Bats infiltrate BYU Engineering Building

Halloween came early to the BYU Engineering Building with an infestation of bats on the fourth floor beginning on Sept. 25.

From the evening of Sept. 25 through Sept. 26, classes and labs on the fourth floor were canceled due to the bats.

Jamie Frei, a senior in the BYU electrical engineering department and a teaching assistant, spoke about the issue.

“That week, a lot of labs were canceled, and we weren’t able to go and help students in the lab for just a couple of days. They were able to get the labs open pretty quickly and isolate the bat problem to where it was,” Frei said.

According to University Communications, the bats were removed and the building was cleaned. Everything was reopened, except for a fourth-floor suite in the south-west corner.

Julie Brinton, an office manager in the engineering building, remarked on her experiences with the flying mammals.

“There were oodles of bats,” Brinton said.

Bats came from air vents, behind desks and swooped through the hallways.

Wild Aware Utah, an educational website focusing on raising wildlife awareness, explains how the bats may have entered the engineering building.

“They can enter buildings through open doors, windows, as well as loose, torn screens, or through existing holes at least 1/4 inch in diameter,” Wild Aware Utah said.

Utah Valley is home to at least 18 different species of bats. Bats are a protected species in the state of Utah.

Professor Hotchkiss, a current BYU professor of civil engineering, relayed his experiences with the bats on Sunday, Sept. 28. While preparing for the students’ midterms, he worked between his office and the teacher’s lounge.

“There was a bat crawling on the floor. It was like a broken doll in a horror movie,” Hotchkiss said.

He spoke animatedly of darting through the halls back to his office. When he had settled back at his computer, a bat came crawling out from behind his monitor, dragging itself across his desk. Managing to maintain a level head, Hotchkiss simply unplugged his computer and walked out.

Later, the bat was found to be clinging to his jacket and was removed by BYU facilities. Hotchkiss suspects that the bat came from the vents in the ceiling.

“They can hide anywhere. I’m just kind of on pins and needles here, waiting for the next one to come walking out,” Hotchkiss said.

This isn't he first time bats have entered the building, employees report. Earlier in 2024, bats were removed from the building without causing serious disruption to students and faculty.

The ceilings of the fourth-floor suite have been removed, and that area of the electrical engineering department remains closed.

“We have had no reports of bats in the building for many days, and we have not received any other recent reports of bats in other BYU buildings," University Communications said.

Electrical engineering students are taking the presence of the bats with a dose of humor. Frei said the students found the bats funny and, at times, cute.

A small neon sign in the electrical engineering main office reads, “Welcome to the Bat Cave."