# Bats, man!



## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

I hate Bats!

Bats love hanging out under shutters. I expect to find at least a few when removed, and I was not disappointed today.

A few years ago a bat landed on my hand (in a situation just like this) and I had to get a whole round of Rabies Booster Shots. The nurse said if they touch your hand you need to have the shots - their teeth are so sharp you wouldn't even feel them bite you, and there is no cure for Rabies. Glad I had insurance, or it would have been over $10k. Now I always wear gloves (and masks because of the guano) when there is a risk of contact.










*Fun Fact: *

"People used to call *rabies hydrophobia* because it appears to cause a fear of water. The reason is that the infection causes intense spasms in the throat when a person tries to swallow. Even the thought of swallowing water can cause spasms, making it appear that the individual is afraid of water."


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## fromthenorthwest (May 2, 2012)

Bats on the head, that's quite an adventure! I've only had bats on a job once and they were dead already. 10k for rabies shots, didn't realize they were so expensive.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

fromthenorthwest said:


> Bats on the head, that's quite an adventure! I've only had bats on a job once and they were dead already. 10k for rabies shots, didn't realize they were so expensive.


It was more than $10k (and it might have been closer to 20k but I don’t remember), and it was inconvenient. I think seven shots total. I ran out of places for them to stick me: it has to be a different location for each shot. The shots also made me feel sick. Bats are all over the place here, lots of bugs for them to eat.

“The first dose of the four-dose course should be administered as soon as possible after exposure. Additional doses should be administered on days 3, 7, and 14 after the first vaccination.”


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## cocomonkeynuts (Apr 14, 2017)

Holland said:


> It was more than $10k (and it might have been closer to 20k but I don’t remember), and it was inconvenient. I think seven shots total. I ran out of places for them to stick me: it has to be a different location for each shot. The shots also made me feel sick. Bats are all over the place here, lots of bugs for them to eat.
> 
> “The first dose of the four-dose course should be administered as soon as possible after exposure. Additional doses should be administered on days 3, 7, and 14 after the first vaccination.”


That's just what they bill your insurance, non insured rates are around 2000 here all said and done


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## stelzerpaintinginc. (May 9, 2012)

I feel for ya @Holland 

About 15 years ago we were hired to do a big condo complex in Lincoln City, OR. Hadn't been painted in about 20 years, and the highest portions around back hadn't been painted in over 30 years because of bats. We were even warned about the bats by nearly every tenant we saw for all 3 weeks we were there. 
Nobody on the crew wanted to go up to spray the high side because of it, (which means I got to do it). Standing on the third-to-top wrung of a 40'er...knees literally shaking in anticipation...as soon as I sprayed the gap between the soffit and the gutter.... AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


I dropped the gun, grabbed the outside of the wrungs with my hands & feet, and did a fireman-slide all the way down, (screaming like a stuck pig the entire time). Not joking when I say the sky was dark for a good 30 seconds while thousands upon thousands came rushing out of there. On my face, on my chest, etc. Not my proudest moment. 

The only thing we usually see behind shutters are wasps nests though. Bats would add a whole new level of suck.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

stelzerpaintinginc. said:


> I feel for ya @Holland
> 
> About 15 years ago we were hired to do a big condo complex in Lincoln City, OR. Hadn't been painted in about 20 years, and the highest portions around back hadn't been painted in over 30 years because of bats. We were even warned about the bats by nearly every tenant we saw for all 3 weeks we were there.
> Nobody on the crew wanted to go up to spray the high side because of it, (which means I got to do it). Standing on the third-to-top wrung of a 40'er...knees literally shaking in anticipation...as soon as I sprayed the gap between the soffit and the gutter.... AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> ...



“This is no time to panic”


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

stelzerpaintinginc. said:


> I feel for ya @Holland
> 
> About 15 years ago we were hired to do a big condo complex in Lincoln City, OR. Hadn't been painted in about 20 years, and the highest portions around back hadn't been painted in over 30 years because of bats. We were even warned about the bats by nearly every tenant we saw for all 3 weeks we were there.
> Nobody on the crew wanted to go up to spray the high side because of it, (which means I got to do it). Standing on the third-to-top wrung of a 40'er...knees literally shaking in anticipation...as soon as I sprayed the gap between the soffit and the gutter.... AAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> ...


Omfg.😂


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## slinger58 (Feb 11, 2013)

finishesbykevyn said:


> Omfg.


