Bats on the Stairs!

So I wake up fairly early on a Tuesday morning, make the 30 foot commute from my bedroom to my office - in the first picture below, that's from left to right on the 2nd level. After a little morning Email/surfing, I head downstairs to get the newspaper ... and notice something on the stairs - YIKES!!!

Since I have had bats in my house before (this one is #5), I've become a trained professional in dealing with them, and took the appropriate first step - I grabbed my digital camera.

The bat's not moving one iota, so I shoot a some pictures from below, and even a few from above - i.e. I walk right by this furry critter a number of times, but he doesn't budge. So I thinking he must have perished. I grab a piece of cardboard to scrape him on to ... and his head pops right up ... and starts squeeking at me in an evil sounding way - DOUBLE YIKES!!!

Fortunately, he's not moving, which I find puzzling, but then I figure he's probably sick - great, not only do I have a bat in the house, but he probably has rabies. Since he is right on the stair step, I can't really put a box over him, so I finally decide to get a Hefty bag and after donning a pair of gloves, I gently drape that over him. I wrap it around and he is NOT too happy, making quite a bit of noise, but it's a "clean" grab as I have him sealed up. I am thinking the whole time that if he "attacks" me, I gotta NOT back up, as I'll go tumbling down the stairs.

I grab another garbage bag, double wrap the package, and tie it off, and then dump it in the outside garbage. I thought about letting him go, but the fact that he wasn't moving much implied to me he wasn't doing well, so better to send him to bat heaven.

I come back inside, my heart beat finally starting to reduce as the adrenaline rush subsides ... and Wendy and 4-year old Kyle are up, and she asks how come I went outside, but didn't get the newspaper. I explain how I defended the household from a wild rabid rat, but she's not impressed and sends me out to get the newspaper. Kyle, of course, follows me out and wants to see the bat! ;-)

Not a creature was stirring, not even a bat

Elephant looks ready to squash him
bat 1 bat 2






View from Below

View from Above
bat 3 bat 4






I thought he was dead since he wasn't moving

But he popped right up when I touched him - YIKES
bat 5 bat 6









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