4/24/09

I am shaking in my Booties! / Or why I hate Bats!

Is there anyone else out there who is terrified of bats? This is not my typical post but when I opened the garage door last night this is what flew in my face! We live in the country and we are surrounded by wildlife, but I still hate bats! We had a black bear in our yard last spring and he was full grown and I think I am less afraid of bears than I am of bats.


Faces only a mother could love!


Mexican bats at night. Yikes! It's like a Alfred Hitchcock Movie.




Kind of Cruel! Someone made this poor gal a bat wedding cake and she is terrified of bats!




Please tell me it isn't so. The title said Mississippi Bats. Who out there is from Mississippi? I think Susan @ a Southerndaydreamer might be. I hope I didn't freak you all out. I have a lot more bats to deal with this summer. Does anyone know what I can do to get them to stay away from my house? My skin is still crawling. thanks for letting me vent a bit. Cindy




20 comments:

  1. Yikes! I really don't like any of the rodent family - I don't even like squirrels! (And the lady who lived in this house before us left 3 yard statues of squirrels!!!) Bats are particularly nasty. My neighbor down the street has had some bats nest in her chimney and they can't get rid of them. YUCK! I know they eat mosquitoes, BUT still YUCK!!!! :D Jewel

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  2. Oh, Cindy, that's creepy! Our exterminator once noticed that we had a bat on the outside of our attic vent, but he said they eat bugs, mosquitos, etc. We called a company that gets rid of critters and they put wire mesh on the vents. That's about the best we can do. Believe it or not, we live in an Atlanta suburb and have seen deer, racoon, opossum(gross!), rabbits, etc. in our yard! We live in a subdivision! Well, when all else fails, google "how to get rid of bats"! Good luck! Linda

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  3. I hate them also, my fear was of them getting in my hair. once we had one enter our house and at the time we lived in the country and had a huge ceiling. someone happenned to come over to visit and they caught it with a mop bucket and got it out.

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  4. Hi Cindy,
    I can see why you are afraid of bats. I'm sorry you had to experience that! To have one come at you when you opened the door is scary. I am not afraid of the bats themselves, I am afraid of anything that jumps at me or flies at my face. Grasshoppers, bees, bats, crickets and so on. I would actually hold a bat if given the chance. I had a sweet little house wren who nested in the lamp post near my patio last spring. She and her mate were a delight until her eggs hatched. For 3 weeks we could not enjoy our patio because this bird would attack you. The first time I was attacked I screamed so loud I think I woke the neighbors.(I like to garden early in the morning)Mind you, this bird was not much bigger than a hummer. In fact we thought she was a hummer at first because they have a very long beak like hummers do. I don't have any suggestions on how to get rid of them only how to attract them. Maybe you need to find out what predetors eat bats (ie owls or hawks) and get a statue of one. I am going to check this out for you and get back to you. Hugs, Loretta

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  5. Hi again. I found out that owls, eagles, hawks, falcons, racoons, and snakes are all predators of bats. Maybe a few lifelike statues of some of these will help you. I would place an owl statue on the roof of the garage and on any fenceposts close to the garage. The article I read did say that once bats have established themselves in a structure they are difficult to get rid of. You wil need to look for evidence of droppings (pellets) and if you see it you will have to hire a professional pest control service to get rid of them. You don't have to post this comment, it was to help you. I wish you luck. Hugs, Loretta ps I'm glad you were able to plant some pansies. I smile every time I look out my window and see them dancing in the breeze.

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  6. Oh Cindy,that had to be scary. We see them where we live but never had one do that.Be careful when you open that door.
    Elizabeth

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  7. I lived in an apartment that was infested with bats in the attic and every so often those critters would get into the apartment. It happened enough to make me move, that's for sure. I got rid of bats by moving LOL Not much help to you though.

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  8. UGH...I'm with you...they are so creepy! We sit out by the pond at night and see them darting all around eating the bugs. My hubby thinks they're great because they eat so many bugs and mosquitos...so he won't do anything to discourage them being around. He even wanted to put Bat houses up so they had nice places to live...NO FREAKING WAY!!! I hope you find a solution. And now I'm going to go think happy thoughts and clear those pictures out of my head lol

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  9. Eeekkss Girlfriend!!! I don't blame you a bit for being terrified...they're creepy little creatures aren't they! I'm so glad that we don't have many around here...I've seen a few but very few! Hope you are able to get rid of that little critter and keep him away!!!