My thoughts exactly. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## 215PaintingAndCarpentry (8 mo ago)

Well thanks for adding a new painting fear to my list guys. I've only ever found dead ones behind walls and stuff when I was working though my parents had a colony of "rejected juvenile male bats'' living in their basement walls for a while that I got to help them with, I'll have to tell some stories about that sometime.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

We live in a area the has a lot of Doug Firs and bats love to nest in them. Our neighbors have a really high front door entry with some funky design features in the eaves that a few bats have taken up residence in. You can see a small pile of guano on the porch directly below where they always nest.

Last summer we had our deck umbrella closed due to some rainy and windy weather and when we opened it back up there was a small bat asleep in the folds. He took off after awhile and never saw him again. Other than that we typically only see them on warm summer evenings when they are out catching insects.

Since we took out a bunch of firs a few years ago I have been thinking about building and putting up some bat houses to help make up a bit for taking out the trees. Because they do feed on such large numbers of bugs, they are considered beneficial around here.


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

Although I’ve encountered bats on numerous occasions they never quite irked me as much as a couple of snakes that slithered out of brick mortar joints at crotch level when painting an exterior window. 

I once had a bat flying around in my shop one evening and tossed a roll of blue tape at it, nailing it and taking it out mid-flight…I kinda felt badly for the little fella…


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

RH said:


> We live in a area the has a lot of Doug Firs and bats love to nest in them. Our neighbors have a really high front door entry with some funky design features in the eaves that a few bats have taken up residence in. You can see a small pile of guano on the porch directly below where they always nest.
> 
> Last summer we had our deck umbrella closed due to some rainy and windy weather and when we opened it back up there was a small bat asleep in the folds. He took off after awhile and never saw him again. Other than that we typically only see them on warm summer evenings when they are out catching insects.
> 
> Since we took out a bunch of firs a few years ago I have been thinking about building and putting up some bat houses to help make up a bit for taking out the trees. Because they do feed on such large numbers of bugs, they are considered beneficial around here.


Beneficial disease carriers, that sleep and hide where I need to paint.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

Redux said:


> Although I’ve encountered bats on numerous occasions they never quite irked me as much as a couple of snakes that slithered out of brick mortar joints at crotch level when painting an exterior window.
> 
> I once had a bat flying around in my shop one evening and tossed a roll of blue tape at it, nailing it and taking it out mid-flight…I kinda felt badly for the little fella…


throwing a roll of blue tape is not an irrational reaction, in fact he had it coming.

we don’t have any venomous snakes here, but a big Rat Snake or Pine Snakes will startle anyone not expecting it!

We are starting to get reports of Black Widows, False Widows, and Brown Recluse in the county. They live in areas where I paint frequently. I’ve seen numerous widows in the last few years. I try to preserve Mud Daubers nests, as they are natural predators.


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## thepm4 (May 18, 2020)

Yikes to all who have to deal with bats at work and good heads-up @Holland...
I had to deal with a live bat in my house a while ago and a fishing net (the kind with around 16" diameter) made it a breeze to catch in flight. 
And yes..their teeth are razors.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

thepm4 said:


> Yikes to all who have to deal with bats at work and good heads-up @Holland...
> I had to deal with a live bat in my house a while ago and a fishing net (the kind with around 16" diameter) made it a breeze to catch in flight.
> And yes..their teeth are razors.


I’d spare anyone from the Rabies shots. Definitely made me wary of bats forevermore.

The video in the original post shows a Dead Man Walking. Most people die within 5-7 days of showing symptoms of Furious Rabies. To this day, only one (maybe two) people have survived it.


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## Redux (Oct 27, 2018)

On the topic of winged critters in the workplace, I once had a big winged fish fall from the sky and land smack dab on my head when finishing a deck. 

Apparently an Osprey scooped a Skate fish up out of the nearby bay and dropped it on my my head. It scared the living bajesus out of me and took me a while to figure out how a fish could fall from the sky until seeing the majestic raptor circling high in the air above me.


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## Holland (Feb 18, 2011)

Redux said:


> On the topic of winged critters in the workplace, I once had a big winged fish fall from the sky and land smack dab on my head when finishing a deck.
> 
> Apparently an Osprey scooped a Skate fish up out of the nearby bay and dropped it on my my head. It scared the living bajesus out of me and took me a while to figure out how a fish could fall from the sky until seeing the majestic raptor circling high in the air above me.


lol, trying to make offerings!


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## finishesbykevyn (Apr 14, 2010)

I've been bitten by a raccoon on 2 occasions. My own fault trying to feed them from my own hand. Apparently it was low risk of rabies at the time, so just sucked it up..


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