Boon Keng residents have been advised to deter the entry of bats into their homes by putting up shiny objects by the window, or installing either a magnetic fly mesh or insect netting.

Minister for Manpower Josephine Teo said this in a Sep. 10 Facebook post addressing the issue of bats flying into Boon Keng flats.

Bats flying into homes

Teo said that residents of Blk 14 along Upper Boon Keng Road specifically raised concerns about bats, which live in nearby fruit trees and had been flying into their homes, as disease carriers.

They also shared with her the problem of not knowing the proper way to "usher" them out.

In her post, Teo said these residents have been assured by an NParks officer and a bat research specialist that the bats are not carriers of "virulent" coronavirus strains, but an important pollinator species that also controls insect populations.

Teo added that the fruit trees will be pruned by the town council so as to "encourage" bats to nest further away from residential areas.

Anyone encountering similar issues may call the NParks Animal Management Centre at 1800 476 1600 for immediate assistance.

Her full post here:

Public advised to leave bats alone

According to NParks, most bats are shy and will only turn aggressive if they are handled or feel threatened. As such, the public is advised to leave them alone.

Should a person come into contact with a bat, they should wash their hands with soap.

Residents are also advised to install lighting on their property so as to minimise the occurrence of bats feeding and roosting.

Thus far, biosurveillance programmes have not detected any zoonotic diseases, including the Covid-19 strain in bats populations within Singapore.

In total, out of over 1,000 species of bats in the world, at least 25 can be found in Singapore.

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Top image collage left photo by Josephine Teo, right photo by Andrew Morffew via Flickr