Subject: Re: Was: Bats!; now Rabies

From: [email-masked] (Anmar Caves)
Date: Thu, 9 Sep 1993 14:05:35 GMT

In article <[email-masked]> [email-masked] (Jan Marshall) writes:
>
>Sigh again.  This thread got started because the original poster wants to 
>start some kind of bat haven in his/her attic.  I'd say the possibilities of 
>getting rabies from any rabid bats in such a situation are pretty high.

I hate to jump into your little flamefest, but I've been dealing with
bats for 10 years now, and as I posted in a very early post to this
thread, the chances of contracting rabies from having bats in the
attic are quite low.  This was confirmed by Indiana Dept. of Natural
Resources non-game fish and wildlife naturalist Scott Johnson, who
specializes in bats, when he gave a lecture on bats to our caving
group a year or so ago.  I was quite interested because I handle bats
on a regular basis and am intending to start a colony out at the
ranch.
This was also confirmed by bat expert Dr. Suthers, of Indiana
University, from a lecture 3 years ago he gave to our caving group.  
This can also be confirmed through BCI (Bat Conservation
International) headed by Merlin Tuttle.  

Again, as I posted before, one should not handle wild bats unless they
have experience doing so and take precautions, but a bat colony in the
attic is *not* going to pose a significant rabies hazard for the
occupants of the house.  If anyone is having problems and would like
to evict a colony, feel free to email me, I've got quite a bit of
experience in that area :-(.

-- 
Anmar Mirza   #Chief of Tranquility  # I don't need to carry a weapon,
EMT-D         #Base, Lawrence Co. IN # People talk to me long enough they
N9ISY (tech)  #Somewhere out on the  # then go and hurt themselves.
Networks Tech.#Mirza Ranch.C'mon over# ---Patti Cummings

---

From: [email-masked] (Chris Lewis)
Date: 11 Sep 93 03:02:20 GMT

>getting rabies from any rabid bats in such a situation are pretty high.

Sigh indeed.

You have a better chance at catching rabies from a cow at a petting zoo.

Ontario has one of the highest incidence of rabies anywhere in the world,
with approx 1500 confirmed cases in animals, and 2200 sets of rabies series
shots given to people yearly.  60% of the animals are domestic dogs and cats.
Most of the rest are skunks, foxes and squirrels.  Every year there are
about a dozen confirmed cases of rabies in domestic cattle.  With all of
the hysteria about rabies in bats, on average, less than one bat is
found to have rabies in Ontario yearly.  Less than one...

Those are pretty good odds.  Especially since the MOH is so good at pursuing
cases, that the last person to catch rabies was back in the early '50s.

It is not a good idea to encourage bats in your attic.  Not because of
rabies, but because of the toxoplasmosis hazard from bat feces.  Or, indeed,
having your ceiling deteriorate and collapse on your head from the weight
and dampness of bat feces and bat pee.

Toxoplasmosis is usually a pretty innocuous organism.  Something like 40%
of the human population already has the "bug".  And the bug is present
in the feces of many other animals, eg: cat litter boxes.  However, pregnant
women/ unborn fetuses are sometimes extremely susceptable.  And, contact with
large quantities of the bug (you're trying to shovel out the attic)
can have extreme consequences - up to and including blindness, brain damage
or death.  A few (3-5) people suffer these consequences in Ontario per year.

Cleaning out bat feces is sufficiently hazardous, that contractors removing
the material are required by the government to use class-three isolation suits
(complete with air packs).  Rather like asbestos, but here the hazard is
much better proven.

Bats are extremely valuable animals.  They're about the best bug controllers
there are.  People *should* encourage them.  But not in their attics.

If you encounter bats in your attic during the spring/summer, there are simple
ways to evict them without harming them.  Ie: waiting for them all to
leave on their nightly foraging, and block up the access holes.  If you
do this, it would be a really good idea to put up a bat box or three near
your house to provide them with alternate lodgings.  Keep your fingers
crossed that they stay nearby.  It is really fascinating to watch
them swoop around catching insects.  And if you're like me, living
too close to mosquito country, you'll really appreciate their activities.

If, on the other hand, you find bats in your attic during the late fall
or winter, leave them alone!  They go into a hibernation-like state for
most of the cold weather.  If you disturb them, they will wake up.  But,
chances are that they will use up so much energy waking up, that they
will not have enough left for the rest of the winter and will die.  There
is no need to evict them during the late fall or winter, because they're
hibernating and won't be producing much feces at all.
-- 
Chris Lewis; [email-masked]; Phone: Canada 613 832-0541
Psroff 3.0 info: [email-masked]
Ferret list: [email-masked]