NO-ONE said it was going to be easy being a fruit bat - or a fruit bat's neighbour.
This may be especially so in areas where people drink tank water, gathered from their roofs.
Goomboorian district residents probably do not all agree about much else, but they have all had enough of fruit bats.
The animals - somewhere between an upside down fox terrier and Grandpa Muster - have an unfortunate way with their neighbours, it seems.
Amanda McClintock spoke up for the human inhabitants of the Goomboorian and Kia Ora areas.
"Why people want to protect these disgusting animals is beyond me," she said yesterday.
"They destroy everything they feed on or sleep in.
"They carry Hendra virus," she said.
Others mentioned the unpleasant topic of faeces on the roof and, from there, into their tank water.
"There are many horses in our area and downstream and they are polluting our natural waterways, which we use to water cattle and produce crops," she said.
"The council needs to do something about this right now, before there is an outbreak of Hendra virus."
Another resident, Kate Menzies, was also concerned about the disease, which seems to jump species from bats to horses and from there to people.
It is a fatal illness and residents believe many of the neighbourhood horses are not vaccinated.
Russel Clark says it was alright for people on town water to defend the animals, but he can hear the impact when their waste lands on his roof.
"Some of them seem to come and go with whatever is in season and others settle in permanently," said Donna Heaton.
Peter Abdoo blames the infestation, which has already had a big impact on the creek and its riparian trees, on humans.
"It was beautiful here before the bats came along," he said.
"I don't know where they came from but it's obvious their habitat was destroyed and they moved in here.
"I turn the light on and slam the door to scare them away," he said.
Can't live with them, can't kill them, residents do not know what to do.
Fruit bat facts
Australian fruit bats are megabats, largest bats in the world.
Bats are not birds. They are mammals, just like humans.
Bats are the only mammals that can fly.
There are more than 1000 species of bats in the world, about 170 of which are megabats.
One quarter of all mammal species in the world are bats.
More than 90 species exist in Australia.
Bats are placental mammals, not marsupials.
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