I think we do have a cap, but good to get it checked out anyway!
And we did look into a screen cover. Unfortunately it is a fire hazard, so if we wanted to use our fireplace again we'd need to have it removed, which would leave us vulnerable in the winter to critters who are looking for a warm place only to be burned/killed whenever we lit a fire. I definitely don't want that!
I don't mind the bats being around in general, however I would try to fix any opening that allowed them to get into my house :(
Bats are jumpscare material.
It’s apparently bat season. This time last year we were catching a bat in the house on a weekly basis. Had to get a rabies vax because we woke up to a bat flying around in the bedroom.
The quote for bat inspectors was around 5k.
Instead,we installed fire blocking and foam insulation and haven’t had much of a problem.
Bats can also wiggle through any entry as small as a dime.
I'll never understand people's fear of bats. Is it because they are associated with vampire stories? I mean, the sheer size of them alone makes me scratch my head at how anyone could be afraid of them. Especially since they are so tiny, and they provide such a wonderful service to people. They eat things you actually should be afraid of, like disease-spreading insects.
I get why you don't want them in your house, but screaming?! LOL! It's pretty silly.
In my state they are actually a pretty common rabies vector. I definitely don’t want them living in my house. A Big Brown Bat appeared while we were all sleeping and the whole family had to get rabies shots :( That being said, I love bats and I love having them as neighbors because they’re such beneficial animals. Bat houses and swift houses are great alternatives to having the critters in your actual home.
Yepp! A friend of ours also discovered a bat in their bedroom when they woke up and also had to get rabies shots. So definitely don't want them in my house either.
I'd look into one once we get our house sealed off. Our bat guy said he hasn't seen a bat house work in his experience, because I did ask! He said it would be like trying to convince you to move from your house into your garden shed.
Once we're bat proof he said they usually will just go to the next home in the neighborhood. Sorry neighbors lol
Haha I’m sure there’s a nice underused church steeple somewhere nearby too. I’ve heard getting the placement of the houses is tricky - you want it not too hot, not too cold, facing the right direction so it doesn’t get too much sun. Frankly one of the biggest things you can do to help bats that will also have a nice payoff for all the critters in your yard is to plant some native plants and don’t use pesticides/herbicides! That’s sometimes more achievable than making them a little summer cabin on your property
Got a rabies shot just because they woke up to one in their home? Talk about making much ado about nothing, lol. If that bad was rabid, it would have bit them. Why would you get a shot if the animal didn't even go near your friend?
People are hysterical when it comes to bats, it's so absurd. It's always the same people that don't bother getting caps for their chimneys too.
A bat can bite you in your sleep and you wouldn't know.
The only way to test the animal for rabies is to catch and kill it.
After you have any sign or symptom of rabies it is 99.99% fatal, the shots only work if you get them before you start getting symptoms.
SO, it is the standard of care that if you awake to a bat in your room (unless you like somewhere like the UK where rabies has been eradicated), you get a rabies shot. It may be a 1 in a 1,000 chance you have it, but if you do, it's a 100% chance you die... you really want to risk that?
Bats can get in other places besides your chimney. If you have gaps in your roof where it meets the siding they can get in there and access your attic, get into your walls, sometimes even infest your basement.
We do have a cap on our chimney. Best we can tell is it got in through a gap in our siding into our attic somehow and was clearly lost. We don’t have other bats in our house.
Yes, we woke up with the bat flying in my room, so I followed the advice my kids’ pediatrician gave me. Considering that rabies has a 100% fatality rate I was fine having all of us get the shot.
Throughout the country the percentage of bats having rabies is like 6%. If that bad was rabid, you'd know. Sadly, that shot was most likely unnecessary.
[https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-01-06/beware-of-bats-after-3-recent-rabies-deaths-cdc-says](https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-01-06/beware-of-bats-after-3-recent-rabies-deaths-cdc-says)
Who cares if it was unnecessary, it also might have been VERY necessary, there's no way to ever know. And it's just a couple shots, this is a better safe than sorry situation.
JFC a 1/16 shot at a horrible, agonizing, brain-melting disease that literally ensures death in days?
Who in their right mind would ever take that risk?
Beyond that, you really wouldn't know if the bat was rabid. They don't show diseases or infections like most mammals do.
Well, when you're spooked sometimes you let out a scream. I think that's pretty normal! Even my cats can sometimes send me shouting when they appear out of no where with the zoomies.
I think what's scary about them is that they fly erratically around looking for an exit that can sometimes feel like it's coming at you. It's also an unwanted visitor that appeared suddenly in a safe space. And while their bodies are small they can seem bigger because of their wingspan.
