As most of y’all know, I am afraid of mice. This extends into other members of the rodent family, except for bunnies, which are cute and fluffy.
Last night, we had an unwanted visitor. This was not a squeeze ball kicked under the bathtub in a sleep-induced haze. This was also not one of those big honkin’ skeeters that invade our house looking for a free meal, although we’ve got some of them too.
No, this was a very-much-alive bat fluttering about the bedroom. Since it was flying and moving, it wasn’t a rubber prank bat. It was a living, breathing, flying bat.
I panicked and ran downstairs, screaming bloody murder. I woke Airman up, who was sleeping on the sofa, and made him chase the bat out of the house with a broom. Finally, either the bat gave up and left, or Airman got sick of me whimpering, because he went upstairs to make sure the coast was clear. It was, and I slept peacefully behind a closed door while Airman stood guard downstairs, protecting me and Aaron from an innocent, scared bat.
I had always thought bats were rodents. I now understand that they are not Rodentia, but Chiroptera and not related to rodents. (See here.) According to the “rodents” page on the same site, rabbits are not rodents, either, but lagomorphs. Perhaps I should consult a biologist before I post on this topic again. :smack:
I would have dropped dead of fright. I don’t mind a bat living outside like it should, but when they move into homes, it is grounds for a fatal heart attack.
Is it just me, or are there a lot more bats these days than there used to be?
Hey, bats are great neighbors. When I visit my mother’s house (not too far from you, MsRobyn I like to stand in the backyard at twilight and watch them zigzag around high up, eating all the skeeters. I want to put a bat-box in my backyard!
[sub]of course, my one encounter with one indoors pretty much paralleled yours… shrieking, cowering under the dining table while my friend’s dad stunned it with a broom. And yeah, it was UG-LEEEE!I like bats as long as they’re not inside the house[/sub].
Don’t get me wrong. They’re cute when they speak in an Eastern European accent (a la Bartok in Anastasia) or fly around Count von Count. And I know that they serve a very useful purpose in that they keep the bug population under control. I just don’t want them in my house. That can’t be too much to ask, can it?
