Miss Marple packed her bag and went home. Hercule Poirot waddled off to Belgium.
There appears to be no solution to my sink guano mystery that we discussed on Monday: weekend mystery number dos.
The comment consensus is that I have a bat or bats leaving me nightly presents. I agree. The counter top has all the circumstantial evidence of being the day-time roost of several bats -- or one bat with a very severe digestive disorder.
The only problem with that theory is that, unless they have been cross-breeding with Claude Rains, they simply are not there.
The photograph at the top of this post is a bit disorienting. Imagine you are standing at the sink. Now, look up. That is what you would see.
But you would expect to see dark brown fur balls up there somewhere. But they are not there.
I climbed a ladder to be certain there is not a ledge up there. Nada.
I mentioned on Monday that I have purposely walked by the area at various hours during the night -- thinking that it might be the equivalent of a bat singles bar. I have yet to see the slightest movement.
But, just like clockwork, the guano shows up every day.
I am simply going to be happy the bats are somewhere. Not only do they fascinate me, they are actually useful with their insect consumption.
And insects we have a'plenty.
Jiggs cannot get up from the ground without assistance. Once up, he gets around fine. But he needs my help to go from being a dog rug to a dog on the run.
On Tuesday night, I was sitting out on the "lawn" with him, and I noticed that both of us were attracting lots of mosquitoes. And not just any mosquito. By their behavior and their appearance, they were easy to identify: Aedes aegypti. The girls that carry both yellow and dengue fevers.
Into the house we went -- after having more than our share of blood samplings -- hoping that the bats would make short order of our nasty little visitors.
Frankly, I do not care where the bats leave their guano as long as they eat the nasties that have been dining on me for the past two months.
There appears to be no solution to my sink guano mystery that we discussed on Monday: weekend mystery number dos.
The comment consensus is that I have a bat or bats leaving me nightly presents. I agree. The counter top has all the circumstantial evidence of being the day-time roost of several bats -- or one bat with a very severe digestive disorder.
The only problem with that theory is that, unless they have been cross-breeding with Claude Rains, they simply are not there.
The photograph at the top of this post is a bit disorienting. Imagine you are standing at the sink. Now, look up. That is what you would see.
But you would expect to see dark brown fur balls up there somewhere. But they are not there.
I climbed a ladder to be certain there is not a ledge up there. Nada.
I mentioned on Monday that I have purposely walked by the area at various hours during the night -- thinking that it might be the equivalent of a bat singles bar. I have yet to see the slightest movement.
But, just like clockwork, the guano shows up every day.
I am simply going to be happy the bats are somewhere. Not only do they fascinate me, they are actually useful with their insect consumption.
And insects we have a'plenty.
Jiggs cannot get up from the ground without assistance. Once up, he gets around fine. But he needs my help to go from being a dog rug to a dog on the run.
On Tuesday night, I was sitting out on the "lawn" with him, and I noticed that both of us were attracting lots of mosquitoes. And not just any mosquito. By their behavior and their appearance, they were easy to identify: Aedes aegypti. The girls that carry both yellow and dengue fevers.
Into the house we went -- after having more than our share of blood samplings -- hoping that the bats would make short order of our nasty little visitors.
Frankly, I do not care where the bats leave their guano as long as they eat the nasties that have been dining on me for the past two months.
interesting reading as always. guess we are all stumped as to where the bats live. as you said, as long as they're doing their job, it doesn't matter. do they spray for skeeters in that area? i know they do in some places to try to prevent a dengue outbreak. hope you stay healthy.
ReplyDeletetake care,
teresa
Bats--scores of them--lived in the east wall of my ranch house in Sonoma, CA. We'd listen to their squeaks at night. In the evenings, we'd watch them swoop and dive, hunting mosquitos. When I sold the ranch and moved to Mexico, I left the bats for the new owner as a mosquito abatement facility. No extra charge.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a bath tub, and you were going to tell us other tales.
ReplyDeleteHorst
Teresa -- I am beginning to think they may only roost there during part of the night. I tried an experiment by cleaning off the counter to see when a fresh supply arriuved. It started during the early evening. Maybe the spot is like a park bench for bats. And, yes, they do spray for mosquitoes, in addition to having a very thorough dengue abatement program.
ReplyDeleteJohn -- Bats are fascinarting creatures. As I think back over the years, bats have been a constant no matter where I lived.
Horst -- You're right. In fact, it almost could be an upside down tub -- the way it is constructed. But no tales to relate.
Well wish for Jiggs!
ReplyDeletemin
There are some things in this world which are to be seen and not heard, and there are some things that simply are not supposed to be seen at all. That's the case with bats.
ReplyDeleteGive up on trying to see them. It's enough that they posit the little reminders of their existence.
Given this new evidence, I vote for mouse poop. It looks very similar.
ReplyDeleteHave you considered Gecko Poop?
ReplyDeleteI guess an infrared batcam would be going too far?
ReplyDeleteHoping the best for Jiggs.
ReplyDeleteHow about setting up a video camera and see what it captures?? In high school we would camp a lot at Lake Chelan and everyone always said to wear a hat in case the bats dive-bombed our heads and got tangled in our hair...but I never heard of that actually happening.
ReplyDeleteSteve - How about slathering on some Autan? The crema is more tolerable than the spray. It works. Dengue is no fun.
ReplyDeleteWent the rainy season comes here in Patzcuaro, we to find the ghostly guano. Our belief is that when they are out and about at night, and a shower comes, they duck under to wait it out.
ReplyDeleteSo, no bats in the day, buy still mementos left behind.
OK, one post about animal poop was forgivable. But two? Is retirement really getting that boring so soon?
ReplyDeleteHopefully this isn't a prelude to a post about dog poop.
Saludos,
Kim G
Boston, MA
Min -- He is hanging in there. But today was a real rough day for him. I had to carry him around a lot.
ReplyDeleteJennifer -- I am just happy to have them there.
Felipe -- The location is a bit off for mice.
Anonymous -- Have and will. But that much in one spot?
Ruth -- Yup.
Gloria -- Me, too.
Cynthia -- I think the mystery will rest before I start a techno-war.
1st Mate -- Thanks for the suggestion. I just hate having any creams or oils on me.
Todd - Plenty of geckos here. But they are all over inside the house -- and nothing like that appears inside.
Kim -- You are correct. I am done on this topic. I am just pooped out.