I hate bats

[Mommie_Jen]

My 5 year old woke me up at about 1:30 this morning. I don't remember what he said or what he wanted, all I remember is vaguely seeing something flying around the room. It took a few seconds, then I shrieked "bat!" and high-tailed it out of the bedroom and ushered DS back to bed.

 

I was standing in the hallway then, internally freaking out (I have SERIOUS bat phobias) when I heard a noise in the bedroom and some stirring. Slowly, I watched DH emerge from the bedroom on his hands and knees with our bedspread completely covering him from head to foot. :lol: After about 5 minutes of "what do we do?" he flipped on the bedroom light to get the dumb thing to stop flying and slept like a log on the couch. It took me until almost 3 o'clock to even begin to think of sleeping and I ended up in the boys' room on the floor. (And had dreams about bats crawling on the floor.)

 

This morning DH tried to get it but couldn't muster up the courage to get near it. He left for work and I called police dispatch (officers carry tennis rackets in their trunks just for bats) and they sent someone over. The officer just reached up and grabbed it off the ceiling with a towel (meanwhile, I was gagging in the next room. Serious bat issues.) and released it outside after letting the kids see it.

 

Done. Gone. I went up to strip my bed and bleach the heck out of the linens. Just going into the bedroom made me shaky, teary, and sweaty. I went back in this afternoon and the same thing happened - panic.

 

We made a quick trip to the local grocery store today and while in produce, DS yelled "bat!" and ducked just to get a reaction out of me. It worked, the little rat!:lol: I spontaneously just burst into tears and couldn't breathe.

 

It's a funny story, I know it is. But I am SERIOUSLY traumatized by it. When we have cookouts in the back yard during the summer and fall, once I spot a bat, I go in the house. DH and friends can fend for themselves at that point.

 

I took one look at our house bat today and dry heaved. Seriously. I can't go in the bedroom without panicking. I can't even go in there to wipe down the surfaces. I don't think I can sleep in there tonight...or ever.

 

We may have to move. :tongue_smilie:

[freeindeed]

:tongue_smilie: I am with you! I hate bats, too. We had one stuck in our fence after a hurricane several years ago. Totally freaked me out!

[DawnM]

I am surprised they let it go. The CDC recommends that if you wake up to a bat in the house you should have it tested. There have been reports of people being bitten in their sleep and contracting rabies. There was a girl scout troop locally that went camping and there were bats that got into the cabin. All girls had to get rabies injections.

 

We woke up to a bat. I didn't know this and the neighbor called the CDC when she found out. The CDC in Atlanta called us. We were STRONGLY encouraged to get rabies shots.

[gardening momma]

A family we knew when I was growing used to get bats in their house regularly enough that the parents kept a tennis racket in the bedroom. One night they woke up to a bat flying around the room and killed it with the racket. Once they turned on the lights they discovered it was their son's pet bird that had gotten out of its cage. :tongue_smilie:

[Mommie_Jen]

I am surprised they let it go. The CDC recommends that if you wake up to a bat in the house you should have it tested. There have been reports of people being bitten in their sleep and contracting rabies. There was a girl scout troop locally that went camping and there were bats that got into the cabin. All girls had to get rabies injections.

 

We woke up to a bat. I didn't know this and the neighbor called the CDC when she found out. The CDC in Atlanta called us. We were STRONGLY encouraged to get rabies shots.

 

I was just reading this on another link. I think I might faint.

[Starr]

A family we knew when I was growing used to get bats in their house regularly enough that the parents kept a tennis racket in the bedroom. One night they woke up to a bat flying around the room and killed it with the racket. Once they turned on the lights they discovered it was their son's pet bird that had gotten out of its cage. :tongue_smilie:

 

Oh dear, I can totally see that happening. :D

[Mommie_Jen]

I am so seriously freaking out right now. I'm a light sleeper, I would think that if something touched me I would know...right? I mean, a fly wakes me up. The sound of the wind from the fan hitting the blinds wakes me up. Right????????

[Annie G]

I'm right there with you- I hate bats!

 

Years ago we got our first bat in the house. It was daytime and I saw it hanging in the window. Called dh in a panic -he laughed and told me to grab it and throw it outside. Grr. So I put on a gardening glove, grabbed it, and took it outside and tossed it. The groggy, disoriented bat flew away. About 5 minutes later dh drives up. He thought I knew he was kidding and that he was coming to get it.

 

We've had a dozen in here over the years- never occurred to us to get them tested or go get rabies shots. Glad we survived our own ignorance.

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

I am surprised they let it go. The CDC recommends that if you wake up to a bat in the house you should have it tested. There have been reports of people being bitten in their sleep and contracting rabies. There was a girl scout troop locally that went camping and there were bats that got into the cabin. All girls had to get rabies injections.

