ABSTRACT
Control of vampire bats is synonymous with control of bovine rabies, primarily because the disease is economically very important and vampire bat control is the key to eliminating the problem. Less appreciated is the increased abundance of the common vampire bat in tropical America, brought about by man's activities. The principal reason to control vampire bats is their role as a vector of rabies and their predation on domestic animals. In 1972 two new vampire bat control methods, based on two different applications of an anticoagulant were described. These methods, one topical, the second systemic, if properly applied, have removed the risk of traumatic death to operators and are relatively species-specific in killing vampire bats. With the exception of the strychnine technique, previous methods for controlling vampires required knowing the location of their roosts. It is not necessary to know the location of the roosts, and it is likely that several nearby vampire colonies are being destroyed simultaneously.
