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About Cottage Grove sentinel. (Cottage Grove, Or.) 1909-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 26, 2018)
COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL • SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 • 3A Betty Kaiser’s Chatter Box: Bye-bye bats — For now! Betty Kaiser T his has been quite a year for animal sto- ries at our house. Th e latest one has left me shak- ing my head and wondering how pioneers ever survived wolves and bears. It all be- gan a few months ago when I went out to Chuck’s work- shop. He works downstairs and I store important things upstairs like holiday décor and outdoor furniture. A few months ago, I was climbing the stairs when I heard what sounded like a herd of mice scurrying around in the ceiling. Th en it was quiet. Th is happened several times until I asked Chuck to give a listen. He didn’t hear any scur- rying noises but he put out extra mouse traps. We found lots of droppings but caught no mice. I think a little background is in order. We are used to dealing with unwanted critters. We bought our house in 1989 and there were mice in the walls. One morning early on I found a bat in the shower! Periodically our dogs would spy a bat fl ying around the house at night. We would capture it with a butterfl y net and take it outside to fl y away. A new roof solved the prob- lem. Th e original cedar shake roof was their home. Th e day the old roof was removed, hundreds of bats were awak- ened and darkened the sky overhead. Bye-bye bats? Nope. Fast forward to summer 2018. Th e bats were still liv- ing outside. We thought all was well. Our son John and grandson Josh were visiting and we were going to Bo- hemia Park for the Eugene Symphony. Josh and I went upstairs and brought down four folding chairs. Mine were strangely dirty. Th ey each had one large, black blob in the middle of the chair. A closer exam re- vealed two sleeping bats! You would think that I would get hysterical but I found them kind of fascinat- ing. I took the chairs to some nearby trees, moved the bats and we went to the park. End of story? Not by a long shot. Th e so-called mice noises got so loud in the shop ceil- ing that Chuck could hear them. An exterminator came who was “pretty sure” that the droppings were from mice. He put down some new-fangled traps scented with pheromones and we caught… wait for it: nine (9) bats! Th is time I got pretty close to hysterical; we were bat killers! I spent that evening Googling everything I could about bats. Did you know that next to rodents, bats are the second most common land mammals? Th ey are an invaluable insect predator, sometimes eating half their body weight in mosquitos. 'Th ey eat insects that could damage crops and can live to be 20 years old. Th ey have a bad rap about rabies. And fi nally, they are feel- ing a housing crunch be- cause their favorite hollow trees, old barns and houses are disappearing. Th us, we ended up with not one but two colonies of bats in our warm, sheltered shop. Th ey found an entry and exit area where birds had picked holes in the walls. Th en I learned that once they nest in your home they will come back to the same place year aft er year. So, I went looking for a professional who could evict the bats humanely. Here’s a quick overview of how to evict bats: 1. Find all outside en- trances 2. Install one-way bat check valves that allow bats to leave but not return. 3. Leave in place 5-7 days 4. Check to make sure all bats are gone. 5. Remove the check valves and seal the entrances. Sounds easy, right? Wrong! Fish and Game regula- tions apply to Oregon bats. Th e company that we chose came out in mid-August and explained that our bats would soon be migrating to Mexico. Th ey could not be evicted until aft er the fi rst of September. Th eir babies had to be strong enough to fl y with them to hibernate over the winter. Th en, they will return next spring to their favorite new home at Cottage Grove Lake. Th is was getting so com- plicated that it made my head spin. What to do? Well, one evening around the fi rst of the month, Chuck was out pottying the dogs. Suddenly, he looked up and saw hundreds of bats circling and taking fl ight. Th e next day, the bats were gone out of the shop. We had dodged one bullet. Th en came the cleanup. If I had more room, I would tell you the process in detail. Suffi ce it to say that it in- volved men wearing masks, removing ceiling panels, vac- uuming guano, sweeping, sealing holes and quarantin- ing the area. Because the bats will re- turn next year, we’re going with a plan to put up bat houses and attract them with some of their saved guano. I’ll let you know how that works out. Hasta la vista murciélago! Contact Betty Kaiser’s Chatterbox at 942-1317 or email bchatty@bettykaiser.com Huddle Automotive announces new custom exhaust fabrication services Locally owned Hud- dle Automotive in Cottage Grove specializes in main- taining and extending the life of the autos it services. Shop owners Gary and Lisa Huddle have announced that their shop is now pro- viding custom fabrication of exhaust pipes and tail pipes for virtually any vehicle on the road. With the addition of a new digital pipe-bending machine and the accessibil- ity to major brand manu- facturers, Huddle Automo- tive can handle just about any job with access to name brands such as Magnafl ow, Flow Master, Cherry bomb, ore We Fetch You M yo ur door! …and deliver it all to Superchips, Bully Dog Sys- tems and more. Not only can customers receive custom work and name-brand parts, but fac- tory-direct parts are con- siderably less expensive — benefi ts that get passed on to customers in the form of lower prices and less time traveling out of town for similar services. Th e Huddles and their staff have been serving the Cottage Grove communi- ty for more than a decade, priding themselves on pro- viding a high level of cus- tomer satisfaction. Call Huddle Automotive to schedule an appointment and ask how a custom ex- haust system can increase your engine’s performance and fuel economy. til 11 p.m. • Our high school band is getting excited about its upcoming trip to Washing- ton DC. Band members are still fundraising for things like extra charges for their instruments. Come out Friday for a ga- rage sale from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the CHS band room. If you have anything for the sale, contact Pat Dixon by emailing pdixon@cal.cal.k2 .or.us or call 541-744-9376 to coordinate drop off . Th e donated guitar for raffl e will be on display. • Going hunting this weekend or staying home? Come enjoy a delicious Hunter’s Breakfast at the Rebekah Lodge this Satur- day, Sept. 29, from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. • RAC Lorane Movie Nights at Lorane Grange resume on Saturday, Oct. 13, with delicious soups and pies. See “Bend It Like Beckham.” LORANE NEWS • Th is is homecoming week at Crow middle and high schools. Students have been dressing up since Monday. Today was Fake Inju- ry Day, Th ursday is Salad Dressing Day and Friday is always Spirit Day. Th is Friday night, Sept. 28, the fl oat parade takes place at halft ime during the football game. Floats will be judged at 8 p.m. Th e dance for the high school begins aft er the game and runs un- Another dental visit? Turns out, you have better things to do with your time. Get FREE e-edition access with your subscription! Our e-edition gives you full online access to all of the valuable features included in our print edition, plus bonus weekly deals and shoppelocal.biz. Local News Local Events, Entertainment & Special Off ers Weekly Coupon Savings Restaurant & Dining Coupons Th emed Special Sections Local Jobs & Classifi ed Listings Local Real Estate Local Sports Reporting Games, Puzzles & TV 541.942.3325 Subscribe Today with our most fetching off er yet! Weekly Delivery, Only $32.00 a year New Subscribers only Your satisfaction is guaranteed. 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