We know there are bats in this 1840's house because:
-We hear them in the attic and walls
-We see them flying in/out of our house around dusk
-We met a previous woman who lived here as a child and she had many memories of hearing the bats in the walls (her bedroom was upstairs as well) as well as an encounter with one in her room!
-The house was built in 1840-- it's not exactly new construction and there are many cracks/holes for little bats to fit through.
So... going back to late June. I'll set the scene:
Late Friday night. The children are asleep. J is reading a magazine in the fireplace room. I'm at the computer in our formal dining room. It's about 9:30 p.m.
As I type away, I feel a breeze past by my left side, hear an odd noise and see something land on top of the hutch in front of me. It's brown. I first think it's a moth but it's way to big for a moth. "J, I think there is a bat in here!" J enters the room and confirms the bat! I immediately scream (very girly like) and dash under the table (with my rear sticking out as this table is pretty little). I open my eyes... and the bat is under the table with me! We are practically nose to nose! I REALLY scream (again picturing the bat scene from "The Office"), hit my head on the table and then run to the bathroom (shutting the children's door on the way.) Amazingly, the children didn't wake up to the noise of their hysterical mother!
I peak out of the bathroom door and ask J if he sees the bat. He says "no" and tells me to check my back/hair. I freak but calm when I see in the bathroom mirror that there is no bat attached to me. My husband, armed with his head light and my brand new tupperware, catches the bat with his lightning speed. He is my hero!
I still get wigged out when I look at these pictures but,
you can tell this bat is very little. It is a "little brown bat".
Here's another picture of the same bat. You can see by the
size of J's thumb, this bat is pretty little.
So Farmer J lets the bat loose outside and we go to bed. In the morning, we share the story and pictures with our children and they all laugh at Mama!! I still don't find the story very funny.
Two days later... and this story is where we get the title of the blog entry from ("The boy who cried 'bat'),
my oldest says, "Mama, there is a bat in my bed." Now you must know that my oldest is a story teller and we OFTEN have to ask if he is telling the truth or telling a story. After hearing and talking about my bat encounter the other day, I'm certain he is just bat obsessed and is "telling a fib." As I'm telling him the importance of telling the truth and not making up stories, J comes out of his room with yet another bat in tupperware. THERE WAS A BAT IN MY CHILD'S BED!!! Are you freakin' kidding me? I apologize to JJ for not believing him and we all check out the latest bat in tupperware (this time at 4 p.m. in the afternoon). No need for another picture as the bat looked exactly the same, even in the same tupperware (now I am down x2 tupperware bowls.) J releases the bat outside.
According to "Orkin" pest control, bats are a "protected species" until mid-August, as they are close to being an endangered species. We have to live with the bats for another few months. We put "sonar" bat sound machines in every room of the house. We can't hear the noise but supposedly, the machine put's out a very high pitched noise that bat ears cannot tolerate, so they stay away.
Since then, we have had one more bat in the house, this time a "big brown" bat. Luckily, I was not home for that occasion.
In another 6 weeks, a lovely person from "Orkin" will come to the farm and help with our bat problem. I realize that the bats have been here much longer than us but it's time for them to find a new home. You can't mess with a Mama; the bat in my child's bed was like declaring war on us!
To be continued...
No comments:
Post a Comment