Going Batty

Katie had some excitement early Wednesday morning when she woke up at 3 AM to find a bat in the house in Elk Mound. She is deathly afraid of them (I guess it's genetic), so I was impressed that she opened the patio door and turned on the deck light, barricaded herself in the kitchen with Jasmine, and watched through the window until she saw the bat fly out.
Wednesday night I was staying there with her to get the house ready for an Open House Sunday. I woke up in the pitch dark to the creepy/crepey sound that a bat's wings make when it's flying helter-skelter just above your face. "There's a bat in here!!" I shrieked, and Katie dove beneath the covers. I opened my cell phone to use it as a flashlight--12:42 AM. The bat flew in the bedroom again, leading to more screaming and ducking. Katie said, "We have to do something, Mom. I'm hot!" I preferred to close the door and wait for morning, but then Jasmine would have bugged us all night, wanting in or out. "I got rid of the one last night--it's your turn," Katie continued. "And close the door behind you!" Gee, thanks. Why does this stuff always happen when Fred isn't around?!
I crawled out of the bedroom and headed for the kitchen on my stomach to get the broom. I had no intention of confronting the flying menace with it, but I wanted to be armed just in case. The night light on the microwave was on and there was a full moon--so I could see pretty well. I dragged the broom and myself underneath the card table in the dining room and opened the patio door. The bat seemed to be making a circuit through the house because I could see it flying into the kitchen/family room, then back out into the dining room/living room/bedrooms every couple minutes. Why do they swoop so low to the floor?? (I might add that I had a full bladder during this whole ordeal, leading to a whole different worry) Whenever it dive bombed into the dining room, I curled into a fetal position and let out a healthy scream. I'm surprised a neighbor with open windows didn't call 911 to report a murder in progress.
After 10 minutes I was getting mad that the stupid bat couldn't find the big open doorway, so I went out on the deck. I turned on the outside light, hoping to attract it, but all that appeared were moths and bugs--a bat smorgasbord. I turned that light off before I had a dinner party on my hands and flipped on the dining room light instead. Jasmine was staring at me from the living room like I'd totally lost it. Now I could see the bat clearly, circling repeatedly around the card table, until he FINALLY found the doorway and sailed off into the night. I leaped into the house and slammed the door shut. Success!!
We figured that the first bat got in when Katie was putting cat food on the deck before bedtime Tuesday, and the second one probably came in when she had the door open to let the other one out. It lurked inside all day, waiting for dark to come so it could terrorize us.
I know my fear of them is irrational. Spiders and snakes don't bother me, and I'm not afraid of mice (much). But I'd likely drive a car over a cliff if there was a bat in it, flapping around my head. At least that would probably kill it.