Social Security office moves into 'bat-free' location --- there were moire than 1000 bats living behind one of the walls

Social Security office moves into 'bat-free' location

New address is 1750 Tree Blvd. Suite 2, off S.R. 312

By CHAD SMITH
chad.smith@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 07/30/08

Fittingly, it was on a Friday the 13th when Debra Engram closed the Social Security office she managed on U.S. 1 South due to an infestation of bats.

Since that June day, the office has been closed as customers were diverted to other offices in the area, to the Internet or to a hotline.

But Monday, the local office reopened at a new location at 1750 Tree Blvd. Suite 2, across State Road 312 from Publix.

"It's a bat-free environment, and everyone's happy," Engram said.

The office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Rascal Rangers, a local company that works to control critters, was called in June to help with the problem.

Tom Moore, a senior ranger with the company, said the main concern with bats is guano, or "bat droppings."

Guano doesn't cause a major scare, but it does pose a risk of spreading histoplasmosis, a disease that primarily affects the lungs and can be fatal, Moore said. However, the disease is rare in Florida.

While only a few bats ultimately found their way into the Social Security office, there were an estimated 1,000 more living in one of the walls, he said.

Moore and his colleagues extracted most of the bats, but there were about 20 that stayed behind in the wall.

"It was bad enough with just one or two of them just coming down," he said. "It was quite startling for the workers."

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