Bats - Arrghh

[RoxyJosMom]

OK, I went to bed and was watching TV and something flew over my bed. I thought it was a big moth till I looked up and Yikes!! It was a freakin' bat. I've been hearing this stampeding noise in my ceiling lately around dark. Thought it was squirrels (never gave bats a thought). Yea, well, now I know what's making all that noise. I threw my comforter over me and crawled downstairs on my hands and knees backward (it was going upstairs, circling, going downstairs, circling, over and over). It actually flew into the back of my head. I turned on all the lights, opened a door and went back up to don some "Bat Chasing" duds. Now, I have 2 cats who are just staring at me. I put on jeans, 2 shirts, tie an apron around my face throw a blanket around me, grab a golf club and a tennis racquet and off I go to hunt that bugger. Thank goodness my one cat was staring at the ceiling. She was watching him. I tried to pry him loose with my golf club but he fought it and started flying again. Found him in another room and tried to pry him loose again. Almost had him (they can really hang onto a wall) but he flew to the top of a window and was crawling along it. Went to get my camera to take a movie, got back and he was gone. Now I can't find the little bugger. The cat was staring at a spot in the ceiling where he could have gotten into a hole and got back to his colony. I sure hope so, cause I want to go to bed. I can still hear them crawling around. The entire time I was chasing him, I had the I hate rented houses. I only took this place cause it was the only one that allowed a dog. So, here I sit, typing, still in my Bat Chasing outfit, minus the gloves, apron tied on my head, club and racquet in my lap, trying to work up the nerve to go back to bed. Oh, Roxy had fun chasing it as first, then just played with her toys. Oh, crap - he just flew over my head - off I go again.
I am back. This is definitely not a career choice I would recommend. The poor thing was getting tired and both cats and Roxy were after it. I just wanted to get it outside. I was trying to throw a blanket over it, but the animals were always in front of me, and I didn't want to risk one of them getting bitten. Finally got him to door, he flew out, back in and back upstairs. Waited till he came down, and sorta scared him back out the door. Shut the door, finished this, now to bed. Good nite, all. Tomorrow I call the landlord! (Wonder what the neighbors thought - seeing me in my getup crawling around on the floor like an idiot)

[LuvtheCooper]

You need to be really careful. We have friends who have just finished up their rounds of rabies shots because of a bat in their house. They were not sure if they might have been bitten and the bat was tested and was rabid and they all had to have the rabies series (all the dogs too). They were told that bats will come inside if they are sick. Please, please be really careful for both you and your furbabies.

[Breeze]

OMG! Hate to say this but you are too funny. All the best and wishing you a bat free future

[RoxyJosMom]

Now, it's 2AM. I went to bed, just nicely got settled, checked to see if anything good was on TV since I am jumping at every noise now, and thinking I would mess myself if I saw another bat after the last episode. Yep, folks, you guess it. I looked up and there's another little dickens flying around my room. I crawl back under my comforter, take a deep breath and climb back into my clothes to do a encore performance for any neighbors who might have missed the first one. This time was easier. It was in the kitchen by the time I got downstairs and the cats had it trapped and hanging on a curtain. I moved the cats, scared the bat so he flew, opened the screen and he flew out(I hope). I threw the blanket over my head after I opened the window, heard something and when I looked, one of the cats was trying to go out of the window. I haven't seen him since and the cat's are doing their own thing. I am waaayyy too old for this. If I am still up at 2, I want to see lights flickerin and hear someone yelling "Last Call"!! I am going to go upstairs one last time. I am going to shut my door this time and pray they aren't getting into the house from my room.

[yougetthesmiles]

OHhhhhh thats funny! sorry but I have delt with bats and I know how you feel, when I lived at home my parents always had them in the house.
Funny short story for ya... my dad would put a laundry basket on over his head and take a tennis racket and kill the bats! we would roll on the floor it was so funny!

Solution to your problem is, go around outside and fill in ANY small hole with that foaming stuff, thats what my parents did and they dont get them anymore, also if you have a open chiminey, you need to put some sort of chicken wire, and if they are coming up your registers, pull up the register and line it with chicken wire!

Good luck!

[BLowry]

I hate to say this because I'm sure it wasn't much fun for you but, your story is HYSTERICAL!! !! i was laughing to myself reading it!! I had like this movie going on in my head You made my day!! Try plugging up the holes where they are coming in...Bats can carry rabies...I would get a big fishing net...this would make it easier to catch the little buggers...they do fly fast...I had one in an apartment many years ago..I thought I was going to have a heart attack!

Good Luck...I hope your day is better than you night was

[magnolia]

Reading of your bat adventure gave me a much needed laugh!! I can only imagine I'd be dressed the same way trying to get one out if it were in my house. We have bats where we live (in the country), have seen them in our garage, have seen them flying overhead, but have never had one get in the house or attic. As others have said, be careful and if you found 2 in your house, there is a great chance there are more in the attic. The landlord needs to do something before you or one of your babies gets bit. Be careful!

