Going "Batty" at midnight in Tahoe

Wednesday night/Thursday morning of our stay in Tahoe, my bil--BJ and sil--C came knocking on our door to ask for our opinion on what to do next about a bat that had flown into their room about twenty minutes prior and then flew circles round them throughout the downstairs of the house. Half asleep my first response was, "are you kidding me?" No they weren't, so up J-rod and I got to see what if any assistance we could lend and what could be done about the bat. Once fully awake, my suggestion was to call Dad--our resident animal expert. So we called, and called, and called both Dad and Mom's cell phones but since the vet was on vacation and sound asleep, we got no answer on either phone.

The next step in the plan that we made up as we went along...C and I stayed up stairs cheering on our "fearless" husbands while they went on back downstairs with their various defense weapons of choice: Li'l cousin L's bathing suit (to wave around at said bat), a travel-size pillow (to bat at it with), and two pool sticks (to check with in dark corners and rafters). After a while, the men returned with the announcement that the bat was nowhere to be found. So our next questions were, had the bat indeed escape back out into the wild undetected, or had it found a comfy hiding spot somewhere in the house?

Since we couldn't get a hold of Dad or animal control (no one was answering their phones at such a late hour), we decide to consult the next best resource for help: Google. Throughout our search we learned some interesting facts about bats:

• You cannot get rabies by merely looking at a bat--good to know.
• A bat will not settle in your hair and make a nest--also good to know.
• Vampire bats are only found in and throughout South America--well, that certainly settled some fears!
• A bat that has entered your home is most likely lost and scared, or ill and looking for a dark, quiet corner in which to die alone--yikes! Did our bat fit in the last category we wondered??
• If a bat is found in a room with an unattended child, a sleeping individual, an individual with sensory or mental impairment, or a person under the influence, that person should be tested for rabies as the bite or scratch of a bat is sometimes too small to be detected. Well, it's a good thing all our sleeping kids were behind closed doors! We did check their rooms just to be sure, but fortunately found no bat hiding out with our kids.

Additionally we did learned how to properly catch a bat and what to do once you've captured it, but since we never saw it again we didn't get to put those tips to use. After about an hour or so, we finally decided to jam towels under all the bedroom doors and try to get back to sleep--but boy we sure did have a couple of good laughs at ourselves before we reached that point! Thanks for the fun memories BJ and C!

The next morning, a bit bleary eyed, we shared our night prowling adventures with Dad who surmised that the bat must have gotten out and we just missed his exit. Well, happy travels little one!