Bat Hunting

Well once again our home has attracted another critter. If you have read past posts you are aware that I am not a fan of the 3 am raccoon,deer or cats that have visited our home and kept me awake for hours worrying...now you can add BATS to the list. Earlier this spring I found an already dead bat beneath one of our bathroom vanities. This was enough to bring me to tears and helped me realize that I have a fear of bats that I was not aware of (even if they are dead!!). A few months later bat #2 showed up same location, same status...dead. Phil removed the carcasses each time and then proceeded to search our house for the entry points of these little nasties. After a few cans of that sealing foam stuff he thought he had it all taken care of. We thought we were living bat-free!!! Mason still wakes up in the middle of the night and lately while trying to get him back to sleep I have heard noises in the walls or attic. I told Phil and we both hoped that it was nothing...Monday night we found out that it of course wasn't "nothing" but again a bat. I had just gotten home from work (it was my late night 7 pm) and Phil and I were catching up on each other's day and sitting in the family room. All of the sudden right behind Phil came a scratching, fluttering noise. He jumped, yelled a few naughty words and I grabbed Mason and yelled "turn off the TV!!" Mason had been playing with a flashlight so Phil grabbed it and shined it on our air exchange vent. It was a bat and was trying to get out of the vent. It was sticking its little hands and wing through the slots in the vent. I was freaking out of course and not really helping the situation. Phil gave me a few instructions...long sleeve shirt, gloves, knife!!! I asked what he was planning on doing with the knife, he said "STAB IT!!" After rounding up the goods and reminding Phil that August was bat bite month (I had just read about it in the paper and heard about it on the radio) Phil was ready to take care of the bat. He took a few wild stabs at it through the vent and thought he got it (there was blood on the knife) then we waited for a while and didn't hear any more noise. We sealed off the vent for the night and I went to bed later thinking the problem had been solved. When Phil came to bed he told me that he had been tracking the bat again so it wasn't dead. Needless to say I didn't sleep well that night or any since. We called in the professionals and they will be at our house on Friday. I will keep you updated but hopefully this will be the last post about bats!!!