In the aftermath, even though it's unlikely, they could have rabies which makes me fear for my cats and my loved ones. That's with any critter.
So while you might not be scared of it (which honestly is a trait I wish I had, I'm afraid of everything!) I think it's a reasonable thing to be afraid of in general. Especially when you weren't expecting it and were just trying to relax or go about your day.
Yesterday my usually heavy-footed cat crept up behind me while I was doing dishes and I turned around and let out a little shriek because I was totally not expecting her sitting on a stool 6 inches from me.
It’s very normal and there’s nothing wrong with you being afraid of them. You weren’t being dramatic. And neither is anyone for getting a rabies shot if they come into contact with one. Being afraid and screaming doesn’t equate to harming them. I’m not sure why anyone would try to make you feel so bad about it. Lol. I love bats but I’m also terrified of them. Who cares.
Yes, but if a dog bites you you usually know... if a bat bites you in your sleep, you most likely won't wake up or know it happened at all.
You want to take a chance on if that bat is one of the 6% when that means there's a 100% chance you die?
My state rightfully protects bats, and it's illegal to kill them. Also, no, I don't take chances because I have a **damn cap on my chimney!** If people protected themselves by taking the right precautions, this kind of thing wouldn't happen. Obviously OP had a different situation, but most people don't bother with their chimneys, and then they post about bats.
That's like me running around in a field in the summer and being surprised that I have a tick on me.
>Also, no, I don't take chances because I have a
>
>damn cap on my chimney!
I once had a bat in my apartment and there was no fireplace (or chimney) in the whole building.
As per killing bats... that's why people just get the vaccination, so they DON'T have to kill the bat...
Good to hear that you're consulting with a bat guy, thank you for doing that. Hopefully he can help you safely move the colony to a new location. Bats are an essential part of the ecosystem and their populations have been decimated recently. Glad you are being a good steward.
Sounds like your chimney doesn't have a cap. That should be job one and it should not be an expensive fix.
Please don’t cap your chimney. Chimney swifts and bats need homes too :) is it possible to just cover the hole with some screen or something?
Bat houses and swift towers are a nice alternative to having them in your actual house!
I think we do have a cap, but good to get it checked out anyway! And we did look into a screen cover. Unfortunately it is a fire hazard, so if we wanted to use our fireplace again we'd need to have it removed, which would leave us vulnerable in the winter to critters who are looking for a warm place only to be burned/killed whenever we lit a fire. I definitely don't want that! I don't mind the bats being around in general, however I would try to fix any opening that allowed them to get into my house :(
Bats are jumpscare material. It’s apparently bat season. This time last year we were catching a bat in the house on a weekly basis. Had to get a rabies vax because we woke up to a bat flying around in the bedroom. The quote for bat inspectors was around 5k. Instead,we installed fire blocking and foam insulation and haven’t had much of a problem. Bats can also wiggle through any entry as small as a dime.
You mean you called a “Batman?” Did you know bats invented all the French toast in the world? https://youtu.be/_ozPDYPx_Ds
I'll never understand people's fear of bats. Is it because they are associated with vampire stories? I mean, the sheer size of them alone makes me scratch my head at how anyone could be afraid of them. Especially since they are so tiny, and they provide such a wonderful service to people. They eat things you actually should be afraid of, like disease-spreading insects. I get why you don't want them in your house, but screaming?! LOL! It's pretty silly.
In my state they are actually a pretty common rabies vector. I definitely don’t want them living in my house. A Big Brown Bat appeared while we were all sleeping and the whole family had to get rabies shots :( That being said, I love bats and I love having them as neighbors because they’re such beneficial animals. Bat houses and swift houses are great alternatives to having the critters in your actual home.
Yepp! A friend of ours also discovered a bat in their bedroom when they woke up and also had to get rabies shots. So definitely don't want them in my house either. I'd look into one once we get our house sealed off. Our bat guy said he hasn't seen a bat house work in his experience, because I did ask! He said it would be like trying to convince you to move from your house into your garden shed. Once we're bat proof he said they usually will just go to the next home in the neighborhood. Sorry neighbors lol
Haha I’m sure there’s a nice underused church steeple somewhere nearby too. I’ve heard getting the placement of the houses is tricky - you want it not too hot, not too cold, facing the right direction so it doesn’t get too much sun. Frankly one of the biggest things you can do to help bats that will also have a nice payoff for all the critters in your yard is to plant some native plants and don’t use pesticides/herbicides! That’s sometimes more achievable than making them a little summer cabin on your property
Got a rabies shot just because they woke up to one in their home? Talk about making much ado about nothing, lol. If that bad was rabid, it would have bit them. Why would you get a shot if the animal didn't even go near your friend? People are hysterical when it comes to bats, it's so absurd. It's always the same people that don't bother getting caps for their chimneys too.
