Bats in the Belfry

After trapping a mouse (Mus musculus,) in the basement last week, we decided to check the traps in the attic. None of them were sprung, but the floor was covered with dropping! A call to Orkin determined it wasn't mice! They suggest we call 'Critter Control.' After a fascinating conversation in which I described the droppings on the attic floor, the guy tells us it sounds like bats.

BATS! In our ATTIC!

What to do? Call the Bat Guy, Greg Bakke.


Who pulls up in the Bat Mobile.

After a peek in the attic, he shows Charmaine what we're up against. Big Brown Bats. (Eptesicus fuscus.)

Greg speculates we have a bachelor colony of a dozen or less. Bats don't live together in happy family units. The females and their young roost in one cave, barn, or attic. The guys hang out in another location.

They hibernate in winter, then in spring and fall they would be active in the attic. In the hot summer, and here comes the icky part, they burrow down into the walls to get closer to the cool basement.

They fly along the roof line to keep cool, and they poop at the same time, hence our line of guano down the plywood walkway.

Every night they exit the attic and fly to nearby Lower Phantom Lake, where they feast on bugs. Bats eat their body weight every night. Reminds me of some people here at State Fair.

Greg shows us up on the roof where they are getting into our attic. His crew will seal up all the ways they can find into the attic, then install a one-way door here. Bats fly out, but can't get back in. Problem solved. Here's a link to find out more about the Big Brown.

Have you checked for bats in your attic? They should at the Pentagon. Our military experts have lost track of about 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols given to Iraqi security forces in 2004 and 2005. That bit of happy news comes from a new government report. And now some officials are worried that some of those weapons have fallen into the hands of insurgents fighting American forces in Iraq.

Talk about bats in your belfry!

The Government Accountability Office says U.S. military officials do not know what happened to 30 percent of the weapons the United States distributed to Iraqi forces from 2004 through early this year as part of an effort to train and equip the troops.

We'll spend around $500 to get rid of our bats. The United States has spent $19.2 billion trying to develop Iraqi security forces since 2003, including at least $2.8 billion to buy and deliver equipment. The GAO said weapons distribution was haphazard and rushed and failed to follow established procedures, particularly from 2004 to 2005, when security training was led by Gen. David H. Petraeus, who now commands all U.S. forces in Iraq.