 

We woke up to a bat. I didn't know this and the neighbor called the CDC when she found out. The CDC in Atlanta called us. We were STRONGLY encouraged to get rabies shots.

 

:iagree::grouphug:

[DawnM]

Bats are silent.

 

I was told it feels like a mosquito bite.

 

I am so seriously freaking out right now. I'm a light sleeper, I would think that if something touched me I would know...right? I mean, a fly wakes me up. The sound of the wind from the fan hitting the blinds wakes me up. Right????????

[DawnM]

We think ours got in either by an open door (when we called the dogs in late at night) or through the attic/light fixture. There is a small opening.

 

I don't think it got in through the chimney as there is a grating on top,but it could have been that too.

 

Dawn

 

Can someone hazard a guess how these bats get in the house so I can make sure it doesn't happen to us:?

[kfeusse]

Just about a week ago I was sitting in my livingroom, minding my own business watching TV. My husband had already gone upstairs to bed. When all of a sudden something flys into the room with such force my heart about left my chest!! It kept flying back and forth between the livingroom and the diningroom. Scared me to death! I go running upstairs to ge my husband. He comes downstairs and grabs a broom, turns on all of the lights and starts swatting at the bat. When all of a sudden it flys right into the ceiling fan that was turned on with one of the lights and hits the ground (THUD)...my husband throws a blanket over it and picks it up and takes it outside. My heart was pounding so hard the the next hour I thought the neighbors would hear it. I know he came up from our basement, so now I just make sure the basement door is shut right after dinner at night...taking no more chances!!!

[homeforthelord]

I feel the same way about bats that I do about snakes -- I hate their unpredictable movements.

 

When my son was about 9 I had painted his bedroom a navy blue with a space theme of stencils on the walls in white. I covered the ceiling over his bunk beds with stick on glow-in-the-dark stars. One morning I went into his room to wake him, and there was a bat (imagine it - right over his bed!) sound asleep while clinging to the largest plastic star. I thought, "Wow! The bat actually thinks he's outside. .. did this room turn out fabulous or what?" LOL I grabbed a tupperware container and a cookie sheet w/out sides to capture him - tupperware over the sleeping bat and slid the cookie sheet between him and the ceiling. At that point he woke up and was not amused. I tossed him out the bedroom window, tupperware and cookie sheet and all. Ew. And then I had to throw out the container & cookie sheet, because there was no way I was going to ever be able to use them again!

 

Usually if you take out a window screen and shut the door to that room, they will fly out on their own. But it is a little stressful to crawl along the floor to the window to accomplish this.

 

I guess it wouldn't hurt for you to look the kids over & check yourself & hubby for any signs of a bite mark? I hate to creep you out further, but there is always the risk. And if you had been bitten in your sleep, you wouldn't necessarily know it.

[rjand6more]

We had a bat in the house last year. It was terrifying. I saw it earlier that night in my office. Dh went in and tried to get it to fly out the window. He said he thought it went out. Later that night I heard a scratch and our dog started growling. I screamed that it was in the room!! Dh flipped on the light and it was circling the ceiling fan. I hid under the covers and he finally grabbed it with a blanket and tossed it out. Blech. I will never forget the screechy sound it made.

 

I did a lot of research to find that a very low percent of bats have rabies. Sure it happens, but not enough for me to get our whole family a rabies series!! I did check us over for bites, though. I spoke with the local conservation unit and they were reassuring as well that random bats tested in our area were not infected at a high rate.

 

I had panic attacks for weeks. We slept with the lights on for a couple months. Now we sleep with the closet light on over a year later.

 

Yes. I am damaged.

[kitten18]

I am surprised they let it go. The CDC recommends that if you wake up to a bat in the house you should have it tested. There have been reports of people being bitten in their sleep and contracting rabies. There was a girl scout troop locally that went camping and there were bats that got into the cabin. All girls had to get rabies injections.

 

We woke up to a bat. I didn't know this and the neighbor called the CDC when she found out. The CDC in Atlanta called us. We were STRONGLY encouraged to get rabies shots.

:iagree:

 

I can't believe they let it go!!! :confused:

[DianeW88]

If there was a bat in your child's room and you let it go....you NEED the rabies shots (I'm a pediatric nurse). Please contact your doctor immediately. Several children have died from contracting rabies in this manner. It is nothing to mess with...once you have symptoms it is too late.

[DianeW88]

I am so seriously freaking out right now. I'm a light sleeper, I would think that if something touched me I would know...right? I mean, a fly wakes me up. The sound of the wind from the fan hitting the blinds wakes me up. Right????????

