Colony of Bats Invades Walmart Store: 'They Need to Get Them Out of Here'

A colony of bats has left shoppers shocked as the winged pests descended upon a Texas Walmart Monday evening.

Shoppers reported seeing dozens of bats swooping around the meats and produce section of the Alvin store between 6 and 7 p.m.

"They need to get them out of there," shopper Tim Bentley told KPRC. "I don't know if it's safe to have people in there. I don't know what they should do but they should maybe get everybody out while they get control of the bats."

Some said workers at the store were attempting to shoo the bats away themselves.

“[Employees] were kind of herding them toward the exits," Shopper Christy White said. [The bats] were flying low enough at that point where they were kind of flopping their jackets at them and chasing them out of the store.”

Many locals said they have spotted bats in this store several times in the past year, but there have not been reports of the creatures biting or attacking shoppers.

There was evidence of bat feces (or guano) in the lawn and garden area after Monday's incident, Alvin spokeswoman Dixie Roberts said in a statement.

“If bats are observed anytime within the food areas, the store will be required to close until the situation is rectified,” Roberts said.

Walmart said it was working to get rid of the pesky animals.

“We are working with our health and safety team as well as the health department to safely remove the bats from our Alvin store and will continue to provide a clean and safe shopping experience,” Walmart said in a statement.

It is not known how the bats entered the store.

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