My parents have bats in their airing cupboard

sarahandme

sheramber said:

Why would th bat bit your mum. It would only bite if handled and as your mother is terrified of them she is not likely to handle one.
That is a totally OTT suggestion.
I have had a bat flying around my lounge and it didn't come anywhere  near me. They fly using radar to detect obstacles and avoid them. They do not use sight to find a human and bite them.
 As I said they only roost there for a few weeks until the babies can fly.
I am afraid it is no defence to say my dad asked me to. As an adult you are responsible for your own actions.

Well I guess when you know your mum is scared you do what comes naturally. Faced with a simular situation I'm sure most people would do something that reassures whoever is scared, whether that's a child or elderly loved one. It's not always possible to move out, and why should you let a few pesky bats up root you from you're beloved home?
Its not like we haven't tried doing the right thing, but all the ones we contacted seem reluctant to come out due to coronavirus I assume. 
Dad said bats do bite because he remembered years and years ago his gran had them coming in her kitchen of all places, and when cornered it bite her on the arm, and a series of rabies injections was needed, but his gran who was in her 80's at the time was warned this is serious at her age. So maybe hes reliving that too. 

Pollycat

elsien said:

I think the OP was replying to the person suggesting mum moved to sheltered accommodation.
Which seems a bit of a jump from being scared of bats, tbh. 

Maybe.
But the OP does seem to tend towards hyperbole.

Barny1979

Comparing a bat to a snake hahahahahaha

Keep_pedalling

sarahandme said:

I'm hoping this device works. Does anyone know anything about them? Or how affective they are? 

If it does it will be yet another criminal offence you are committing. These are breeding bats anything you do to drive nursing mothers away from their babies is an offence that carries serious penalties.

So far you have totally ignored any comments about wildlife crime. You initial actions might be forgiven through ignorance of what you were doing, but you have been told several times that you must not interfere with them yet you still carry on doing so. 

itsanne

sarahandme said:

We bought a device today that plugs in a normal electric socket that apparently gives off sound frequency that deters the bats from staying and coming into the property, apparently it works with all rodents like rats, bats, spiders, etc. Not sure how it works or how affective it is, but you get two for £18 so gonna plug one in upstairs close to the bathroom and downstairs in the landing so both are central to the house.

That's not appropriate. Left to themselves and discouraged from the areas your mum needs to use, the bats won't do any harm. They wouldn't randomly bite her even if she did come across one, only if she tried to manhandle it. The 4th of July isn't far away - you should be waiting for assistance. (And this is from someone who does sympathise with your mum.)

sarahandme

Pollycat said:

elsien said:

I think the OP was replying to the person suggesting mum moved to sheltered accommodation.
Which seems a bit of a jump from being scared of bats, tbh. 

Maybe.
But the OP does seem to tend towards hyperbole.

Thats easy for people to say standing on the outside of this, but if you are in the thick of it like we are its not so nice, and easy to deal with. 
Ask anyone randomly and I reckon they would be freaked out by bats in their home. 
The reason I compared them to snakes is because if your scared of something it doesnt matter what it is, it could be a spider, moth, bee, wasp,  in fact anything can trigger a phobia,  but really it's not my phobia, its me and hubby trying to protect mums feelings towards the phobia. Its not me being hyberbole as you put it. I'm just feeling for mum mostly. 

sarahandme

itsanne said:

sarahandme said:

We bought a device today that plugs in a normal electric socket that apparently gives off sound frequency that deters the bats from staying and coming into the property, apparently it works with all rodents like rats, bats, spiders, etc. Not sure how it works or how affective it is, but you get two for £18 so gonna plug one in upstairs close to the bathroom and downstairs in the landing so both are central to the house.

That's not appropriate. Left to themselves and discouraged from the areas your mum needs to use, the bats won't do any harm. They wouldn't randomly bite her even if she did come across one, only if she tried to manhandle it. The 4th of July isn't far away - you should be waiting for assistance. (And this is from someone who does sympathise with your mum.)

So you obviously haven't read the post about dads gran was bitten by a bat years ago? 

sarahandme

onwards&upwards said:

You have a very low opinion of your parent’s coping abilities.  They were children in the war, they’ve lived through a lot!  

Yes, elderly people are closer to the end of their life than younger people, but most aren’t actually as fragile as you think. 

But when the war was on they were both about 12 years old when it ended, so would that short experience of suffering that didnt extend into adulthood help now after spending most of their life in a relatively peaceful life?
You really have to look at this differently, poor mum doesnt deserve to be too scared to live in her own home by something that you cant compare to bombs dropping onto your parents house at the time. Obviously different provisions we're put into place then. Compared to trying to wind down to go to bed and at 10pm at night finding a bat clinging to your mums night gown, how the heck would you react? 

sheramber

I am sorry, but  I do not believe they  zoomed in on her and bit her. They avoid objects when flying, not fly to them unless they are an insect.  
Also, pipistrelle  bats, which are the common bat in the UK,  do not carry rabies.
 My grandparents had bats flying around them for years  but were never landed on, never mind bitten.

Pollycat

OP
I'll say it again:
if your Mum was really so scared, she would accept your offer and move in with you until this bat problem is resolved.

Stop with this 'beloved home' stuff.
You're talking a couple of weeks.
Not moving out forever.