Bats, bugs and birds, oh my!
Posted by Ronna vonKnorring on Feb 28th, 2007
We have ants in Costa Rica. boy do we have ants! I have stepped on ant hills, picked up dead limbs that were covered in the hormigas, and have probably eaten more than I care to think about. You can try to rid them from your home but you won't succeed. Everyone tries, then eventually gives in to the ways of the tropics and learns to co-exist with them.
Besides ants, we have what I refer to as nothing other than bed bugs. I have woken in the morning on a few occasions to find nibbles on my body! And not of the affectionate kind. I had four bites in a row on my back that itched for days! Don't know what caused the bites, but I've gotten them over and over again.
When we were yet newbies living in the tropics, we one day took down the netting over our bed to wash it. Not being in a rush to rehang it, we went a few nights without it protecting us. During this vulnerable time a gecko dropped from a ceiling rafter and fell onto the center of the bed. Later that night, another one lost its footing, this time landing smack on Ken's head. The next night, I was in bed and thought Ken was caressing my leg when actually it was a scorpion scampering upon it. When I realized what it was, I leaped from the bed. My sudden action caused it to plunge its stinger into Ken's hand. That was the last time we slept without a net overhead. It went back up at daybreak.
I swear, if it isn't one critter, it's another. When we have accidently left a light on during the night, we have evidence in the morning of the numerous bugs that inhabit our territory. I will share a story with you about one such nocturnal insect, but it begins with a story about bats.
During a time when Ken was in the states and I was here alone, I reported to him via e-mail how we were having bat issues at our Rocky Top home. I was finding their by-products every morning in different parts of the house. One place in particular was in front of our spare bedroom. I was desperate to a find a way to rid our home of these flying rats because I had a guest coming. My good friend Kay was soon to arrive from Kansas to spend a week with me. I really didn't want her to step in a pile of guano every morning while she was here, so something had to be done.
Our gardener suggested I rub garlic all over the house. Uh ... no thanks. When he realized I didn't like that idea he told me to place red strips of cloth in the areas where they roost at night. Really? Well, okay, I can try that. It would be better than our home smelling of garlic.
The next opportunity to do so, I went to a fabric store and got a meter of red material. I brought it home and cut it into 2- by 8-inch strips. I hung them all around the house — in the kitchen, bathroom, by bedroom doors, everywhere.
Our home took on the appearance of a Chinese restaurant with all the red banners waving. I didn't know if the red cloth would do the trick, but the place DID look festive. Within a few days I noticed that we had fewer bat poo piles, but there were still some. I wanted NONE.
Someone else having heard my dilemma, volunteered his solution to my problem. He informed me that bats have poor vision and are color blind so the color of the cloth really didn't matter. It was more likely the movement of the cloth that frightens them away. He told me to hang strips of aluminum foil since it would "mess with the bats' sonar." I proceeded to add a piece of foil near each red cloth. The only thing I needed then was to send out invitations. It certainly looked like a fiesta was in the works. Within a few days the foil strips had all pretty much disappeared leaving the banners on their own. I have never figured out if something had eaten the foil strips or just removed them. It's a mystery.
With Kay due to arrive in a few days and the party decorations having not done the trick, I had to try something else. I finally resorted to leaving a light on above the bedroom doorway. I hoped the light would force them to seek a darker place to hang out at night (pun intended). I crossed my fingers that the bats and their excrements would soon disappear. The first morning after leaving the light on I was shocked at the sight before me!
This is where the bat story leads into the bug story...
Before me that morning were hundreds of bugs on the floor by the bedroom door. They were all over the window screen and even more were on the walls. It was like a horror movie. They were all different shapes, sizes and colors and many of them looked extremely creepy. Most on the floor were dead or dying and the ones on the window and walls were in some trance like state. I got a broom and began to wipe them off the walls and onto the floor where I could sweep them all up at once. I was surprised to see many awaken from their trance and fly off. A quite large praying mantis, not flying away, but not wanting to get swept up, seemed to avoid my broom by just barely getting out of the way each time I passed by it.
I said aloud to him, "I see you, Mr. Mantis. You are not getting away from me."
With a gentle swipe, so not to damage him, he fluttered onto the railing of our deck and began to crawl under it to hide. I wanted to guide him along to safety with the broom when he instead climbed up onto it. Once on board, I gently held the broom out over the railing and with a soft tap of the broomstick, the mantis lost its grip and began to fly away.
"That's it," I said encouragingly. "Fly away and get some breakfast. Have a good day. Come back tonight if you want, I will leave the light on."
I watched it as it soared over our hibiscus hedge and toward a huge palm tree down on our beach some distance away. It was rapidly fluttering its wings to stay adrift. I was very impressed by how strong it must be to be able to fly so far! I stood there admiring the large green bug and was appreciating the nature that surrounds me. Watching this creature's survivor skills and determination, made me feel like I perhaps am not of the superior species. I was thinking to myself how lucky I am to witness such wonders when out of nowhere, a bird made a beeline for the mantis and snatched him up in mid-flight.
Oh my!!! Had I really just seen what I just saw?? I stood there a moment with a surprised look on my face. I blinked my eyes several times, realizing the mantis was indeed no longer in flight. I felt bad that I had sent the praying mantis to its doom. Then I chuckled knowing at least the bird had gotten its breakfast ... thanks to me. With a "circle of life" attitude, I went on to finish my sweeping wondering what else might be in store for me that day. Bats, bugs, and birds, oh my!
By the way, I found out later that when bats roost in your home, it is a signal that the rainy season is about to begin. It is similar to how the groundhog informs folks back home that spring is just around the corner ... or not. The bats in our home finally left on their own accord, but did indeed return a year later bringing their familiar droppings with them.
We are now better prepared for their return in May at the beginning of our next rainy season. On a recent trip to the states, we brought back with us a few "critter controllers." A couple of them emit a very high pitch squealing noise, while another gives off clicking sounds in conjunction with a small laser show of blinking lights. I bet the local bats haven't had to deal with these kind of modern annoyances before. They are definitely a step up from red ribbons blowing in the wind.
I'm anxious to find out if our electronic devices work, but right now we are busy trying to build a possum trap. Seems we have a family of them being raised in our shed and they come into our home at night while we sleep. Bats, bugs, birds ... and now possums, oh my!
It's a Jungle Down Here.
ljohnson
at 7:56 a.m.
Wow! That's quite a story. I guess you've learned to just go with the flow. Last year, one Spring night, I had a possum greet me on my front stoop. I hope he doesn't come back this year and you are able to deal with your new ones.
rvonknorring
at 1:17 p.m.
Living here is totally about learning to go with the flow. Something that I still have to work on, in one way or another, almost every day. It does get a little easier each time. Thank goodness!