I've mentioned before (although months ago) that in early 2007 we bought a restored 100-year-old home. It was in excellent, solid condition (the former owner was a professional electrician- you should see our electric box!). BUT-- unbeknownst to us, there was a "bachelor colony" of bats in the attic, which is accessible from the second floor by four doors (two in each bedroom). Here are the rooms we are talking about:
My office is currently in one of the two bedrooms, and we are using the two main floor bedrooms. I "discovered" the bats one night when I was working late, and heard something flapping, "squeaking" (there really is no way to explain the high-pitched noise of a bat), and hitting the door attic door. Generally, people didn't believe me at first (other than K and my parents) that we had bats in the attic-- but I knew it was a bat because we-- ahem-- used to play with the wild bats in our neighborhood when I was little (that is another story-- suffice it to say it was something we learned from our dad).
But lo and behold, the "evidence" soon started appearing, and we contracted with a "bat expert" to "exclude" the bats. It is illegal to kill or physically remove bats in Illinois and most states. Besides, you can remove the bats all you want—but if you don’t find where they are getting in, it is to no avail. To shorten this a bit, the bat expert did most of the job, but not sufficiently, and he stopped returning our calls—despite the “warranty” we paid for. We still had bats, and we were out the money. (The lawyer in me REALLY wanted to file a legal claim against him, but the mother in me decided it wasn't worth my time and effort).
In the meantime, we and the pediatrician had suspicions that a bat MAY have been in Moses' room one night. When a bat is found in a child's room, it is considered immediate "bat exposure," and rabies shots are ordered. Since we didn't know for sure, the decision was up to us-- but the pediatrician, who I went to as a child and who is not an "alarmist" by any means, highly recommended it. SO, at the age of 1, Moses started rabies vaccinations. As you can imagine, he has been absolutely terrified of doctors ever since.
Since then, we have never actually seen a bat in our living area. But we have HEARD bats in the walls in our living area. But thank goodness for living in a farm community. After church on Sunday, some men came over and helped Kurt inspect the entire house, inside and out. They did find more bats in the attic, and a hole outside where the bats were getting in. They sealed the hole, and we didn't hear bats (or find any droppings) for months.
We thought we were in the clear. K and I had even recently decided to hire a contractor to 1) remove all of the false ceilings in the attic and clean out the bat guano/urine (which a doctor has indicated may be causing some of my health problems), as well as any dead bats; 2) put up dry wall; and 3) install blow-in foam insulation.
That was until Tuesday morning. I was in my office working, when the squealing started. It was like nothing I had ever heard before. Multiple bats were calling to each other, or something. Then there was a scuffle and more squealing. K came up and confirmed, YES, it was definitely bats (as opposed to mice). It was TOTALLY GROSS.
And depressing. I can’t even describe the oppression we have lived with over the last two years. Every time I hear a squeak, I think, “Is that a bat?!” K inspects Moses’ room every night—and I mean INSPECTS—to make sure there are no bats. He checks the windows, the curtains, under furniture, etc. We haven’t been able to use the upstairs or the attic spaces (with the exception of my office, because I am usually only up there during bat sleeping hours), and we never let Moses up there because he may open a door and let bats into the living area.
I don’t think I have ever felt more trapped in my life. We can’t get rid of the bats. We can’t hire an exterminator to kill the bats. We can’t sell our house, because 1) WE would have the integrity to disclose the bat situation, 2) no one is buying right now, anyway, and 3) there really is nothing in our price range to buy right now. We can’t sue the former owners, because 1) we can’t prove they knew about the bats, 2) how would that look for a new pastor in the community to sue a long and upstanding member of the community?, and 3) the former owner is incredibly ill. We can’t get the “bat expert” to come back because he stopped returning phone calls a year ago. And there is no one else in the area that specializes in bat exclusion.
So we need a MIRACLE. I don’t want my babies in a house with bats. I don’t want to bring my baby girl home to a place where I can’t let her sleep in a room by herself because there might be bats (Moses was at least 18 months before we felt comfortable letting him sleep in a room by himself). I don’t want to live in fear. And the guilt is terrible-- I put my baby boy in a room where a bat may have been. I put my baby boy in a position where he had to get rabies shots. I put my baby boy in a position where he had to get more vaccinations than the average child-- and every time I hear a report that vaccines cause autism, I want to throw up.
So, yesterday was a very dreary day in our house. I think I cried all afternoon. But Moses was such a little helper. Always there to give a hug and help his Mommy. He followed me around from room to room, trying to make his Mommy smile. It was as if he was trying to say, "See, Mommy? I'm okay! Really!"
Today has been a better day. My parents located a pest control agency that specializes in bats in their area—and they have agreed (thank the Lord—and my parents!!!) to go outside of their service area to inspect our house. They are an established business (almost 2 decades) and offer a 2-year warranty, with multiple visits included in the services.
So part of the miracle may be in place. We need these people to find the problem (my biggest fear is that they won’t be able to find where the bats are getting in), fix the problem, and offer us solutions on how to prevent it in the future. We need advice on whether or not to go ahead with our attic plans (ripping down the ceiling and cleaning it out), and whether or not that would discourage future bat roosting. We need peace of mind.
Sorry for the diatribe. I needed to get all of this out, and there is no better place than a blog, right? I know there are people in much worse positions in life right now—and I am not trying to demean that in anyway. I know we are blessed in SO MANY ways. But if you think about it, please pray for us!
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