Residents at Orlando apartment complex dealing with bat infestation — but their options are limited

A different set of neighbors have moved into an apartment complex in Orlando, and they are quite a noisy nuisance, but it’s the season of federal protection, so they’re not going anywhere.

Cameras captured scratching and flapping from inside a homeowner’s ceiling. The critters making the racket are bats.

Cellphone video captured the nocturnal creatures flying from the roof of the building.

“Oh, hell no,” a woman is heard saying.

Nevertheless. the flying mammals are protected year-round in Florida. It’s illegal to harm or kill them, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

In addition, for four months out of the year, during bat maternity season, property owners are not even allowed to remove them from their homes if they’re dealing with an infestation.

So regardless of where the bats build their roosts, they’re basically untouchable.

Derrick Clay is the manager of a wildlife removal company.

“Anything after April 15 and before August 15, we can’t do anything,” he said.

Clay said their customer waiting list to address bat infestations is currently about a mile long.

“Thousands, thousands out in the area, for sure,” he said.

But come Aug. 16, i...