Rabid bat found in my neighborhood!

[punkin]

This is really scary.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Okay....
Three deep breaths!!!

We actually had a bat in our house...
My DH called somebody he knows with our State Wildlife Division who came, put on some really heavy duty gloves, and got it out....
It clung to the tree trunk for a while, and then finally took off.

We have some bats here.
You can usually see some circling at dusk, over the rooftops, getting insects for their supper!!!

From what we we were told, yes, there is a big percentage of bats that carry rabies... But, really, they are not going to come after you... You would have to have a really unfortunate 'encounter' to get bitten.

We are glad that they keep the insect population down!!!

You might want to make sure that there are no openings in your chimneys, eaves, etc., that the bats can get into and roost.

Maybe a bit scary to think about....
But, really, you all should be fine.

 

[golfgal]

Keep your doggies in at night-- Yuck!!!

 

[punkin]

Keep your doggies in at night-- Yuck!!!

My dog's rabies shots are up to date, thank goodness. I didn't tell DD12. No reason to freak her out.

 

[Bastiansmom]

A few months ago there was a really weird cat in the parking lot at work. It kept following people and trying to get into cars and stuff. Not normal for a feral cat. I even had to hold it back with my computer bag while I jumped in my car. It was moaning like it was in heat and looked dirty. Once again, not normal - cats are usually good about cleaning themselves.

The whole thing was really creepy. Anyway, the next day I got to work and they told me the animal control had been called and the cat had rabies!!
It was so shocking and scary! He (or she) almost got in my car! I usually try to be nice to animals, but I'm glad I had the intuition to make sure this one didn't get near me.

 

[ols386]

I think most bats are rabid.

We've had two in our house, on two different occasions.

We opened the patio door, and they flew out, thankfully.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Yes, bats are very, very, common...
Yes, bats very often carry rabies.

But, they are NOT carnivores, people...
They are not going to swoop out and bite you or your pet.

We have all been watching too much vampire stuff!!!!

It is other animals, rodents, coons. etc... that might come across your cat or dog at night. Not bats. They are too busy flying around with their radar eating insects, and then going back to roost.

Only a very, very, uncommon and unfortunate encounter with a bat, such as in a barn or part of two/three story house, is of concern.

Don't mess with a bat, and it ain't gonna mess with you!!!!

 

[punkin]

Yes, bats are very, very, common...
Yes, bats very often carry rabies.

But, they are NOT carnivores, people...
They are not going to swoop out and bite you or your pet.

We have all been watching too much vampire stuff!!!!

It is other animals, rodents, coons. etc... that might come across your cat or dog at night. Not bats. They are too busy flying around with their radar eating insects, and then going back to roost.

Only a very, very, uncommon and unfortunate encounter with a bat, such as in a barn or part of two/three story house, is of concern.

Don't mess with a bat, and it ain't gonna mess with you!!!!

True for most bats, but not if they are rabid. Rabies causes abnormal behavior, such as attacking for no reason.

 

[LPZ_Stitch!]

I think most bats are rabid.

This is not even close to true.

A quick Google search brought up this from eMedTV: Wild animals accounted for 93 percent of reported cases of rabies in 2001. The wild animals in which rabies was reported included:

•Raccoons (37.2 percent of all animal cases during 2001)
•Skunks (30.7 percent)
•Bats (17.2 percent)
•Foxes (5.9 percent)
•Other wild animals, including rodents and lagomorphs (0.7 percent).

There are millions and millions of bats in the world ... if most of them were rabid, they'd certainly account for more than 17% of reported cases....

 

[ols386]

This is not even close to true.



There are millions and millions of bats in the world ... if most of them were rabid, they'd certainly account for more than 17% of reported cases....

Thanks for that info!!

But I still don't want a bat in my house.

 

[golfgal]

My dog's rabies shots are up to date, thank goodness. I didn't tell DD12. No reason to freak her out.

Like every vaccine, they aren't 100% effective though.

 

[ols386]

Like every vaccine, they aren't 100% effective though.

This is true. I worked in a vet clinic, and if a dog was brought in after being bitten by a wild animal, evern though they were up to date on the rabies vaccine, they were given another rabies vaccine to give them an extra boost against rabies.

 

[Wishing on a star]

Many bats have rabies...
But not almost all.

Like I mentioned...
We have encountered this and heard from experts...

The cases of a human, or even a pet, being bitten and getting rabies from a bat are like, one in a gazillion....

I do remember one case of a teenaged boy, and he was messing around in the open window of the upper level of his home, where bats had been found roosting.... HE was the one provoking them... and again, ONE IN A GAZILLION.

Same goes with pets... Yep, my dog got skunked last week... Hopefully no rabies.... Skunks are way more of a concern than bats....
We have visible bats circling around in the evenings here, and no pet, no person, NOTHING has ever been bitten. There is NO cause for concern.

Just don't mess with a bat, or bats, if you ever do encounter them...
If you need bats removed from your home/barn/wherever.... Call somebody.

 

[golfgal]

Saw this in the paper just now:

Wisconsin man, 70, dies from rabies
Associated Press
Updated: 09/01/2011 11:08:40 AM CDT

A 70-year-old Wisconsin man died after contracting rabies last year, the third case of the rare disease in Wisconsin since 2000.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that all three cases involved known or suspected contact with bats and only one of the three victims survived.

State officials would not say where the man lived or was treated. However, contributors to the report include doctors from Aurora Health Care in Milwaukee and West Allis.

The man sought treatment in December and died 13 days later.

The CDC says the man's wife reported bats were present when they were selling firewood, although he did not report a bite.

His wife and grandchild, and five health care workers received the rabies vaccination as a precaution.

 

[bballmom56]

The most recent research I read says that less than 1% of all bats are rabid. From a CDC website about bats and rabies they say: "Most bats don’t have rabies. For example, even among bats submitted for rabies testing because they could be captured, were obviously weak or sick, or had been captured by a cat, only about 6% had rabies."

We were having a sick bat problem at the farm where I worked last year. I was on the phone with wildlife management since I was concerned about rabies. I was told the same thing - that very few bats are rabid. The ones we were dealing with most likely had the "white nose disease" which has wiped out a lot of our bat population, leading to a lot more insects around.

That being said, if I ever suspected contact or bite by a bat that was not captured for testing, I would certainly get to the doctor immediately for the rabies vaccine. But even when we have had them in the house, we can get them out pretty easily by turning off all the inside lights, turning on the outside lights, and opening the door or window in the room the bat is in. It then flies out toward the lights.