'It was a scene out of a horror movie': Mother is forced to leave her home after 5,500 bats drop dead in her front yard – covering the ground with blood and carcasses

  • A woman has described scores of dead bats outside her home as a 'horror movie'
  • Philippa Schroor opened her front door Tuesday to 5,500 rotten bats on her lawn
  • It comes as thousands of dead bats fall from the skies due to a massive heatwave
  • Another resident praised volunteers for their persistent clean-up efforts

By Alex Chapman For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 05:27 EST, 2 December 2018 | Updated: 05:31 EST, 2 December 2018

A mother-of-two has described her home being surrounded by rotting bat carcasses as a 'scene out of a horror movie'.

Philippa Schroor opened her front door on Tuesday morning to find thousands of maggot-filled dead bats on the lawn of her Edmonton home, south of Cairns.

Ms Schroor is one of dozens of residents forced to find temporary accommodation as a heatwave sweeping through Queensland kills bats in droves. 

Scores of dead bats are falling out of the skies as a massive heatwave hits Queensland

Scores of dead bats are falling out of the skies as a massive heatwave hits Queensland

Residents have been forced to fill bags with bat carcasses (pictured) as their lawns are littered

Residents have been forced to fill bags with bat carcasses (pictured) as their lawns are littered

Heat-stressed bats have been falling from the skies since the temperature first topped 40C last Sunday. 

Ms Schroor says she thinks more than 5,500 have fallen on her property in the past week, with the consistently increasing remains forcing her and her two children from their family home.

'It was a scene out of a horror movie and there is still putrefied rotting carcasses are everywhere,' she told the Cairns Post.

Ms Schroor and her children have stayed at a hotel for the past five nights.

She claims clean-up crews fail to make a dent in the bodies as of yet. 

'I cannot return home until I get a cleaner to scrub my walls, furniture, linen, vehicle upholstery before the smell has permeated everything. This is a public health issue.'

One local has been forced to abandon her home as thousands of bats (pictured) line her lawn

One local has been forced to abandon her home as thousands of bats (pictured) line her lawn

Thousands of heat-stricken bats are dying, leaving animal welfare groups to care for the orphans (pictured)

Thousands of heat-stricken bats are dying, leaving animal welfare groups to care for the orphans (pictured)

Her unease towards the situation has been echoed by fellow Edmonton resident Lisa Eagleton, who told Daily Mail Australia the entire bat colony was either 'hanging in trees or dead on the ground'.

'In those yellow plastic bins are at least 60 to 80 dead bats,' she said, referring to a dozen bins outside her home. 

'And then in every bag you see there's another 20 to 25 dead bats from behind my house.'

Cleaning efforts have been hindered by the slew of bats dropping dead on the roads, rotting in a 'purified mess'.

The entire bat colony is either 'hanging in trees or dead on the ground' according to one local

The entire bat colony is either 'hanging in trees or dead on the ground' according to one local

Cleaning efforts have been hindered by the slew of bats dropping dead on the roads, rotting in a 'purified mess'

Cleaning efforts have been hindered by the slew of bats dropping dead on the roads, rotting in a 'purified mess'

But volunteer groups are persisting, with a trio of Indigenous Rangers helping Ms Eagleton remove more than 2,000 bats from her backyard for three days straight.

The red-lidded bins supplied by the council, which would usually be used for general waste, were later removed and replaced with yellow biohazard-style ones.

Division 1 councillor Brett Moller, who has seen the mass animal deaths firsthand, says an emergency meeting with the mayor will be held on Monday to determine what the next move is. 

Cairns Far North Queensland Wildlife estimates more than 500 baby bats - known as pups - are now orphaned and in care.

Across Cairns Far North Queensland Wildlife estimates more than 500 baby bats - known as pups - are now orphaned and in care

Across Cairns Far North Queensland Wildlife estimates more than 500 baby bats - known as pups - are now orphaned and in care

 

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Mother forced out of her home after 5,500 rotting bat carcasses fall from trees in her front yard

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