ARRGH!

[pegkerr]

The bat that got into our house night before last is not going to be a repeat offender because despite Rob's care, it seemed to have died of shock; it was still sitting in the juice container on top of the garbage can yesterday.

However . . .

I went to bed last night at 10:15--and woke up at 10:37 because a bat was flying over my head.

THESE BATS ARE TOTALLY UNAUTHORIZED!!!

Rob heard the screams more quickly this time and got rid of this one, too (fortunately, Delia did not wake for all the excitement). He walked it about a block and a half away as it swore at him, and he told it to live long and catch lots of mosquitoes but to NOT COME BACK.

Comments

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

When we had a bat, one of my helpful friendlist people told us to get a bat house for the backyard, so the bats would go into it and not into our house. We didn't, so I don't know how it would work, but I thought it was worth a mention.

[thewordoffred.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you need a NO SOLICITING OR BATS sign.

[jonquil.livejournal.com]

Peg, take that bat to the vet now. It may well have rabies, and you all need (ugh) to get vaccinated. It doesn't matter whether you think you were bitten; people have died of rabies from bats while sure the bat never touched them.

[naomikritzer]

Peg, DO NOT THROW THE DEAD BAT AWAY. Take it into the Health Department for rabies testing.

[bibliotrope.livejournal.com]

The other thing is that you, or Rob, or someone (maybe an exterminator?) needs to find out HOW the bats are getting into your house, in order to get (and keep) them out of there! Are they in your attic, or somewhere in your yard? Specifically, how are they getting into your bedroom?

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

Taking it to be tested probably isn't a bad idea, since it died. But don't panic. The CDC site is good for facts:

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/rabies/bats_&_rabies/bats&.htm

They seem to accept the possibility that a heavily sleeping person could get an undetected bite, but that clearly wasn't the case in your house!

Others reject that possibility:

"researchers gathered at the 29th North American Symposium on Bat Research find no credible support for the hypothesis that undetected bites by bats are a significant factor in transmitting rabies to humans, as implied by the January 16, 1998 issue of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report."

http://www.batcon.org/discover/rabies.html

That site also says that "Bat rabies accounts for approximately one human death per year in the United States," and another site says that "The British medical journal, 'The Lancet', reported less than two cases of human rabies (of all types) per year in the United States between 1980 and 1996." That "less than two" includes all kinds of rabies, not just bat rabies.

[castiron.livejournal.com]

Bat Conservation International has some how-to-evict-bats information:
http://www.batcon.org/binb/doityourself.html

Unauthorized Bats!

[weaselmom.livejournal.com]

Okay, am I a monster for saying that this made me laugh at work on a day when it was much needed? Couldn't help but think somebody had neglected to complete a critical form in triplicate--AIB2005-KH, Authorization for Indoor Bats, Kerr Household. But seriously, I hope you get to the bottom of this bat issue quickly. And here's another vote for getting the shot!

[fireflowerlass.livejournal.com]

oh my gosh, another bat? You may want to call your exterminator!