A Bat In The Basement

Dozing off at the end of the evening, I dreamed that there was something flitting in the blue glow of the TV light. Then I realized there was no dream as I wasn’t sleeping. We had a bat trapped in the house and it was down here in the basement. So here are my bat removal tips gleaned from seven minutes of experience:

  • Turn on the lights where you do not want the bat to go. They will flit in those rooms but will exit again.
  • Bats are quite cheery when there is just one of them and one of you.
  • A table cloth held up as a screen works as a good corralling device.
  • Keep it moving.
  • At least one bat in the world has a hard time seeing the wall above a door and will whap into it over and over.
  • Bats tire after ten minutes of swooping and wall whapping.
  • Once tired, bats are happy to land and be gathered up in a table cloth and taken outside.
  • Our cat is not a bat attacker.

One more thing. Human reactions can range from terror to fascination in these moments.