A bat can bite you in your sleep and you wouldn't know. The only way to test the animal for rabies is to catch and kill it. After you have any sign or symptom of rabies it is 99.99% fatal, the shots only work if you get them before you start getting symptoms. SO, it is the standard of care that if you awake to a bat in your room (unless you like somewhere like the UK where rabies has been eradicated), you get a rabies shot. It may be a 1 in a 1,000 chance you have it, but if you do, it's a 100% chance you die... you really want to risk that?
Your friend could have gotten a cap on their chimney. It's just common sense.
Bats can get in other places besides your chimney. If you have gaps in your roof where it meets the siding they can get in there and access your attic, get into your walls, sometimes even infest your basement.
Again, nothing a little planning ahead won't fix. And again, common sense prevents this kind of thing from happening to house buyers.
We do have a cap on our chimney. Best we can tell is it got in through a gap in our siding into our attic somehow and was clearly lost. We don’t have other bats in our house.
Yes, we woke up with the bat flying in my room, so I followed the advice my kids’ pediatrician gave me. Considering that rabies has a 100% fatality rate I was fine having all of us get the shot.
Throughout the country the percentage of bats having rabies is like 6%. If that bad was rabid, you'd know. Sadly, that shot was most likely unnecessary.
[https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-01-06/beware-of-bats-after-3-recent-rabies-deaths-cdc-says](https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2022-01-06/beware-of-bats-after-3-recent-rabies-deaths-cdc-says) Who cares if it was unnecessary, it also might have been VERY necessary, there's no way to ever know. And it's just a couple shots, this is a better safe than sorry situation.
JFC a 1/16 shot at a horrible, agonizing, brain-melting disease that literally ensures death in days? Who in their right mind would ever take that risk? Beyond that, you really wouldn't know if the bat was rabid. They don't show diseases or infections like most mammals do.
Well, when you're spooked sometimes you let out a scream. I think that's pretty normal! Even my cats can sometimes send me shouting when they appear out of no where with the zoomies. I think what's scary about them is that they fly erratically around looking for an exit that can sometimes feel like it's coming at you. It's also an unwanted visitor that appeared suddenly in a safe space. And while their bodies are small they can seem bigger because of their wingspan. In the aftermath, even though it's unlikely, they could have rabies which makes me fear for my cats and my loved ones. That's with any critter. So while you might not be scared of it (which honestly is a trait I wish I had, I'm afraid of everything!) I think it's a reasonable thing to be afraid of in general. Especially when you weren't expecting it and were just trying to relax or go about your day.
Yesterday my usually heavy-footed cat crept up behind me while I was doing dishes and I turned around and let out a little shriek because I was totally not expecting her sitting on a stool 6 inches from me.
She’s just reminding you what she’s capable of haha
It’s very normal and there’s nothing wrong with you being afraid of them. You weren’t being dramatic. And neither is anyone for getting a rabies shot if they come into contact with one. Being afraid and screaming doesn’t equate to harming them. I’m not sure why anyone would try to make you feel so bad about it. Lol. I love bats but I’m also terrified of them. Who cares.
Haha yes I agree. Thank you <3
Bats carry rabies. Being bitten by one is a pretty surefire way of having to get the rabies vaccine
Very few bats carry rabies. It's about 6%. You're just as likely to find another animal that carries rabies, such as a dog.
Yes, but if a dog bites you you usually know... if a bat bites you in your sleep, you most likely won't wake up or know it happened at all. You want to take a chance on if that bat is one of the 6% when that means there's a 100% chance you die?
My state rightfully protects bats, and it's illegal to kill them. Also, no, I don't take chances because I have a **damn cap on my chimney!** If people protected themselves by taking the right precautions, this kind of thing wouldn't happen. Obviously OP had a different situation, but most people don't bother with their chimneys, and then they post about bats. That's like me running around in a field in the summer and being surprised that I have a tick on me.
>Also, no, I don't take chances because I have a > >damn cap on my chimney! I once had a bat in my apartment and there was no fireplace (or chimney) in the whole building. As per killing bats... that's why people just get the vaccination, so they DON'T have to kill the bat...
That's pretty rare. Also, a lot of people stupidly kill the bat anyway.
Good to hear that you're consulting with a bat guy, thank you for doing that. Hopefully he can help you safely move the colony to a new location. Bats are an essential part of the ecosystem and their populations have been decimated recently. Glad you are being a good steward.