EWWWWW!!!!!

Ok, living in a rural area, I've gotten used to all sorts of things happening. Critters, bugs, elk, porcupine frightening me one night, etc. I think this one tops it all. A couple days ago I needed to use my big stand mixer which I store on a ledge next to one of the kitchen windows. The windows all have screens. I took the cozy off the machine and was so startled, I nearly jumped to the ceiling! Hopping backwards, going eww, eww, ewwwwww....calling DH to come help. At first I thought there was a mouse in the stainless steel bowl. But then I realized that what I was looking at was a huge bat!!! It was still moving around a little! I'm not very squimish about things, but this one really got to me because it came so out of the blue, and when I least expected something to happen.
DH took it out and I spent the next half hour bleaching everything I could think of in that area! We have no idea how it got in, unless somehow it squeezed itself through the frame of the screen, but there are no obvious gaps. I understand that bats can squeeze through a space equal to the thickness of 2 quarters placed on top of each other.
I'm sure for the rest of my time here, I'll never be able to use that mixer without a few jitters when I'm ready to take that cozy off!

That gave me the creeps just reading it!!! I'd be jumpy, too, for a long while after that!

I wouldn't put the cover back on. I don't like surprises like that for sure!! EEEEWWWW!!!

I think I'd burn the cozy and never cover my mixer again! Just wash it before each use....

Been there. Done that. It was just one dead one until a guest who was out at dusk noticed the others going out for their evening fly around. They are protected in GA so it cost $1500 to have my "visitors" relocated at least x miles away from "home". They are now living happily in AL I believe.

Probably the last bat in the US. A substantial number of bats have died off in the past few years. Not that I would want to find one in the house anywhere! But I don't even see them outside anymore.

Madeleine said:

Probably the last bat in the US. A substantial number of bats have died off in the past few years. Not that I would want to find one in the house anywhere! But I don't even see them outside anymore..

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Actually, where I live we have considered putting up a bat "house". Wish we had more around to gobble up those pesky skeeters here.
I used to love going to downtown Austin to the Congress Avenue bridge to see the Mexican Free Tailed bats fly out for their evening meal....

Samster said:

Madeleine said:

Probably the last bat in the US. A substantial number of bats have died off in the past few years. Not that I would want to find one in the house anywhere! But I don't even see them outside anymore..

Click to expand...

Actually, where I live we have considered putting up a bat "house". Wish we had more around to gobble up those pesky skeeters here.
I used to love going to downtown Austin to the Congress Avenue bridge to see the Mexican Free Tailed bats fly out for their evening meal....
.

Click to expand...

We have lots of bats in the area and you can see them flying at dusk in the area. They're pretty cool! We've put a bat house up next to a pond area the beavers have made out of one of the creeks on the property. As far as we know, no bats have made themselves at home yet. Bats are great for eating mosquitos and other bugs like you said.
When I went to the PAII conference in Austin, we missed the bats by a couple weeks. They weren't there yet.That would have been cool though!

Breakfast Diva said:

Samster said:

Madeleine said:

Probably the last bat in the US. A substantial number of bats have died off in the past few years. Not that I would want to find one in the house anywhere! But I don't even see them outside anymore..

Click to expand...

Actually, where I live we have considered putting up a bat "house". Wish we had more around to gobble up those pesky skeeters here.
I used to love going to downtown Austin to the Congress Avenue bridge to see the Mexican Free Tailed bats fly out for their evening meal....
.

Click to expand...

We have lots of bats in the area and you can see them flying at dusk in the area. They're pretty cool! We've put a bat house up next to a pond area the beavers have made out of one of the creeks on the property. As far as we know, no bats have made themselves at home yet. Bats are great for eating mosquitos and other bugs like you said.
When I went to the PAII conference in Austin, we missed the bats by a couple weeks. They weren't there yet.That would have been cool though!
.

Click to expand...

Breakfast Diva said:

Bats are great for eating mosquitos and other bugs like you said.

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Bats creep me out. Completely irrational- I know. I, personally, would rather have Purple Martin birds in my yard. They'd eat the bugs and I'd get to hear a pretty song from them. But the upkeep on the nests is a pain...