 

You would not necessarily know if a bat bit you. You might not even see a mark.

[Starr]

People around here get bats in their houses all the time. Since none of the bats are testing rabid they don't push the shots. I guess it's always a gamble. But bats don't really go after people to bite them. I have a friend that stuns them with a tennis racket, puts them in plastic bags in the freezer and then calls animal control to have them tested. We would have to have rabies shots every year. :( Why do animals get vaccinated and not people?

[redsquirrel]

If there was a bat in your child's room and you let it go....you NEED the rabies shots (I'm a pediatric nurse). Please contact your doctor immediately. Several children have died from contracting rabies in this manner. It is nothing to mess with...once you have symptoms it is too late.

 

Well, according to the CDC only 1 or 2 people a year die from rabies in the US. Since rabies is nearly always fatal, I am guessing that not many more than 1 or 2 people a year actually contract rabies.

 

If your child has a fresh wound then take action, but if not I wouldn't worry about it.

 

And we are big bat fans here. We like to sit outside and watch them swoop and fly. I'd rather have bats than be up to my eyeballs in bugs.

 

But, as much as I love to watch them outside, I wouldn't like them in my house any more than I would want mice in the house. Bats aren't any more likely to carry rabies than any other mammal. Around here the big rabies worry is with racoons. But, my mom had a rabid skunk outside her house (the sheriff shot it and it was tested etc) and once, a local farmer had a rabid cow.

 

If a bat was flying around by day or was unable to fly or seemed sick (flopping around etc) then I would stay far away. But, a bat freaking out because it was trapped in my house wouldn't give me a particular worry about rabies. It would give me a worry about how the heck it was getting inside.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/bats/education/

[DianeW88]

Well, according to the CDC only 1 or 2 people a year die from rabies in the US. Since rabies is nearly always fatal, I am guessing that not many more than 1 or 2 people a year actually contract rabies.

 

If your child has a fresh wound then take action, but if not I wouldn't worry about it.

 

And we are big bat fans here. We like to sit outside and watch them swoop and fly. I'd rather have bats than be up to my eyeballs in bugs.

 

But, as much as I love to watch them outside, I wouldn't like them in my house any more than I would want mice in the house. Bats aren't any more likely to carry rabies than any other mammal. Around here the big rabies worry is with racoons. But, my mom had a rabid skunk outside her house (the sheriff shot it and it was tested etc) and once, a local farmer had a rabid cow.

 

If a bat was flying around by day or was unable to fly or seemed sick (flopping around etc) then I would stay far away. But, a bat freaking out because it was trapped in my house wouldn't give me a particular worry about rabies. It would give me a worry about how the heck it was getting inside.

 

http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/bats/education/

 

 

Yep, you're right. It does depend on where you live. Around here...more than 50% of bats carry rabies. And the rabies vax is protocol for contact or a suspected bite from a bat. It is much lower in other animals, like raccoons...not really any infected raccoons around these parts. LOL

 

So the OP should check with her physician and the department of health in her area for protocol. The department of wildlife (their number should be in your phone book, OP) can even give you statistics on how many bats in your area they suspect are infected with rabies.

 

And the people who contract rabies are the ones who were not vaxed after an incident. The shots are virtually 100% effective when administered in the correct time frame and in the correct manner. I've done at least ten courses of rabies vaccines in patients. None of them contracted the disease...even after known exposure to a rabid animal.

Edited August 23, 2012 by DianeW88

[JessReplanted]

I am a complete bat phobic too. We lived in a house one year where we had 9 different bats swoop in throughout the season. :scared:

 

Thankfully, my husband is brave and heroically rose up to the challenge. I never would have let him go back to sleep if a bat was still in our house. I can't even imagine. yuck.

[JessReplanted]

Can someone hazard a guess how these bats get in the house so I can make sure it doesn't happen to us:?

 

 

When we were dealing with bats, I read that they always come from the attic - one way or another they get into the attic and then find a way into the main house.

Edited August 23, 2012 by JessReplanted

[SunnyDays]

I agree it really depends on where you live. Around here, the rate of rabies in bats is around 1-2%. (Around 2% of the ones actually caught and tested, but they believe it's less than 1% in the environment at large.) I think most people just don't worry about it unless they *know* they were bitten... and we have had exactly one human rabies case in our state in the last 50 years, and that was from a guy who had been traveling. Don't get me wrong, if I woke up and there was a bat sitting on one of us, or if I knew that one of us were bitten, I'd seek medical care despite the low rate. But I think most people have had a bat in the house at one time or another, unfortunately. Still creeps me out. :)

Edited August 23, 2012 by SunnyDays