Going Batty


 We had a new experience in the Poconos the other day.  Or actually my husband did because I wasn't there.  (And that's a good thing...sort of).

It was early morning and I was "doing my thing" and getting ready for work.  I'm up and down stairs.  I'm in and out of the bathroom.  I'm not paying attention to my phone.  Why would I?  Turns out my husband has been trying to call me.  He called at 6:05, 6:09 and 6:20.  This was all followed by the text at 6:21 saying "CALL ME."  I would have, but he called me again before I had a chance.  And he was yelling at me for not picking up the phone.  

I knew something was wrong.  I was afraid to find out.  Was he sick?  Was he injured?  Was there something wrong with his mom or stepdad?  No.

There was something flying in the house.  And not just flying; it was swooping and going around in circles.  All of which was happening just as my husband had gotten up and headed into the kitchen to make coffee.  So he's not caffeinated yet.  He's wondering if he's imagining things.  But no, it goes from one area to the next and then "disappears." 

Here's the thing; much of the house has high ceilings.  There are also plenty of "high" areas to hide.  There are cabinets that don't reach the ceiling, so something could fly back there and hide and you'd never be able to see them.  If you are a small critter, there are plenty of places you could make yourself invisible.  That's what seemed to have happened here.

While we were speaking, my husband was understandably freaking out.  He'd gotten out of bed.  It was not quite light outside.  He heads down the hall to the living room/kitchen area and something flies overhead.  Something that is larger than a bug.  Something that is either a bird or a bat and is silently swooping around.  What would you do?  I know I would be screaming and ducking for cover.  And I wouldn't feel good once it "disappeared".

However, my husband is a pretty level headed guy.  I'd actually say very much so, especially upon waking up and practically being dive bombed.  

The only thing I could do was give him the number of the pest control service that we use.  Unfortunately, the earliest they said they could come would be mid-August. Hello?!  This situation needed immediate attention!  Hubby took the appointment and they told him if something opened up sooner they would call.

All this is going on while I am trying to get ready for work in NJ.  So I am not very helpful at all.

Amazingly, hubby calms down before I get on the bus.  (I'm not sure I would have ever calmed down!)

I'm calmer now
6:58 AM

Good

What can I do

The only real thing we can do is wait until it shows itself again and try to herd it outside

Okay. Supposedly open doors at dusk might help

Know that's a long way off

Bats are nocturnal. It's probably gone to sleep

Figure it has to be a bat: it was silent. Birds make sounds

What I could do is try to get some advice from someone who might have had experience with bats.  I recalled my college friend (the one I went to Disney with last year) had "bat experiences" and texted her.

Hey. Haven't you had experience with bats

Yes

My experience is to hide while hubby takes care of it. 😝

What does he do?

He’s actually got it down to a science now, it’s happened enough times. He puts on a pair of work gloves and while it’s roosting somewhere just gently grabs it with a towel and lets it go outside.
Sometimes if you leave a window open they will find their own way out.
7:49 AM

But not during the day...

We had one a couple years ago that got in while Mark wasn’t home. By the time he got back he couldn’t find it. He spotted it the next morning on the curtain rod in the kitchen. They are small and most likely it will be roosting somewhere during g the day. Best he can do is just really look for it even in places you might not expect

Thanks. About to go underground so I'll lose text. Appreciate it
👍

The trouble is there are too many places in this house that it can hole up and on top of that many of them are too high for me to reach even with the stepladder


And then AMAZINGLY before 10, I got this message from hubby:

OK. No sign of the little bastard

And now it's gone
9:19 AM

Are you sure

It flew back in here I got the window open and after a few passes it found its way out and flew away

We have changed the appointment to a bat ingress survey. That service is free of charge with our service plan. If the see things that need to be remediated they will then provide an estimate Not window. Back door

So no more bat.  (Sigh of relief.)  

Questions do remain.  How did it get in?  Due to the heat, the house has been closed up and a/c on.  How did it get in?  When did it get in?  Is this going to happen again?  If it does and I am there, will I scream and void my bowels?  (A question I do not want to answer.)

I will admit, that with every sound in the house, I do a little head duck.  Hubby says there was no sound, so maybe I will just be walking around the house cautiously from now until...


















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