Batcave... you're doing it wrong

Things are chugging along so far. Matt and I have picked out a few houses in the Danbury area that we plan on looking at this weekend. We've been pre-approved for the next mortgage and have all the necessary paperwork in hand. The lady currently looking to buy the house is still interested. The people who came through yesterday were interested as well and disappointed to find that we're already under agreement.

Today's when things get interesting. We've the house inspection this afternoon.

It should go well. The roof is only a few years old, the walls are sound, we don't have any water damage... The only thing that might be a problem are these little guys.




These are Little Brown Bats and a small colony of them live in our attic. In fact, they're in just about every attic in the area. We're not sure exactly how many are up there because we never enter their domain. Since we have the full basement, there's never been a need to store anything in the attic. We also knew about the bats and didn't want to disturb them. They're helpful little critters. They keep the bug population down, are interesting to watch as they swoop out at dusk, and make pleasant chirping noises in the spring through the fall.

Unfortunately, while the bats themselves aren't a problem, their droppings can be. Especially if the new homeowner wants to use the attic for storage. Bat guano can actually make you sick - it attracts a fungus that causes lung infections if stirred up.

So depending on what the inspection says, the bats may need to be evicted. Don't worry, they don't kill the bats. What they do is inspect the house for possible bat entrances and seal off all but the main ones that the bats use regularly. At the main entrances they install one-way doors that allow the bats to leave but not renter. After a few days, the attic is free of bats. Then they seal off the main entrances and offer clean-up services for the guano. Meanwhile, the bats have found other roosting spots, most likely in the neighbor's attic.

No fumigation, no sonic sound devices that hurt the critters, just bats doing what bats do and flying off to eat. The only trouble is... the bats aren't active once it gets cold. They're kind of going into hibernation mode right now.

Hopefully them being up there won't be a problem. They were there when Matt bought the house, after all. But if the new buyer doesn't want bats in her belfry we may have to lower the agreed upon price to compensate for their eviction once they become active again. We'll have to see.




Raoul Duke: "We can't stop here, this is bat country."
-- Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas