Bats and Mice and All Things that Poop.

My Uncle Benny called me the other day to ask what bat poop looks like, "Does bat poop look like mouse poop?" I just laughed. He laughed saying, "Well, you ought ta know, that schoolhouse is full of mice and bats. Ain't it?" For those of you who know my Uncle Benny I'm sure that question is no surprise, but for those of you who don't know my Uncle Benny that's ok. He'll get to know you if you ever come around these parts.

Yes we have bats. So many bats it's about to make my mother batty. Everyday we count the bats to see if the clusters are getting smaller. We thought the numbers were dwindling until last night when Dad and my husband Kurt went to watch the bats leave for their evening mosquito feast. Fewer bats are hanging from the peak of the rafters inside the building, but the migrating bats moved only a few feet to the space between the metal sheeting on the outside of the building and the old ship lap siding. Dad made 4 bat houses specifically for these bats, and the vacancy sign is still flashing. 

As for the bat poop it looks like mouse poop only slightly bigger. Satisfied Uncle Benny? In one evening a bat can consume up to 2000 insects, mostly mosquitos. If you get right down to it, the necessities of life for all living creatures are eating, sleeping and pooping. That is just what these bats do. They make quite a mess of little pebbles of mice shaped poop on the floor of the school house everyday. Mom says, "I'll be so glad when these bats get out of here so I don't have to sweep-up this poop anymore."

Since demolishing the plaster walls and ceiling on the inside of the school, we have not seen a mouse. We do see a sculptured hole in the base of just about every wood stud in the school. I suppose while the teacher taught school the mice had races in the walls around the perimeter of the room. There are a few holes that have grass growing up from the outside of the building. There must have been a line of mice shoulder to shoulder armed with Teflon teeth nibling through the wood and plaster.  My father and I screwed down wire mesh sheeting on the base of the floor between all the studs and stuffed all  1/4" or bigger openings with steel wool. I'm sure we will still have visitors. I just hope it's not when mom is in the school.

Today we began fixing the big hole in the wall and floor where the grass can be seen while standing inside the school. To fix the hole some sheets of metal siding had to be removed. While Dad was on the ladder removing the nails from the siding, Mom was below picking up the nails getting nailed by poop. I'm sure there was bird poop, mouse poop and bat poop.  There was so much poop, I think all things that poop migrated to this space the day the school was sided with metal. Mom took a deep breath and with a tone of dispare, "How much more poop are we going to have to clean up? Now we gotta take all the siding off."  I'm not sure if she realized she was standing where the cows poop everyday. It is quite a mess. Because of the poop mom and dad decide to take off the metal siding and reside the school with vinyl siding. Wasn't poop the reason we decided to make the school house a hunting lodge?