A Bat in my belfry: OOT PSA

[2planka]

The Warden elbows me in the ribs and whispers, "there's something in the room." I switch on the lights and see a small brown bat flapping around silently overhead.

So as a public service to my fellow OOTiots, here's how to rid your bedroom of a bat at 3:30 a.m.

First off, I'm a sucker for wildlife. I'm a member of the Audubon society, have feeders in my yard, and other than the vilest of insects have a live and let live approach. I also find bats fascinating. My goal was to get the little bugger back outside so it could continue to rid my yard of 1,000 - 2,000 insects per night. The Warden was ready to bludgeon it with a broom.

Step 1: Isolate the room by shutting all doors.

Step 2: open all windows - give the critter the opportunity to leave on its own. The bat was flying in circles around the room, obviously scoping out the place, getting its bearings. It seemed healthy and was not in panic mode. We waited (the Warden stooped at the foot of the bed) for about ten minutes, but the bat decided to take a breather and perched above my closet door.

Step 3. Catch the bat. I didn't have a container handy, so I grabbed a tee shirt and crept up close to where our guest was hanging out. Something like a coffee can would have been ideal - I would have just covered the bat with the can, then capped the opening with my hand - but we don't keep coffee cans in the bedroom.

I positioned the tee shirt in front of the bat, where I figured it would be if it decided to make a break for it. Holding the shirt in my right hand, I waved my left hand slightly to distract the bat. It turned its head toward my left hand and I covered it gently with the shirt.

4. The Warden closed all the windows but one. I stuck my hands out the window and released the bat. It sat there clinging to the shirt for a couple seconds before it flew off.

Couple observations:

This species of bat ( Myotis lucifugus) a.k.a the little brown bat, does not squeak. It makes clicking sounds not dissimilar to the Imperial Probe Droid in Empire.

The bat made no attempt to bite and didn't even bear its teeth when I approached it. It was frightened, but seemed no worse for the experience.

One of the storm windows had slid down, leaving a two-inch gap that let our guest in. It probably chased a moth or some other insect into the window, then found its way
inside.

Not as interesting as Jake's peacocks, but a cool experience.