ABSTRACT 
Since the construction of buildings by man, house bats infest-— 
ing roof spaces have presented a serious nuisance, constituting 
health and economic problems throughout the world, especially where 
there is no proper bat-proofing in the initial construction, In 
Trinidad this problem is acute, Previous studies on control measures 
are evaluated, Experiments carried out used locally available chlo- 
rinated hydrocarbon insecticides. Results indicate that where a 
repellent was required, B.H.C. was preferred and where a toxicant 
was more desirable, D.D.T. Either of these insecticides resulted in 
the removal of house bats from roof spaces in three to four weeks 
and D.D.T. had a residual effectiveness of at least one year, Methods 
of insecticide application and assessment of bat populations are dis- 
cussed, also biological data are given on the two species of Molossus 
involved. These studies bear directly on the problem as found in the 
Southern United States and Puerto Rico, or wherever other species of 
house bats are involved, 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
We gratefully acknowledge the encouragement given to us by the 
Government of Trinidad and Tobago, especially the Ministry of Agri- 
culture, Lands and Fisheries; the Chief Technical Officer (Agriculture): 
and the Technical Officers of Research and Animal Health. We also 
thank the Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife for their initial 
suggestion and their willingness to consider our findings for publication. 
We take pleasure in expressing our gratitude to the householders who 
allowed us to conduct these experiments and to the occupants of house 
No. 8 who volunterred their house as the control. Special mention 
must be made of Mr. Camodin Boodoo and his staff for their valuable 
contribution, 
We sincerely thank Mr. J, Newel Lewis, Dip. Arch., F.R.,I.B.A., 
for reading the manuscript and clarifying architectural terminology. 
Thanks are also extended to the senior author's wife, Elizabeth 
R. Greenhall, for editing the manuscript. 
