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Bats (And Their Stench) Getting The Boot At Pinellas Trail

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By PETER BERNARD

News Channel 8

Published: October 27, 2008

TARPON SPRINGS - Motorists can't see them as they drive along alternate U.S. 19, but bicycle riders, joggers and others who use the Pinellas Trail near the Dunn Water Reclamation plant can certainly smell the 2,000 free tail bats that have taken up residence in a tunnel under the roadway.

"It's bad. It can make you gag going through," said Nichole Martaus, who once used the trail regularly. "I've taken my walking workouts to the causeway in Dunedin because I can't go through there."

So many people have complained about the bats' stench that the Florida Department of Transportation hired bat catcher Thomas Finn of company Fly By Night Inc. to relocate the inch-tall critters.

"We're moving the bats out. They're getting their eviction notice," said Finn, who has attached plastic mesh along the cracks of the tunnel, where the bats spend their days.

"Bats love it," Finn said. "To them, it's a crevice in a cliff to a bat."

Finn has also placed a number of old caulk tubes with the ends cut off, to provide an escape path for the bats. The tubes act as a one-way door — the bats are free to go, but they can't come back inside the tunnel, Finn said.

Finn has built two large bat houses nearby that sit on top of two 35-foot poles. He's relocated 60 bats to one of the houses, but he's not sure they will stay there.

"Try to figure out a bat," he said. "I still haven't been able to figure out a bat."

Finn said he will return to the trail tunnel several times this week to make sure all the bats are gone.

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