    Have a fabulous Friday Sweetie...bats and all! wink!
    Love ya,
    Chari

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  10. Cindy, I would have been terrified. Bats are not something with which to mess around. Call an exterminator if you think they might be roosting in your garage and get them out of there! They got in my sister's attic, and I forget how she said to get rid of them.

    Is that photo doctored??? Eeek!

    xo,

    Sheila

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  11. Hi Cindy!

    You have definitely come to the right person~just call me Batwoman! :-)

    We have them here in Chicago and at the lake. First off, here, they come out around dusk and fly and swoop down in my backyard but I never minded because they are "beneficial" in eating mosquitos, etc and statistics show squirrels have a better chance of carrying rabies than bats.

    Then we noticed them at the lake, actually we noticed their black droppings directly under the vents to the attic. Like mice they can slip into tiny crevices. So we had an exterminator come out and he shined the light in the attic and saw them all hanging upside down, just napping away! I took a peek too, I wasn't going to pay him without the actual evidence! So he set off a few "bombs" which are like 4th of July smoke bombs. The smoke irritates the bats but does not kill them. You don't want them rotting away in your attic~especially in the summer!! So they fly out and you seal the vents and it's a done deal. Unfortunatly, my hubbie does not like heights and the vents were 20 feet up. So they stayed. It gets better.

    Our covered patio attaches to the house has one fieldstone wall~on the opposite side is the fireplace in the great room. One morning a bat swooped in under the patio and into a crevice between the stones while we were having breakfast. This continued to happen many weekends and we dubbed her "Betty the Bat", better known as a "woman of the night" since she had no business being out in the daylight! Still, we didn't do much.

    THEN ONE NIGHT... I was sitting out on the patio alone with the dogs about 10:00 P.M. when suddenly I heard a massive Swoosh noise and I swear about 20 bats came flying in under the patio swooping and darting up and down and around the pillars and all I could do was cover my head and whimper. Finally I crawled over to the dogs, unchained them and got into the house. So...

    Our carpenter was living with us by then and he knows EVERYTHING! He sealed up the crevices and vents and told us the bats might be confused for awhile but they would nest somewhere else eventually. Also interesting, they fly to Mexico for the winter (truly!) so if you seal up before the warm weather they won't come to stay at your house this time.

    I really thought they were harmless but that night I knew that I was in their way and they were just as confused as me. As your pics show, they do have claws and teeth so I don't ever want to walk or run into one.

    Actually I was going to try to catch my backyard bats here at home this summer on camera and do a post but I think I just did! I would suggest you call an exterminator and ask about the smoke bomb thing. Then have them help you find where they might be getting in to your garage (The poop is a dead giveaway) and where they are hanging out (ha ha), such as the rafters. Remember to look during the day because they leave at night. They look like black scarves hanging down when they sleep.

    Good Luck Cindy!!

    xoxo
    Jane aka Batwoman

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  12. Oh Cindy that is horrible. I hate bats too and I would be more afrain of them too than my honey bear in the woods. Hope you find a way to keep them away. Have a good non-bat weekend.

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  13. Cindy, I totally understand! They are such creepy creatures! I would probably have fainted if that had happened to me! EEEEEEK! Wish I knew a way to get rid of them. Good luck. laurie

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  14. Oh...wow..NOT a bat person here. Not actually TERRIFIED of them...but when I saw a documentary on them...and saw them biting the heels of horses and sucking their blood..well...that sort of ....echhhh ..that was the end of bats to any degree at all. Dead of night...creeping up on those horses..honest..just..slowly..sneaking ...up, and then sinking their teeth into those poor animals. NOPE. NO LOVE FOR BATS HERE!
    Yep..unusual post..however..it was interesting and certainly one of the things that happen in life.
    BE careful. We don't want them sneaking..slowly up ...and biting your heel.
    ~smile~ Seriously..they do carry diseases.
    Hugs...
    Mona

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  15. It's something about the way the swoop down out of nowhere, isn't it!

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  16. Hi Cindy! I am from Miss. and I hope I never get to see those bats They are freaky! They have a scary face....Christine

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  17. I don't like bats either -- isn't it funny that squirrels are cute but bats aren't? We live in the city and so don't have too many bats.

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  18. OMGosh Cindy....hope you can find a way to get them to stay away at least from your home area.
    Karen

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  19. Oh wow, Cindy! I'd be creeped out too!

    Anyway, I have something for you at my blog. Would you please visit me Sunday morning?

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  20. eewww.. They really are creepy. I have to say the babies were hideously ugly and endearing at the same time. ?? Fun blogging opportunity too!~Athella

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Welcome,
I would love to hear from you. Come back and visit anytime. Warmest Wishes, Cindy