A bat infestation at a city building has officials working to remove the pests.

Eddie Anderson, building official for the City of Greenville, said city officials recently learned that bats had taken up residence in a closet at the Beeland Park Community Center.

“(Superintendent of Public Works) Milton (Luckie) and myself were out at Beeland Park and they were in there putting some tables and chairs in a closet and when they opened the closet up there was evidence in there that there were bats from the smell,” Anderson said.

That prompted the city to contact American Wildlife Relocators. The company has worked with the city in the past when more than 1,000 bats took up residence in a home on Church Street.

“We had a guy come down and look at it and he told us that we absolutely had bats in Beeland Park,” Anderson said. “He put up some traps and he’s been working for about the last week and he’s been getting some out. He’s gotten bats out every day.”

Since federal and state laws protect bats, it is illegal to kill them. Instead, they must be captured and relocated.

The city paid Birmingham-based American Wildlife Relocators $3,200 to trap the bats and seal the entry points.

“They’ve done some work for us in the past and I was very impressed,” Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon said.