FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — Students who live in Mountain View Hall at Northern Arizona University are being forced to permanently move out of the dorm after a bat infestation.
NAU said it reached out to Coconino County Health and Human Services (CCHHS) for further guidance. A pest control contractor was brought in to help reign in the problem but reports of bats are still coming in.
"Based on further consultation with CCHHS, we have determined that to best provide for the health, wellbeing, and academic success of our students all residents will be relocated from Mountain View to other nearby apartments," a representative for NAU said in a news release.
NAU said at this time no illness associated with the bats have been reported.
University representatives said a "few students received the rabies vaccine as a cautionary measure."
But students and their parents are scrambling to relocate.
MORE INFORMATION HERE: NAU students moved out of dorm hall after more bats found
On Friday, 12News spoke to Erik Francis, whose daughter is one of the students being moved out of Mountain View Hall due to the bats.
Francis believes NAU should have been more proactive when it came to the situation.
"We understand this is sudden but we have known about this for weeks and they should have taken care of it much earlier and been proactive about it," said Francis.
Now students have been left rushing to get out of the dorm.
"We just found out about this last night and we just basically found out that all these things are happening, so what going on is that we found out at 10:30 last night," said Francis.
Francis said notice about the move didn't come in the form of an email.
"A campus assistant, called a resident assistant, they informed them, pack a bag for five to seven days, you’re moving out, we’re not coming back, they’re shutting down the dorm," said Francis.
Francis said NAU has known about the bats for weeks and should have been more proactive, acting sooner.
"NAU has really dropped the ball on this that’s the big thing," said Francis.
Students have reported seeing bats since the beginning of September, according to Francis.
"We started to get videos of people filming and sharing on social media, kids sending us photos saying look there’s a cloud of bats, that’s what they call it, a cloud of bats and they were forming a cauldron and swarming outside the dorm," said Francis.
Francis said his daughter was one of the students who took pictures of the bats. She found one crawling around on the ceiling.
NAU sent an email to students.
The email confirmed a bat captured at the dorm had tested positive for rabies.
It also advised students to use caution when moving or lifting items in dorms, check for bats under beds and other furniture, check for bats in curtains, shake clothing to check for bats and before windows are closed before going to sleep.
The email advised students who found a bat in their dorms should, "exist promptly, close the door behind you and contact campus living staff."
Francis said the relocation of students has caused a sense of uncertainty.
"So these kids are all upheaved, they don’t know where they are going to live, they don’t know who they are going to room with, they are probably just going to randomly possible put them with someone and these kids have gotten to know each other, not even just from moving in but they were connecting before they moved in and now all those relationships are basically disrupted," said Francis.
In a communication sent to students on Friday, NAU said students would receive "room assignment notices shortly."
It also established a time for students to collect belongings left in their dorms.
"Over 500 of our students were notified today that they must move from their current campus residence in Mountain View to another location due to an infestation of bats. Students will be relocated to apartments on the perimeter of campus for the remainder of the academic year. The relocation will be financially neutral for affected students," a statement from the Provost said.
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