From Whitney:
You would think that since I'm "just" the office manager of my company, that I wouldn't have to ever deal with the actual wildlife that our company controls. I actually prefer it that way, to be honest. I really want nothing to do with the rats, opossums, snakes, and other nasty things that our techs have to see all of the time. I mean I take that back, I'm fine with them as long as they are in a trap and headed the opposite direction of me. I'm really good at sounding tough and educated on the phone. I sound like I deal with these gross animals every day, but in all actuality, I'm a wuss. I couldn't even throw away a mouse that was dead on a mouse trap at my parent's house so yes, I'm a HUGE wuss. There is one thing though that I just can't handle. My fear is even worse then the dead mouse I just spoke of. That terrifying animal is....wait for it... BATS.
When I accepted this position almost 5 years ago, I had no idea that Kansas City had such a problem with bats. I figured oh yeah you see your average bat only in things like caves and wilderness areas but NOT people's homes in Kansas City!! When I first started as the office manger, my boss required that I do some ride along days with him so I could get a taste for what the technicians did on a regular basis. It seemed like a good idea. I would get to see how he does the service calls and what he says to the customers after I've set up the job over the phone. We went to one house where the people were complaining of a bat issue. I went into the job completely blind to the possibility of actually having to see an animal. I mean it was the middle of the afternoon and the sun was shining. My thinking was, "bats are like vampires right?.. only out at night?" HA... Now i understand how ridiculous that thinking was. I went into the house with the owner of our company. I followed close behind so I could make sure to impress my new boss and make him think that I was really interested in everything he was showing and telling me. I'm kind of a suck up, I'll admit it :) We walked into the bedroom where the attic access was and that is when I slowly started backing up. There was a freaking bat on the floor by the door to the attic!! I was terrified. Here I was supposed to be the employee of a Wildlife Control business and I was literally hugging the opposite wall. The owner grabbed a pair of tongs, picked up the bat (it was screeching this horrible noise) and put it into a box to transport it to the Health Department for rabies testing. It didn't really occur to me, until we were leaving the customer's house, that I would have to ride around for the rest of the day with a bat in a box sitting on the dash of the truck until we could get it delivered. That thing was in my eye sight the entire day.
Five years later, I still am terrified of the darn things. I have an office that is on some land that the owner of our company owns. I usually sit here for most of the day by myself answering phones, invoicing customers, doing regular office duties. Last Friday I sat here all day at my desk, working away. Towards the end of the day the technicians started to come back to the office. I was patiently waiting for the owner to sign our paychecks so I could leave the office for the weekend. As I walked past my desk I noticed something on the floor next to the base of my desk. I screamed as I past because it was a BAT!!! AHHHHH!! The owner laughed and said "so that's where that is!" Apparently, he had brought some bats back to the office that he had picked up during the day. Bats are federally protected animals so we have to either take them to be tested for rabies or release them. He was planning to release them when all four of them broke out of their box they had been in. Two fled the garage and two decided to fly around the garage. He decided to leave the garage doors open in hopes of them flying out. Well, obviously they didn't. So I spent an entire day in my office with a disgusting bat. God only knows where the other one is. If it ends up anywhere on me, that will be my last day of working here...
