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bats
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First off, a “hallelujah” moment….I took my kids’ portfolios to our teacher evaluator (who said she does this as a ministry, especially to larger families, and doesn’t charge very much), and it went well. So now, that’s over–hooray!
On top of everything we’ve been dealing with regarding my dad’s health needs, jury duty, and my son’s ongoing aggressiveness, we now have bats in the house! Ugh!! Yesterday, a friend tried to remind me of how valuable they are to the ecosystem, but all I could think of is how they fly so fast back and forth, they startle me to no end, and they don’t belong in the house.
The first time I saw one was two nights ago when I was up into the wee hours trying to finish selecting the samples I wanted to show the teacher evaluator. Sometime in the second term last year, my son had a really bad meltdown and pushed everything off my desk….including a large sorter with a bunch of our schoolwork waiting to be filed. (Note to self: file things much more frequently next year!) In order to save the stuff, we had gathered everything and put it in a large plastic bag, carried it up to my room, and forgot all about it. So, I had a lot to go through, mostly out of order. Then here comes this “thing” whizzing back and forth too close for comfort. After closing a couple of doors, then getting creeped out over hearing it flying around in the next room, I fled to my bedroom.
Later, I could hear it in the upstairs hallway, my daughter got up to go to the bathroom, knocked on my door asking why there was a bird flying around upstairs, and early in the morning my dad told me he had awakened to find a bat flying in his room. So, the night before last, I got to bed late, couldn’t sleep well, and had to go later to the evaluation after only 3 hours of sleep.
Last night, we got to bed at a reasonable time, and I felt safer with my door closed and a nice, fat towel rolled up against the bottom of my door…..until I woke up around 3 a.m., desparately needing to go to the bathroom, but when I peeked out my door, there it was again. I cannot tell you when the last time was that I spent 20 minutes or more doing “the potty dance.” After awhile, I heard my daughters talking, and they came and told me the bat had been flying in their room, and I gave them old towels to place at the bottom of their door. (I’m dashing into the bathroom at that point….
) Another less than sleep-filled night…Has anyone had to deal with bats in their house? I want them gone! I read and reread Psalm 91 this morning, hoping for a solution and/or a better night tonight. I was hoping for a nice, peaceful, enjoyable last two weeks of summer break, so I really want them gone!!!
Call wildlife or animal control? I know here in NJ you have to report every single time one gets into your house or one dive bombs you. crazy. we had one in our house once, but we got it out. we trapped it under a laundry basket, sild cardboard under it, and took it outside.
hang in there,
amy
Has a bat been in a bedroom while somebody was sleeping? I’m NO expert and don’t want to freak you out. But thought I just read that you should get a rabies shot if that’s happened…bites can be too small to see. Probably very unlikely….hope you get it out soon!!! Gina
I don’t care for them in the house either – we had one come down the chimney in England – we phoned the authorities and were told they are a protected species so we had to get an expert out to remove it in case we hurt it!! I could not wait to get it out of the house. They really are wonderful creatures and do so much good, but not in the home – good luck Sue, I feel your pain as I would be a basket case….Linda
Yes, I would say that I am a basket case, but I’m trying to be the adult here….in front of my kids, you know. This is one of those times I think I will just let them see that even Mom is human, LOL.
Fortunately, my sister (who said her big ol’ brute of a husband freaks out over bats, so she can’t send him over to help) gave me some info on a guy who does wildlife control in the area, so I’m going to strongly suggest that my dad contact him….
* making that shuddering sound you make when something creeps you out *
I love bats, I wish we could come and “adopt” your little guy and give him a home in the batboxes behind the garage! We all come running whenever a friend finds one in their house. Insect nets are pretty good to catch them without hurting them.
If you are brave enough to handle this on your own, here is a method you can effectively use……you will just need to knock it down to the ground gently (use something soft like a soft bristled broom or a towel). Once a bat is on the ground, they cannot take off again and you will be able to take it outside easily and put it in a high place so that it can fly away. Bats can only fly by first falling from somewhere high.
I personally am not really freaked out by bats at all and actually would like to build a bat house on our property once we have our own. They help tremendously with unwanted pests! With the summer we have been having here in Alberta, I would welcome a few bats in the yard!
Not to hijack this thread from Sue, but how do you attrack bats to your bat house? Hubby and ds7 built one last year, but no bats. Here in FL, the mosquitoes could carry away a small child and I’d welcome lots of bats, OUTSIDE IN THEIR OWN HOUSE!
Christie
PS- Shuddering with you Sue.
We kidnap the bats that end up in our friends’ houses and replant them! I’ve heard of planting some flowers nearby that might help, but since I can’t grow anything but dandelions I’ve never tried that–I think it was some kind of night-opening flower?
Sorry, Miranda…..not brave enough!
I think we are probably calling a professional in (not to kill them, to remove them and properly seal the house). I think that would be best because my son is really getting upset over this. He spent the day dreaming up some plan to “take care of this” and he plans on staying up all night in his room to carry out his plan, whatever it is. He put a 2-liter bottle of water in the freezer this evening (something to do with his plan) and someone emptied it out. He just had a horrible meltdown over that, and he refuses to take his melatonin (to help him sleep) tonight. Now he doesn’t even want to go up to bed. *Sigh* I’m tired so I’m going up whether he’s ready or not.
He’s just getting too big to deal with sometimes. I just hate it when something bothers him so much that he just makes this crying/screaming noise and hits his head and legs with his fists. Thank God, it doesn’t happen all that often.
I’m not sure I’ll sleep well again tonight.
I am so sorry Sue, I think you are right, get someone in to deal with it and seal the places they get in….they are excellent to have outside, we have hundreds of them in our area at night, but outside where they belong – I think you need to do this to get your son calm and to get some rest yourself. I will pray for a resolution to your problem, and I am with you – I cannot be brave about that – I am even terrified of moths and spiders, lol – so a bat is too much. However mice I am not at all worried about though I don’t want them in the house either. Hugs and prayers, Linda
Well, leaving the light on in the upstairs hall may have helped. No bats in the girls’ room this time, although I believe I still heard it flying about downstairs at one point….did I mention that the night before the 13yo woke up in the night to see one sitting on the bunkbed ladder just a few feet from her face?
My son demonstrated last night that he does actually like and respond well to routine. I had prepared his melatonin tablet (chopped up, dissolving on a spoon with a few drops of water), but it was left on the counter in the uproar of the meltdown he was having. He had refused to take it because he wanted to stay up at night to “take care of” the bats, so when we finally went upstairs to bed, he asked me, “What about my melatonin? I didn’t take it yet.” I reminded him it was downstairs and he marched right downstairs, put the honey over it on the spoon, and took it himself. Of course, he was grumbling about how he wasn’t going to be able to stay up very long because he knew it would make him fall asleep, but he took it!
He seems okay about everything today, so I’m hoping he will set aside his all-nighter plans.
) Another less than sleep-filled night…
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