[RoxyJosMom]

I remember my dad in the middle of the nite, when one would get in their house, at the top of the stairs in his undies, with a tennis racquet swinging, towel of his head, jumping and squating, trying to outsmart the little guys. As for the holes - there are so many holes inside and outside, there is no way to plug them all. This is the landlords 1st rental and he has no clue. I went the 1st 3 days I moved in with no fridge, no kitchen sink, no hot water. Still waiting for him to fix fence that was to be done b-4 i moved in. Does the word SLUMLORD come to mind? Still battling bees in the siding, carpenter ants all over, and other assorted creepy crawlies roaming around. No mice, tho. Now, here's the great part. Yeah, it gets better. I live across the street from a houseful of young guys. I realize nobody can figure out why there is a constant parade, day and nite, of carloads of kids in and out of there. Not to mention the sheets that are hung up around the balcony with little peep holes so they can peek out. We,ve already watched them smoking pot and doing God knows what, so that must be so the cops won't know what's going on. I guess all the liquore bottles on the porch railings are just decorations. I'd turn them in but I may need them before I get thru this mess. I 'b be amazed if any of them are over 18. Anyway, next to them is a supposed crackhouse. Can't say for sure, but it's a strange place. 1st week here and the girl that live there comes knocking on my door: "Hi, I'm Angel, welcome to the neighborhood, my husband is cooking, can I borrow some flour?". OK. A couple weeks ago, she's back: "Hi, can I borrow some glue?". Nope, sorry, mine is all sniffed out. That's the only times I have ever seen her. But, I digress. After I get done last nite, and I am reliving the experience, completely covered in my comforter, peeking out every now and then looking for that dreaded shadow, I think: What if all those guys were stoned and saw my in my getup thru their peepholed - nitie hanging out from under sweatshirt, black chef's apron tied around my head so only my eyes were showing, tennis racquet in front of my face, (also carrying a mirror so I could peek around corners, swinging golf club(no club on the end, just the long handle - it USED to be my brand new driver)crawling around on the floor, ducking under a blanket every few seconds, they probably thought they were hallucinating on some pretty bad stuff. It has been pretty quiet over there this morning. Maybe I scared them straight. Now I better go check the attic. This should be a riot, although, I think they are in the ceiling. That would explain why my one cat is constantly staring at the ceiling. I thought she was just facinated with the missing boards. Take note, sleep deprivation can make one ramble on and on, sorry. Oh, BTW, the rest of the neighborhood is fine. If anything interesting happens, I'll continue this saga.
Thanks for listening.
Sandy

[dinek]

I can understand what you went through. We've had bats come in the house, fly around, scaring me more than my husband. (I don't like mice either!) For the past few years around the end of July/beginning of August we have this unwelcome experience. First time we were both sitting at our computers and out of the corner of my eye I saw something fly by. My husband said "it's a bat." I immediately picked up the two dogs, ran into the kitchen, slammed the door, and sat on a stool in the kitchen, figuring we were SAFE. Not so. All of a sudden the bat flew by and I kept yelling "bat, bat, bat" but of course my husband couldn't hear me since I had closed the door. How was I to know that the bat would follow us? We have an intercom in our house so I pressed the button, yelling "bat's in here...get it out" He came in, trying to chase it into our office area, finally managed to and threw a jacket over it, getting it outside. We were both relieved, figuring it was a one-time experience. No...you guessed it. Next night, another bat appeared. I think it was the same one returning for revenge at chasing it out. Again, I took the dogs, left the area, staying in a room with the door shut, while my husband opened an outside door and it flew out.

Next year...another bat...same time of the year. Flew around us so I ran to close the door to the house, tripped, fell on my knee (Ouch!), and it managed to get into the house. We thought he managed to get it to fly back down to the basement. Next morning I went about my morning breakfast making, opening/closing cabinets, etc. I left the kitchen and my husband said "Didn't you notice the bat on the cabinet?" It had attached itself to the top of a cabinet door, blending in. It was up high so I didn't notice it. He took something to cover and pry it off and carried it outside, placing it on the ground by the garage. No more that year. BTW, I often look at the cabinets in the morning, hoping nothing will be there.

