The prior posts – part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4 – all explain how I got to this point.

It’s over. For now.

We got our final shots last Friday, so now we’re just dealing with the aftermath of it all. The biggest physical issue we ran into was the entire family being taken down (in various ways) by DEATHCOLD that set in while our immune systems were compromised by the immune globulin we got with our first rabies vaccine shots. After battling fevers, runny noses, and hacking coughs that had us all ready to bathe in hand sanitizer, we seem to have come out the other side none the worse for wear. Honestly, the hardest part of the shots for the kids wasn’t so much getting the shots as it was the trauma of removing the band-aids that covered where the shots were administered. (I’m not kidding, y’all.)

The issues with the house aren’t 100% resolved, but we’re getting there. I have to take down the duct tape that’s all around the fireplace facade/door, but I’m not planning to leave things as they are. With my reasoned brain in motion, I’m assuming that the one-way door installed by the wildlife company has given the bats only a way OUT, not a way IN to the chimney. Furthermore, seeing as how bats are mammals and likely require feeding on a regular basis, any bats still remaining in the chimney should have died by now (but no smell has been present, and it’s unlikely they’d die without a smell being obvious). Finally, the duct tape around the fireplace door would’ve prevented their movement into the house; either they would’ve been stopped cold by it or they would’ve been stuck to it like flies on flypaper. In any case, I would assume that bats would’ve then left or died (and again, no smell).

So, we’ll take off the duct tape and I’ve already contacted a stonework company to come over and give us an estimate for sealing up the gaps around the fireplace door. I’m hoping they can provide us with a better solution than the duct tape, and they seemed to indicate that this is right up their alley. It was a complete bit of luck that I happened to see a van of theirs in the parking lot for ds’ day care the other day, on my way out of Dunkin’ Donuts, and I took a mental note of the name and URL so I could look them up. They responded right away, so I’m being hopeful that this will work out and not cost us an arm and a leg. I’ve already gotten shots in both arms and both legs and I’d like to keep them.

I’m sincerely hoping this is the end of this saga. It’s been weeks since I didn’t have even a trace of fear being by myself in our den at night. A tweep of my BIL told me how cool he thought bats were and how he grew up with them nearby. I guess the city girl in me just doesn’t want them anywhere nearby. It’s like Carrie Bradshaw and that damn squirrel at Aidan’s cabin; nature’s fine as long as I can see it from my preferred distance.