Bryon in his “Bat Combat” outfit
This past spring, I posted a picture of a bat house that Bryon built for our “resident” bats, saying we hoped that if we built it, they would come. Well, they’ve come all right, but to the wrong house. There are no bats using the bat house we put up, but apparently despite our best efforts, they’ve made it into our house.
We didn’t know this until last night, when our cat Dora started acting very strangely. If you have a cat, you know they act very oddly when they see a bird right outside the window. Our cats tend to make a very distinct “chirping” sounds, which is unlike any other sound you’ll hear a cat make. Dora was running around making those chirping sounds in our walk-in closet, and we soon discovered why. Our little brown bat friend was back, somehow found its way into our house, and into the closet in our master bedroom. Once before, we found a bat roosting on a beam off our ceiling and were able to capture it using a metal can and piece of cardboard. However, this bat didn’t seem to want to take a rest and was flying around. It’s one thing to try and catch a bat when it’s roosting, it’s quite another to catch it when it’s flying everywhere.
I learned a lot about bats while working at a cave park, Oregon Caves National Monument. We had several types of bats who hibernated in the cave during the winter, and we used to see lots of them hanging off the ceiling of the cave when we reopened the cave to visitors each spring. Part of what I learned is that it’s best to remain motionless, standing as still as possible, when you are around bats that are flying. Somehow, that was easier being in a cave. But when you are standing in your master bedroom closet, trying to see where the bat is, and it comes flying towards your head, it feels a bit disconcerting. Bryon decided to “armor” himself with quite the outfit in an attempt to flush the bat out, opening the window and using a “poker” of sorts. It still didn’t work. Neither of us found the idea of sleeping in a room where a bat may or may not fly around, or better yet poop bat guano on the bed, to be very appealing. So instead we took refuge in our guest bedroom downstairs which appeared to be bat-free. Last night, the little brown bat won the battle of the master bedroom — Bat – 1, humans – 0.
Tonight, we came home and opened up the windows again to the bedroom, and have yet to see the bat. We’re not sure where he is. Worse yet, we don’t know how he got in, which leads us to believe there is some sort of opening that we haven’t sealed off, that they can get in through. This isn’t surprising, as they are quite small and squeeze through incredibly tiny openings. At this point, we are consulting some “professional” advice from Bat Conservation International on how to rid our home of our tiny, unwanted house guests.
One good thing about the bats — at least we can feel good about them taking care of the bugs and mosquitoes around — a definite plus. I’ve heard that one bat can consume more than a thousand mosquitoes. But I know there’s really only one sure way to be sure they will leave — the onset of winter and freezing temperatures. Just one more reason, in the middle of a hot summer day, I look forward to the days of snow flying once again.
