Our Bats Are Back .....

[trident]

....Just noticed today that our Bats are back....

We have had them for nearly ten years on and off - depending on the weather.

We have a maternity roast (apparently) - so the sound of little feet will be happening very soon..

Love them - but must admit that I am a little apprehensive when I need to go up into the loft and get stuff down.

I know that they inhabit a bit down the end of the loft and all my "stuff" is up the other end but it still freaks me out...

Our local "Batman" is coming soon to count them in and count them out (whatever floats your boat) ....

What inhabits your home - besides dust - as we have that too.....

[BehindLockNumberNine]

Oh, I am actually a bit . Actually, make that very .
Dd is absolutely obsessed by bats, loves them more than anything. She wants to be a chiroptologist when she grows up. And she frequently badgers dh to let her climb up the loft ladder to see "if any bats have moved in yet, dad"

We live backing on to a canal and can see lots of bats flying by in the early evening. But to actually have them in the loft would be special .....

[trident]

OOOoooopsss - I meant ROOST - not ROAST !!!

[zingzillachinchilla]

I just recently learned we have bats - and have become a fan. Our 'batman' was brilliant, and helped us with how to live with them. I rather like them... but not enough to sit outside for hours in the near dark and count the little blighters. Let's hear it for willing volunteers...

[MoreBeta]

What sort of bat are they - really rare and protected or just common or garden?

Nothing special in our house but mice under the kitchen unit near the dishwasher. Mostly dead now and two traps down with nutella in to get the last one.

I am absolutely sure we have a deathwatch beetle tapping too. Sounds a bit like a watch ticking but only happens at quiet times somewhere behind my chair. Summer months they do it so its the right time.

Hopefully not eaten too much wood so I fall through the floor.

[zingzillachinchilla]

Doesn't really matter which variety they are, MoreBeta - all species are protected in the UK because they are still in decline. Pipistrelles are the most common - they are the tiny ones.

Interesting about death watch beetles - don't know anything about them. At least bats are not destructive. Yikes.

[lucykate]

we have ants. would rather have bats. i love bats. hate ants.

[hellymelly]

I love bats.lucky you.

[VivaLeBeaver]

We had a bat in our landing once, roosting on the smoke detector. Was something like a long eared grey bat.

[trident]

... I think that all Bats are protected

...ours are just pipistrelles (not sure which family) - but down the road they are a little more upmarket - Serotine or Horseshoe

When I first found the droppings on the windowsill - I freaked out and called the Council round to get rid of the Rats that were obviously crawling up the sides of the house in the night and running along the window sills - it was a large learning curve for me as I was a "Townie" just moved to the country..

I know that we also have rats all over the place - I have to make sure that I have my big stompy boots on - as I need to brave the Garage where they have eaten through the chair covers and distrubted the foam rubber in a large mountain in the one corner - I shall need a long pointy stick before I go in there.

I wasn't made for a life in the country - and don't start me on grass snakes, toads, sheep/cattle flies and other stuff that I never knew existed before I moved here...

On a positive note - I love collecting all the Elderflower from the hedgerow and have just completed a batch of Elderflower Cordial and in the words of my teenager - it's LUSH..

[MoreBeta]

Bats are indeed good things. They eat loads of insects.

The only harm they do is piles andpiles of poo building up in your attic that over years can rot and start to leak through your ceiling.

Rats. I hate them. We have those too. I put cage traps lie this with scraps of fatty meat in. They go in and then I dispose of them humanely with an air pistol. You need to find out where they are getting in and make your garage secure but dont trap them inside.

Do you have ivy up the side of your house or bushes close by? That is probably how they crawl up. Keep your windows very firm shut - not even slightly open and remove the bushes and ivy.

Rats generally go away if you remove all food sources and shelter. So any secure waste bins too.

[EnnuiGo]

I love bats

We have:
Two chimneys with crows nests in (babys crying out - awww)
Sparrows in the lean to roof
10 house martins nests under the eaves (it's always summer in this house when they arrive all the way from south Africa )
Newts in the conservatory under the tumble dryer (also come back every year)
Mice between the lean to and kitchen (dishwasher here too)

Sadly the only bats i have are in my Belfry

[EnnuiGo]

Oh and yes, we have 'thin tailed ground squirrels' under the shed too

[MoreBeta]

Oh those 'ground squirrels just luuurve sheds and decking. The only way to stop them is put it on a thick concrete pad to stop them tunneling and then block any gaps to stop them getting under.

Can you tell I am obsessed about rats?

[GrendelsMum]

I love bats too :) Love watching them swoop over the garden at dusk.

[belgo]

I found a dead bat recently, a baby one. I put it in a sealed pot and my girls took it to school for the teacher to show the class. We have bats in the trees next to our house, but I very rarely see them.

[onclefestere]

EnnuiGo - love the euphemism....I remember when my sister was tiny watching the rats in the cow byre with her, and her saying 'look at that funny squirrel with a thin bald tail'...

[GentleOtter]

Our bats are back too and I am amazed that they survived the hard winter.
I have sealed up the fireplace with a mesh but one was roosting on the wrong side of it this morning.I don't know how they are getting in but we have had seven in so far.

The 'thin tailed ground squirrel' gnawed it's way into the car through the gearstick cover. It tore big lumps out of the child seat.
We set a trap and caught it, replaced the gearstick cover and car seat only for a second one to come in through the same route.

A long, thin piece of pipe (under the concrete slab) with a teaspoon of tracking powder should see them off, MoreBeta. A blob of Nutella will lure them in.

[belgo]

GentleOtter do you still have a blog? I enjoyed reading it.

[GentleOtter]

Yes, Belgo, but I have not written much recently although the last entry was all about the bats here.
I'm glad you enjoy it.

[MoreBeta]

Gentle - please keep writing and please do think of maybe turning into a book with photos. I read a series of books many years ago about a farm in Evesham Vale and your writing reminds me of that. Your way of life is fast disappearing and I think if people saw it on TV they would be captivated.

[GentleOtter]

What a lovely thing to say, MoreBeta.

Sometimes I feel as if we live in the 30s as it is so antiquated here and time passes us by.
The pictures of the Grandfather's time here shows nothing has changed at all except a new shed in the 70s.
I would love to post pictures of the farm itself but am always afraid that the landowner finds out where we are and what I write about.
It is food for thought though.

[VivaLeBeaver]

Sounds a nice Blog. Could you link to it please GentleOtter?

[madwomanintheattic]

we have (had, hopefully) a chipmunk and 5 squirrels in the last week.

the chipmunk was running amok in the downstair's bedroom, and the (five ffs) squirrels were living in the wall cavity in the very middle of the house, as far from any external wall as you could get (suspect roof entry.)

the chipmunk is now an ex-chipmunk (slightly alarmed re rabies and it was running around dd1's bedroom) and the squirrels have been evicted to bother us again another day.

we are encouraging bats though. there are zillions around as we are in a huge mosquito area, but we don't have any personally. my cub pack is making bat boxes this week though!

[EnnuiGo]

a chipmunk....how exotic

[EnnuiGo]

(assuming it wasn't an escaped one from Pets At home)....