Eerie or cute? This Seattle house draws spectators for a reason

 



 

SEATTLE -- A home in Columbia City is attracting crowds, and it all started after some new occupants moved in -- about 200 of them -- who put on a show every night.

Brenda Matter is claiming her seats for the big show.

"We get this show every night," she said.

Her husband, Bruce Matter, said it gets pretty packed outside their house because everyone wants a good view.

"Most nights, there's a bunch of spectators out here to watch it," he said.

But this show isn't about fireworks.

"No, no, but it is similar to a fireworks show in that everybody gathers for the right time."

It`s the nightly attraction for neighbors.

"Talkin` about bats, cute little bats, that showed up all of a sudden and took over our attic, basically," Brenda said.



It all started about a month ago.

"We thought I wonder where they`re living ... and then the next night Bruce walked around and tried to see them again and realized they were coming out the roof line," Brenda said.

Hundreds of bats have taken up residence in the attic of Bruce and Brenda's Columbia City home.

"We figure they`re tucked in between the insulation and the roofing," Brenda.

Brenda`s initial reaction was...

"Omigosh, bats. What am I gonna do with them?"

But after contacting local bat experts, they learned many of the bats have babies known as pups.

"If we were to try and get rid of them right now, then we`d have dead baby bats in the attic and dead baby bats on our conscience and that`s not good," Bruce said.

Bruce and Brenda will wait until September when the pups are grown - and humanely remove them from the attic.

Neighbors have agreed to help by putting up bat houses so they don`t have to travel far.

Until then...

"It's nice to know they`re all snuggled up in there ... safe and sound," Brenda said.

They`re grateful for the way the bats have connected folks on the block.

It's like their gift to the neighborhood) -- along with all the other 'presents'.

"The gift of all the guano that`s gonna be up there she laughs," she said.

Bruce and Brenda say once the bats move out in September, they likely won't go far because they're so small.

Neighbors say they welcome the bats. This particular species feeds on mosquitoes and other bugs during the summer.