
She also says she has heard nothing about repairing the hole in the wall, despite calls from nature experts for “urgent” work.
‘Every day she’s struggling’
“Even if that does happen, my daughter still believes the bats will be here no matter what,” she said.
A surveyor from NatureScot confirmed the presence of bat droppings in the hole a week after the bat was spotted.
The NatureScot report said: “It is clear that a small number of pipistrelle bats have utilised the various crevices behind this fascia as a roost and on this occasion, an individual has entered the living space of the property due to the temporary hole in the plasterboard.
“The plasterboard hole should be repaired as a matter of urgency to prevent the ingress of any further stray bats to the living space.”
Lucy added: “Right now, we’re just trying to stay out of the house for as long as possible so we don’t have to be near them.
“But this way of living isn’t really sustainable – my daughter needs a routine.
“I feel like no one is doing anything and I’m just being passed from person to person.”
A Dundee City Council spokesperson said: “We are working with the tenant to resolve the matter as quickly as possible and undertake the repairs whilst providing alternative accommodation.”