Two weeks ago...About 1 AM, Sean woke up barking. (My husband was downstairs at the time.) He leaped off the bed (something he never does during the night), staring out into the hall. We have "split doors" so we can close the bottom half to prevent him from going into other rooms. The bottom of the bedroom door was closed so he couldn't go into the hall. I got off the bed, went to pick Sean up to go back to sleep, and... a bat flew through the hallway outside the bedroom. I slammed the top of the door (safety!!), got on the intercom and told my husband we had a bat...again. As he was listening to me the bat flew by his head. He ran to get the back door open, tripped (hurt his knee), and the bat flew back into the house. Nuts! He couldn't catch it. We thought it might have flown back down to the basement. During the night I heard a noise downstairs, figured it was hitting something. We slept with the door closed. I wouldn't leave the room alone all night. Next day we looked around the house, figuring it might have attached itself to something but couldn't find it. Something above the sink had been knocked over so we thought it probably tried to get out but the screen was on the window. I think that was the worst part...not knowing where it was. We decided to leave the kitchen window open that night, figuring if it was in the house that it would fly out. Of course we kept our bedroom door closed all night.

Since they...no bat. Hopefully we won't have anymore. I do look around carefully as I enter the house at night, wondering if there will be another one.

Wow! I didn't realize I would write so much. I really got caught up with this bat stuff.

Any more bat stories??

[RoxyJosMom]

Wow, bats AND injuries. Sorry to hear that. I suppose that means Im gonna have more tonite. I just checked the attic. The LL says it is a finished room. I say it is some pieces of sheet rock slapped up to cover the rafters and thats it. There's no visible bats, but lots of gaps for them to come in from the walls. But I still have to find out where they came in. Some of the walls don't even go all the way to the ceiling. I never would have taken it, but I was desperate when I found it, and it was a dark, rainy day, so I couldn't see alot of the flaws. Only 2 tiny closets and the clothes bar in one is a shower curtain suspension rod (won't hold more than a couple shirts) and my dtr's is a piece of wood wrapped in masking tape laying on 2 nailed up boards. Crap....HELP, I'm babbling and I can't stop!! I checked outside - no obvious exit routes. No furnace, and I don't think there's a chimney opening in the cellar. Probably a few bodies, it's pretty gruesome down there. There's a huge mound of dirt in one corner - Jimmy Hoffa is my guess. Tonite, I am going to close all doors and hang something in open doorways. If any come in, with a little luck, it won't find it's way out and I can figure out how they got in. I really don't expect to see the LL very soon. Nice guy but won't do anything he promised to do and continues to promise to do. I have really low ceilings which makes it harder, cause they were flying about 4 or 5 feet off the floor. That's why I was on my hands and knees. In my parents, when we got them, it was no problem. Their ceilings were 13 feet hi. I like bats, but only on the outside, or in someone elses house. Gonna go plug some holes I found, now. Later, guys. (Still nothing going on across the street! I did scare them straight!

[Connie]

Oh my gosh! I hate bats! They give me the everlov'n creeps! I would have gotten under that comforter and stayed there! Yikes! I did laugh at your story...it would have made for a good movie!!! I hope you don't get any more tonight!!! Good luck!

[RoxyJosMom]

Just talked to my brother -they had one last nite, too. He said a bat can get thru a hole the size of a pencil. I feel much better now. All my holes are much bigger. The poor little things won't have to suck in so much to get thru. I am getting prepped as we speak and am going to stake out the front of the house at dark. He did say someone else probably plugged up their attic so they lost their home and that is why they are now staying at my Three Seasons Hotel ( I just one season short of a 4-star bat spa). Maybe I should set a bowl of mosquitos out there for them. No! I've got it! I'll set the bowl across the street and they can all fly thru the little peep holes and scare the bejeepers out of a bunch of a bunch of drunk, Ipod weilding 18 y.o. guys and send them screaminl like their little sisters out into the street. YES, YES, YES! I see a summer blockbuster in the making. Then we'll get the bats drunk on the tipped over bottles and send them over to the crack house. Hard to imagine what will happen with that bunch. Dang - I need a job. Can you tell I am spending too much time alone? Off to finish prepping. I'll probably be back later. Oh, sorry you hate bats, Connie. I think they are pretty neat - just not with arms reach. I'm sure there are alot of great bat stories out there. I am still laughing at Yougetthesmiles's dad with the laundry basket over his head. That's a great idea. I put glasses on so they wouldn't fly into my eyes by mistake, at least I could see with a basket on. Bye for now......

[newmommy]

I HATE bats, they scare the jeebies out of me

[dinek]

I just saw this article. Makes finding one at a time in the house not as bad.

http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/sto...09-01-01-37-12

[RoxyJosMom]

What a great way to miss school! We had a movie theater like that when I was younger. Bats were flying everywhere all the way thru the movie. Great ambience if you're watching Dracula. Well, I'm glad to say I didn't get any more bats. I found out that was the night the hi school stadium lights were turned on and I live 2 houses from the stadium. There were thousands of bats going crazy cause of all the bugs that were drawn to the lights. I do have something living in the walls and ceiling. Probably squirrels. Called LL. He sent someone over who couldn't find any means of entrance. There are holes everywhere! He said he'd tell LL and have him call. That was 6 days ago. At least the bats are gone.