Bat(s) In The Belfry
For those of you who may have suspected that I have bats in my belfry, you may be right. I don't know how he/she got in. But I found a bat flying around the ceiling light fixture in the spare room. That's the room where my computer is. I had just got done sending an email to UrSpo. When I noticed a shadow move across the wall. Luckily I was able to isolate the creature by closing the doors and hold it inside without flying through out the whole house. But some how my bat problem got in. After that I called the local cops, they weren't much help. I was informed that unless I had a pet, old person or child they wouldn't send out animal control. The dispatcher suggested I call a bat expert, but they're not on call 24/7 just during the week. I did eventual trap it, about 10 minutes later after getting off the phone with the police and Mr. bat guy's voice mail. I ventured back in the room with a kitchen broom that held said trapped bat. As luck would have it, it landed on the side of a cabinet and I was able to swat it into a waiting cardboard box. I quickly hustled it outside, set the box on the ground. The bat still couldn't get out so I tipped the box on it's side. It crawled out did a few hops on the lawn and flew off some where into the night. Or should I say morning, this all happened about 2:45-3:00 am. Now with any luck I won't see my bat or any of his friends again. I didn't get close to it so I doubt that I contacted hydrophobia.
I am rather fond of bats; my first thought was 'you lucky fellow'.
ReplyDeleteIf it wasn't for the possibility of rabies I wouldn't mind them. They're sometimes cute and very fascinating animal. They're like a cross of a bird and mouse.
ReplyDeleteas long as it didn't say "I vant to drink your blood" (in a bela lugosi voice) the bat was harmless.
ReplyDeleteSqueak, squeak, squeak is all it said.
DeleteEww! I'd scream like a little girl and run (well at least hobble away quickly.) I have a perfectly rational fear of flighted birds and bats just creep me out.
ReplyDeleteHi David, Hope you are feeling better soon! My reaction was somewhere between yours and UrSpo's
DeleteYes, I do love bats! Only 1-2% carry rabies. It's unlikely a flying, healthy bat would be in your house. On the floor, acting very unbat-like, then I'd worry. I am glad you didn't kill him. Even a Little Brown Bat (one of the most common) will eat 300-3000 insects a night! Best eco-friendly pest control in the world. They are the only mammal that truly flies, and are not related at all to mice or birds.
ReplyDeletePeace <3
Jay
Hi Jay, My bat was flying around looking for a way out I think. I don't think I hurt it when I swept him in the box. It sure pitched a bitch when I pushed the broom on top of him when I hustled him out the front door. I know bats are not related to mice but both are mammals. The German translation for bat is "flying mouse". 73s
DeleteRandy,
ReplyDeleteYou have one of the best blogs around! I wish you wrote more often. Now about bats. At our previous house in Pennsylvania, several years ago I heard a sound coming from our spare bedroom on night. An unusual "flapping" sound. I investigated but couldn't find the source. Then a few days later a stale, stench began to emanate from the same room. Again, I investigated but could not find the source. I assumed a field mouse got stuck in the wall board or some such thing. Eventually the smell went away after a few weeks, weaker by the day. Then a few months later, I happened to be in that spare bedroom and tossed something into the trash can. I saw something dark in the bottom of the trash can. Upon further investigation (a lot of "investigation" by your intrepid blogger here) I discovered the "dark thing" was a dehydrated bat! Oh that poor bat, got trapped in the trash can and couldn't get out.
I'm glad you found your bat and was able to rescue it and send it on it's way to freedom.
Ron
Randy,
ReplyDeleteBy the way, I'm not kidding you. You have a natural talent for blogging. Keep up the good work!
Ron
Hi, Randy.
ReplyDeleteOne of my friends had a bat in his house a couple of months ago. His first alarm was the dog barking. Then he finally noticed it flying around the dining rm light. Sadly, it would not take the cue of going out open doors. He finally had to swat it down with a broom, where it landed on his sofa. He tried to get it off the (cloth) sofa, but it was very latched on with it's claws and was screaming bat sounds. This made the cat very interested, and my friend was afraid the cat would eat it/get bitten: rabies. After all, Cujo got rabies from a bat, if you read that book. So in the end, he had to kill it. Sad faces all around.