How bats rule the roost

VAMPIRES are evil spirits who force corpses to rise at night and seek out sleepers, whose blood they suck.

The victims become vampires when they die and only rest if a stake is driven through the heart. When blood-drinking bats were discovered in South America, their relatives all over the world were tarnished with the vampire brush. People may fear them but Irish bats don’t suck blood, nor become entangled in ladies’ hair.

These harmless insect-eaters need our support just now. Their babies were born a few weeks ago and bat maternity roosts are a hive of activity. The nurseries can be noisy, which alerts householders to the presence of uninvited guests. Bats are protected by law. It’s an offence to harm them but this doesn’t always deter householders. Eviction notices may be issued and the lodgers expelled.