Well not really a belfry, but we do have this crazy canopy on the deck (off our bedroom) that we bought to sleep in when the nights got too hot this summer. We haven't slept out there yet, but we have found some froggies and other critters camping out there. Mostly the critters were a mild surprise, not entirely unexpected. The typical find was insects and lizards that criss-cross the deck a zillion times a day. But twice now, quite surprisingly, a bat found its way in there at sunset. Not sure how, because the canopy is closed at the top and only weirdly open at the bottom, which we fold up and tuck inside to try and create a boundary. How and why do the bats come in? We are not sure. We have managed to release them both times. They are truly the weirdest mammals we know, well except for modern humans who really do seem to have bats in their belfry.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Bats in the Belfry
Well not really a belfry, but we do have this crazy canopy on the deck (off our bedroom) that we bought to sleep in when the nights got too hot this summer. We haven't slept out there yet, but we have found some froggies and other critters camping out there. Mostly the critters were a mild surprise, not entirely unexpected. The typical find was insects and lizards that criss-cross the deck a zillion times a day. But twice now, quite surprisingly, a bat found its way in there at sunset. Not sure how, because the canopy is closed at the top and only weirdly open at the bottom, which we fold up and tuck inside to try and create a boundary. How and why do the bats come in? We are not sure. We have managed to release them both times. They are truly the weirdest mammals we know, well except for modern humans who really do seem to have bats in their belfry.
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Something to hang on to? They love screen-type surfaces. We have an entire colony living on the screen up under the louvers on the peak. Anyway, they ARE weird but very nice to have about the place.
ReplyDeleteYes, but we can't figure out how they get in there. Do they fly along the deck and sneak in underneath? If that's the case, I'm never sleeping out there. LOL!
ReplyDeletethey might be looking for a place to hibernate that is if they do that in your area. We have them in our attic unless we really work on every opening
ReplyDeleteI love bats -- they are intelligent and voracious bug eaters. Can't imagine how they are getting into your tent though. But then, how do the other creatures get in?
ReplyDeleteHey - it's a new project: build bat houses!
The perfect metaphor for our times!
ReplyDeleteI have no answer for you - but I doubt I'd be sleeping out there!
ReplyDeleteI happen to like bats :-)
ReplyDeleteThey have that miraculous ability to sort of squash themselves, like mice and roaches, in order to fit between the smallest of cracks and crannies. I summered with one sleeping in the corridor outside my lab. She creeped me out at first, so I went to the library in order to learn. Knowing stuff helps me feel less creeped out.
Same summer, I was playing Scrabble with Mom and Dad, when all of a sudden a bat swooped into the living room. Mom went out the front door, Dad went out the back, I rolled my eyes, opened the windows, took out the screens...
You'd probably be safe enough sleeping with them, except perhaps from fleas. Not sure about bats, but I do know that flying squirrels, in our area at least, typically carry fleas.
In any case, a bat's insect devouring prowess is certainly worth the mild discomfort of her presence, don't you think?
Hermen and Grandpa Munster are comming next. :)
ReplyDeleteHow neat! they seem to be pretty good at squeezing into any space. Down in Bisbee, I sometimes find them inside the sun umbrella on the table out on the patio. They must go up inside when its closed and I find them when I open it. there are tons of them here in the old house. This summer, it was quite amusing to sit outside in the garden at night and watch them fly around inside the lit up house. This was while my mom and brother were visiting. It wasca bit like something out of a comedy as my brother and I would see my mom walking around from room to room (the house has many large) windows). when my mom would go from one part of the house to another, the bats would fly past her and move to another room. She never saw them, so ths would go on for awhile. Sage noticed them and we could see her trotting from room to room watching them. Finally, they would fly up the staircase to the second floor, She would follow them up, pausing a couple of times on the stairs as if she was a bit worried. It was the cutest thing to see all of this crazy stuff happening each night. I asked my mom if she ever noticed the bats flying around in the house and she never did even though there were often two or three flying around the room. Pretty funny.
ReplyDeleteI've had bats in my house too. They can squeeze into the slimmest spaces.
ReplyDeleteI've only seen bats in the wild at dusk at my sisters house in Santa Rosa. They like to swoop by the pool. Anyway,I prefer to admire from afar, since I'm a city girl and scared of big spiders, etc. (I like nature--just mostly without breathing capability, or from a distance!)
ReplyDeleteBats are amazing creatures. The Vermont farmhouse always had them (a good luck sign) they can get through the smallest little cracks. And ps. bat houses are very nice----cuts down on mosquitoes and other buggy, stingy fliers. Oh, I've been said to be bats for years. At least my Republican family thinks so.
ReplyDeleteOh lucky you. I have had a bat house out for years with no takers. I think they are so cool but I just don't have night time insects to attract them. I have only had one mosquito bite in seven years and I am outside during their prime time.
ReplyDeleteI have no answer, but I don't think I could bring myself to sleep out there. Can you imagine if you woke up staring at one above your head?
ReplyDeleteRobin, thanks for the link to the article. Very well written and absolutely spot on. Indeed the people's rage is being diverted to pseudo-issues that don't affect big business.
ReplyDeleteBats are indeed useful creatures, but you sure as hell don't want to be touched by them. Our son had a close encounter with one while rock climbing, and had to get the rabies vaccine series. Scary.
ReplyDeleteI keep dropping by just to look at that Long Lake photo in your header. Oh my.
ReplyDeleteAs to bats, I had no idea they could squeeze through tiny spaces as so many people have said. Learn something new every day...