Bats in the Belfry

It is hard to believe we have lived in our house for three years already.  The time has gone so fast, and I am amazed that our third wedding anniversary is approaching.  Over the past few years, we have had a slight ongoing issue, one which we will mistakenly think has gone away, but every now and again pops up to remind us that it still exists.

This problem is a bat.

You may remember the first time I spoke about encountering a bat in our home.  Hubby actually wrote a much more amusing tale of that initial bat encounter, complete with awesome reenactment photos.  This was our first full summer in our home, back when we only had Dexter and Nora.

Fast forward to last summer.  Either we never had a bat in our home, or we were blissfully unaware that the bloodsucking flying rat was there, because last summer, all was quiet.  

This summer, it has been a whole different story.  We have encountered the bat (or other bats) three times so far since June.  Each time, we get a little better at dealing with it in a manner that is quick and relatively painless for all involved.  This past weekend, we once again did battle, and this time, I got actual photos of it.

The funny thing with this bat situation is, we forget how awful the bat is, until it rears its ugly head again.  And the second we see it, all those awful memories of past encounters come rushing back.  We now have 3 animals to protect, as well as ourselves, so we never will be able to just ignore the bat completely, but we have been able to successfully get it away from us as quickly as possible, and carry on with our business.

I am not going to lie, each time I encounter the bat, it shakes me up a little.  I get nervous walking into the basement, peering up at the rafters and wondering if that terrible beast is enjoying peaceful slumber above my head.  I fear that it will fly into my hair, and send me doing a shrieking jig around the basement.

We have tried to determine where the bat is entering, so that we can block up the path, but since bats can squeeze their way into the tiniest of cracks, it is really impossible to turn our house into an impenetrable fortress.  All we can do is be aware that we may encounter this bat again, and be on guard.

One of my neighbors told me that, because we live near a river, the bats can be worse here, because we have more insects due to the closeness of the water.  I also think that having a basement makes us more likely to have bats, since the rafters are such a cozy place for them to roost.

All I know is, if we ever move, this bat is never getting our forwarding address.