Creepy Bat Anecdote

[Howard Treesong]

Mrs. T called me yesterday to tell me there was a dead bat on the floor of the dining room of the new Chez T, into which we have not yet moved. Rather than deal with it late last night after work, I went over this morning, armed with a long-handled dustbin, a rake, and heavy gardening gloves. When I went into the dining room, I saw no bat. Mentally thinking that Mrs. T might have described its location incorrectly, I looked around and saw a dead bat through the dining room doorway out on the indoor porch. So I stepped through the door and slid the dustbin underneath the bat. Of course, the thing wasn't dead -- although it was obviously in bad shape, it managed to spread its wings out about 8" to each side, open its mouth (showing a stack of effing sharp-looking 1/8" teeth) to about three times the volume of its head, and emit an absolutely bone-chilling screech.

I managed to deal with it without getting rabies, but man, that was unpleasant. It's twelve hours later and I'm still creeped out: I've probably washed my hands twenty times today. Plus, ZJ is winning the $2000 NLH.

Cliff notes: Bats suck. Hands very clean now.

[PokerFox]

Did you look like this?



Hey Dwight..guess I'm gonna go home..draw the shades..there's so much sun in here.



Bye Dwight...

On a serious note, glad you got the thing handled. Bats are creepy little [censored].

[lippy]

What compelled you to inspect it...?

[Howard Treesong]

[ QUOTE ]
What compelled you to inspect it...?

[/ QUOTE ]

The porch is an indoor porch. Mrs. T asked me to remove what we thought was a dead bat from inside the house. For all you single guys, this is part of marital duty in most normal families: we guys get to deal with dead animals.

[Signal777]

Bats are actually fairly harmless gentle creatures, unless rabid of course. Not that I would want to have to handle one.

[Los Feliz Slim]

HT,

I once had a bat in my college apartment that was sleeping upside down on an AC vent. It looked totally cute while it was sleeping, but when the guy we got to come deal with it (long story) grabbed it with his canvas-gloved hands, the thing got scary just like you describe, screeching and biting and going, well, batshit.

I hope you put the poor thing out of its misery.

[Howard Treesong]

[ QUOTE ]
I hope you put the poor thing out of its misery.

[/ QUOTE ]

I did, thinking about the Ja' Blue thread as I did so.

[hobbes9324]

Now here's the bad news......

You don't have to get bitten by a bat to get rabies from it - and in fact, over the last several years (in the US) more people have gotten rabies from inhaled dried urine/feces than by bites. This usually occurs in a setting like a cave, but when I called the CDC on a 9 year old girl who was sleeping in a cabin that a bat was roosting in, the directive was "Give her the shots".

Of course, the odds of anything happening to you are verrrrrrrrry small.....but hopefully you're well insured - leave Ms. Treesong in good shape, if you start foaming at the mouth.....

MM MD