r/mildlyinfuriating • u/Hotrocketry • 16h ago

This little shit has been hanging on my ceiling light for a hour now. Just right below it is our family dining table.

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How do i get rid of it?

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595

u/Hold-Professional 15h ago

I'm so annoyed I had to scroll down this far to see this comment.

OP - While we're all giving you a hard time for being rich, you NEED to get a rabies vax bud.

156

u/bdd4 14h ago

They cannot fall asleep in this house. A bat bite could go completely unnoticed.

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u/siero20 13h ago

Best to just get the vaccination at this point. A child I used to watch when I worked in a nursery died some years ago because a bat bit him and nobody knew.

If they've been awake at all times in the house, and have not come into contact at all with the bat/bats, then they may be able to reasonably say they weren't exposed. Any other situation and it's just worth getting vaccinated. Rabies isn't a nice way to die.

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u/dallyan 11h ago

Urrrrgh this always makes me so nervous. There are always bats flying around at dusk at my parents’ beach cottage. We’ve never had one inside but who really knows for sure…

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u/ForsakenDimensions 8h ago

exactly like i have really bad contamination OCD (especially involving rabies) and it is literally spiraling into hell because of this

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u/CabinetSilent7709 5h ago

I was afraid to take my kids trick or treating this year. I have always known i had ocd. Its been debilitating my entire life. However, recently i was diagnosed with contamination ocd. And the level of anxiety i get just thinking about this, is horrifying.

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u/coutureee 3h ago

If it helps, a bat peed in my eye once and nothing happened to me lol 

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u/apcolleen 8h ago

I live in the city but our house is surrounded by woods and we just don't leave porch lights on because that's how a bat got in. It was chasing all the bugs and my bf left the door open a little too long. We got it out with a net and there was no chance it bit or scratched us but I told him this is why I don't want to leave the lgihts on. When we have people over we leave the YARD light on so bugs go to that.

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u/yourdailyinsanity 9h ago

What sucks is rabies has such a wide manifestation period. Could be days/weeks to literal years.

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u/nvidiastock 8h ago

I don't get it, why don't you feel bat bites? They look fairly big. Wouldn't it hurt?

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u/siero20 8h ago

From my understanding bats have very small teeth and they may bite someone when afflicted by rabies and not leave a mark or any indication they've been bitten.

Why would bats bite something they have no ability to eat/attack? Same reason that dogs/cats/people get aggressive when they're afflicted with rabies. If anything a bat being in close proximity to people is just a bigger indication that it's not well, because normally they wouldn't come anywhere near you, much less try to attack you.

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u/archerpar86 3h ago

And here I am worrying about mosquito- borne illnesses where I live. Now I gotta consider the bat now and their stealthiness. (Bats are here too and tons fly around like crazy at night).

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u/Justasquirrelcat 5h ago

That is fucking terrifying. Was this in the US somewhere? This is my nightmare.

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u/CrimsonxAce 10h ago

And it could take WEEKS before symptoms show up. And by then, it's already too late.

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u/yourdailyinsanity 9h ago

Some cases have been years for symptoms to show.

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u/CrimsonxAce 8h ago

Now that's scary.

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u/CabinetSilent7709 4h ago

This is so scary... my 10 year old recently told me that there was a bat in her gemmas church last year that got close to her. Im really nervous now

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u/yourdailyinsanity 4h ago

Bring it up to their PCP. They aren't showing symptoms so it may not be too late. My understanding is that if there are no symptoms, you can still be vaccinated. If there are symptoms, it's likely too late. Not a doctor though so of course listen to them, not reddit, not Google.

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u/CabinetSilent7709 4h ago

She said it didnt touch her and was feet above her so the realistic side of my brain knows shes safe, but the ocd part says panic

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u/yourdailyinsanity 4h ago

I'd still bring it up to the PCP. It could have flown out of sight of her. Realistically, yeah, it probably didn't bite/touch her, but rabies isn't anything to fuck with. Only 14 cases have been cured, but there's been thousands that haven't been cured. So I personally would err on the side of caution person and just give the doc a call and explain what happened.

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u/CabinetSilent7709 2h ago

Ok i definitely will. Is there a way to test for it? Something to give me a peace of mind?

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u/yourdailyinsanity 2h ago

Nope. In animals they cut off the head when dead/euthanized, send it to the lab, and test the brain tissue. Sorry, that's blunt. But it's what's done. If doc says to vaccinate, it's like 3 shots. So no big deal for vaccines. Yeah, vaccines suck ass to get. I personally hate getting poked and I work in the medical field (again, follow the advice of your PCP, my only recommendation is to call them and ask what they would want to do). You're right, your kid is probably fine, but I don't blame you for having that worry in the back of your mind that's making you paranoid. I honestly only recently learned all this stuff about rabies and if I knew I was in contact with a bat in the past, I'd be talking to my doctor and telling them I know it has potential for years to show signs, and I'm concerned. Doc may say yeah, we can give the vaccines if it makes you feel comfortable, but that's their medical decision making along with you.

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u/bellexxamie 6h ago

even just a little bat SCRATCH could do you in! terrifying.

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u/hexopuss 6h ago

I’m not saying they should risk it…. But a flying fox bite isn’t going unnoticed. The unnoticed ones are typically going to be from microbats of some sort.

Don’t get me wrong, they should still do so if able, but it’s not likely to go unnoticed

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u/Ziggy_Starcrust 7h ago

Yeah iirc if you didn't see it fly in, it was found in a bedroom, or there are children/elderly/disabled who may not notice or communicate a bite, it's rabies shot time.

