While fruit bats are taking over Rosalind Park’s fernery, the church is battling a related but different kind of problem.

Bats living in the roof are leaving droppings that pose hygiene problems for churchgoers.

It’s creating so much of a problem that services have now been moved to St Jude’s in California Gully.

Reverend Canon Andrew Plant hoped the situation would be resolved in the coming weeks so things could return to normal.

“The bats have been around for a few years . . . not the same bats as in Rosalind Park, thankfully.

“I started only a year ago, but probably from December until about now, into March and April, they are about.”

The bats, which have mouse-sized bodies compared with the cat-sized fruit bats, are living in the roof of the church.

“Because it’s an old building there are some gaps in the roof, and the bat droppings fall through in quite large amounts.

“It’s not hygienic.”

The church is working towards dealing with the issue so that services can resume as scheduled.

“We’ve had a man from Melbourne who is quite knowledgeable about bats come and have a look.

“He has given us a few clues about how to fix it.

“Now we’ve got the information, but it will still take another few weeks to sort it out.”

Up to 400 fruit bats have settled in Rosalind Park over the past week.

It’s believed they are temporary visitors - which is good news for the park and local farmers protecting their crops.

The bats can be seen coming out at dusk and flying around looking for food, including fruit and nectar.