Bat in the house - rabies scare!

[MossRoad]

I had an uncle (RIP) who was trapping animals for their hides; this was back in the 40's, during the war. He was skinning a skunk, that it turns out wasn't really dead, and it bit him. He had to take a series of shots; in those days, they gave the shots in the stomach. No fun to hear him tell it.

A priest that I knew said when he was home from college working on his family farm for the summer, he felt something moving around his pant cuff by his shoe. He flicked his foot around and a bat fell out of his pants cuff. He rolled up his pants leg and his leg was bleeding. He had to get the shots. It was in the early 60s. He said back then they gave the series of many shots in a circle around his belly button. He said the skin on his stomach turned black, and, it was quite painful and unpleasant.

The shots my family and I had to get were nothing like that at all.

The doctor said if you know you have a bite area, they give you the immune globulin shots around the bite area, then the rabies vaccine in the arm in either a 4 or 5 shot series (My kids and I had the 5 shot series, my wife had the 4). If you don't have an obvious bite area (like us), they give you the globulin shots in your thighs and buttocks.

 

[MossRoad]

Apparently a carrier animal will show symptoms and die within a few days. Wouldn’t it have been faster and easier to just cage the dog and watch it?

Not if you expect the animal to be tested immediately.

 

[Fuddy1952]

My parents made the news (paper & TV channels) about 20 years ago. Mom was attacked by a rabid fox. Foaming at the mouth, acting weird (fox not Mom). It climbed up her like it was going for her throat...Dad killed it with one whack from a tree limb. They both got saliva and had to take shots.
My (stupid...lucky?) neighbor here his dog got rabies. He shot/killed it then buried it, no gloves. I guess he was just lucky he didn't get it.
Here's my bat detector I ordered and built from a kit. Bats emit a high frequency clicking sound. The detector picks that up by microphone then divides that down to a human audible frequency (so like 50Khz down to 5Khz...something like that). In evening when they come out detector pinpoints where they are and you hear the click-click-click. I think that's where the idea of sonar came from. So you know where they are and how close.

 

[MossRoad]

That's pretty neat.

 

[oosik]

Every evening the bats whiz around, outside the house - catching bugs. That's how I know they are here. With these cold nights the bugs and bats will soon be gone.

 

[PILOON]

I've had a few bats in the house.
Tried to snag them but with their sonar they can deftly avoid whatever you use.
Best was to close all lights and open the door.

Yesterday I was in my shop, florescent lights on and door open.
Heard a strange loud fluttering sound only to discover a humming bird 'attacking' the light tube.
I shut the lights and it promptly flew out the door.
It sounded like an overgrown june bug, only much noisier.
Had me baffled for a while.

 

[Fuddy1952]

 

[lman]

I had an uncle (RIP) who was trapping animals for their hides; this was back in the 40's, during the war. He was skinning a skunk, that it turns out wasn't really dead, and it bit him. He had to take a series of shots; in those days, they gave the shots in the stomach. No fun to hear him tell it.

I bet he smelled nasty after the skunk sprayed him.

 

[bigtiller]

I've had a few bats in the house.
Tried to snag them but with their sonar they can deftly avoid whatever you use.
Best was to close all lights and open the door.

Yesterday I was in my shop, florescent lights on and door open.
Heard a strange loud fluttering sound only to discover a humming bird 'attacking' the light tube.
I shut the lights and it promptly flew out the door.
It sounded like an overgrown june bug, only much noisier.
Had me baffled for a while.

Thanks for the memory...

When I was about 5, I was smelling mom's pretty flowers in front of the house. Suddenly I heard a very loud buzzing. I turned around and was looking straight at a humming bird hovering about ear high to me. It was the first one I had ever seen and I believed it was some type of bug trying to put his stinger in my ear.

I ran screaming and bawling into the house for dad to save me.

 

[oosik]

The hummers can/do buzz very close to my face also. I always wear my reading glasses when refilling the feeder. I'm pretty sure they are just excited at getting more sugar water. But there is no need to take unnecessary chances.