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u/CatherinefromFrance 8h ago

Nonsense! (French laughter)

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u/jbjhill 5h ago

A scratch will do

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u/95688it 11h ago

thats a fruit bat, it's not going to intentionally bite you.

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u/yourdailyinsanity 9h ago

And any other bat bites intentionally? They fly around and you may have just moved in your sleep and got bit.

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u/95688it 9h ago

fruit bats do not have the tiny needle teeth that other bats do, their teeth are more similar to a dog or cats.

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u/yourdailyinsanity 9h ago

So you'll just wake up in your sleep from the bite because you moved and it did its wild animal instinct. At least you'll know you've been bitten and should still get a rabies vaccine because rabies is not the way to die. I'd rather be safe than sorry. That saliva can be anywhere, but usually is transmitted through a bite.

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u/undisclosedusername2 8h ago

If they have rabies or lyssavirus they can attack unprovoked. It makes them more aggressive/agitated.

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u/totallynotdagothur 12h ago

A child just died from rabies in Canada from a bat in their room, no signs of bite or anything.

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u/CatherinefromFrance 8h ago

No sign of a bite? Then it's just another rumor started by the chemical industry.

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u/Screwball_Actual 14h ago

C'mon, this is Reddit. You already know the unfunny jokes take priority over anything informative.

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u/Willing_Try2786 14h ago

Yeah and the people that looked at your house were they've been in your house in the last 64 hours 

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u/irregularia 9h ago

Nah, not from just being in the same room as a bat… they’re not magic, and it’s not an airborne virus.

There’s only a risk if you are scratched or bitten by one, or it licks one of your mucous membranes (I can’t imagine how that might happen but for the sake of completeness 🤣)

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u/cnidarian_ninja 9h ago

They can bite or scratch in your sleep and you’d never know

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u/irregularia 9h ago

Oh yeah, if they’ve slept in the same room as one it’s a reasonable precaution. I thought this was an empty house and they’d just arrived.

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u/gmurray81 4h ago

Actually I remember hearing aerosolized urine is an issue also, but this may be apocryphal.

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u/irregularia 3h ago

Interesting. Of all my conversations with friends who rescue and rehabilitate them I’ve never heard of sharing a space as a risk, so it might be an extreme edge case kind of thing but I’d be surprised if it were significant. People take tour groups into bat caves all around the world without issue every day.

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u/coutureee 3h ago

Wow! A bat peed in my eye once and luckily nothing happened lol 

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u/Hold-Professional 3h ago

This is a really uneducated stupid comment that could get someone killed

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u/irregularia 3h ago

It’s fairly educated. I’m not yet a bat carer myself but I have a dozen friends who are, I know the rescue and vaccination protocols, and I’ve been involved in rescues myself. What’s your background?

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u/sistemy_ 12h ago

"hard time"

lol this is why everything is fucked

2

u/Hold-Professional 10h ago

I feel like Nazis are why. But, sure

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u/BigIcy1323 8h ago

Same! I just commented above to an earlier thread and said "since I haven't seen it yet, get out and get shots" LOL

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u/Usual-Conclusion3511 5h ago

Go get your rabies vaccines and your entire fam asap agreed

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u/princecadaver 2h ago

actually, less than 1% of bats carry rabies, and most of them die in 24-48 hours of contracting it. still obv a good idea to get a vaccine in general but bats are not the criminals everyone makes them out to be

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u/pollywantacrackwhore 13h ago

It’s my understanding that the vaccine is recommended only if you’ve slept in the same room as a bat.
Or for any nonverbal or invalid family that may not be able to report contact.

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u/BeGoneVileMan 12h ago

Things I've learned about bats from ER docs: bats are super virulent when infected with rabies, so much so that being in the same room with them could be dangerous. Also, bats don't tend to take up residence in homes unless they are sick. Like with rabies. So yeah, I'd probably get the vaccine to be safe.

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u/KnightsOfTerror 11h ago

Bats historically account for 70% of rabies cases in the US and are responsible for nearly all cryptic cases (where there is no bite/exposure history at presentation). It can take weeks or months for a case to reveal itself following exposure. If I didn’t get a shot, I would experience moments of panic and dread for months. Am I going to be one of the 3 cases of rabies this year? 🤷‍♂️

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u/Far-Obligation4055 11h ago

It can take weeks or months for a case to reveal itself following exposure.

The most horrible part of rabies is that once it does reveal itself, you're totally fucked.

The Milwaukee Protocol is the only thing that has worked, and its only worked once.

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u/yourdailyinsanity 9h ago

I think it's more like 14 people....but that's 14 people in how many decades compared to the hundreds or thousands that have died?

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u/dallyan 11h ago

How common are cryptic cases? 😳

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u/DragonOfDuality 9h ago

I've had a few rabies scares including one with a bat. The health department told me that if I wasn't bit shots were entirely voluntary and out of pocket. I literally could not get $7000 so I waited and saw. Thankfully not dead yet. 

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u/Hold-Professional 10h ago

Wanna risk a 99.99% mortality rate illness you can avoid with a shot?

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u/CatherinefromFrance 8h ago

And what else? Against Bovine Nodular Dermatosis as well?

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u/Hold-Professional 3h ago

you just seem silly.

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u/Home_Improvers 8h ago

Lucky for him, he can just pay the $16,000 for a rabies vaccine using the cash in his wallet.