Hit by a bat while riding!

[owlice]

What IS it with them? A fair bit of my riding is at dusk/in the dark. I ride trails, and in several places, get buzzed by bats. It's so weird! And Wednesday night, one flew into me, onto my right thigh. I pushed him off, of course.

There've been a few times I've thought I was going to catch a robin in my teeth, but this is the first time something has actually hit/flown into me. (I don't think he was hurt by the encounter, BTW.)

Anyone else get buzzed by bats?

[westtexas]

LOL when I first read this I was thinking someone went to you with a baseball bat! Glad to see it was just a friendly night critter. I have to admit I've eaten my fair share of bugs riding around.

[PamNY]

I used to love biking through batty areas, but white nose disease has reduced the population.

Never got hit by one, though.

[Velocivixen]

They just like you. I imagine that they can "sense" that you're a fine person. After all, you're on a bike. ;)

[Catrin]

No chance that it bit you did it? I am sure you would have mentioned it if it had, but bat bites are dangerous...

[ridenread]

EWWWW. I don't know why but bats totally creep me out.

[OakLeaf]

Yikes! I love bats, but I've never had one actually run into me. :eek:

+1 it's probably just it's their prime hunting grounds and hour, and you're moving too fast for them to anticipate. I'd say to try slowing down, but then the mosquitoes would catch up with you. :p

[roadie gal]

CALL YOUR DOCTOR ASAP!! Around here rabies is endemic in bats and ANYONE WHO COMES IN CONTACT WITH A BAT GETS RABIES PROPHYLAXIS. That includes whether or not they have been bitten. You need to know whether or not that's true for your area. You may need to get treated.

[owlice]

The bat didn't bite me; he's not my cat, after all! He just hit my leg and I brushed him away. Last death in Maryland from a bat bite was in 1976 or so, so I'm sure I'm okay (except for this little bit of froth around my mouth).

Ouch, westtexas, a baseball bat would hurt!!! I'm glad I didn't get hit by one of those!!

And I have to amend my statement that this is the first time something has flown into me; I've certainly had bugs fly into me, usually into my eyes or mouth, which has helped me learn to ride with shades and keep my mouth closed when I bike, or at least, when I inhale!

[pll]

Checking with your doctor might be something to do, anyway (the Maryland department of health (http://ideha.dhmh.maryland.gov/czvbd/rabies.aspx) suggests reporting any animal exposure -- see the post exposure information). A bite is not necessary. If the bat's saliva came in contact with any wound or mucous membrane... you get the idea.

[Owlie]

I love bats, but I wouldn't like to run into one.

[Karma007]

I just don't even know how I would respond to that.

[CycleTherapy]

CALL YOUR DOCTOR ASAP!! Around here rabies is endemic in bats and ANYONE WHO COMES IN CONTACT WITH A BAT GETS RABIES PROPHYLAXIS. That includes whether or not they have been bitten. You need to know whether or not that's true for your area. You may need to get treated.

Ditto Roadie gal.... I had a friend who unknowingly slept in a room with one under her bed. Even though it was dead, she had to have the rabies vaccination. You do not have to be bitten and you did come in physical contact with the bat.

[Bike Writer]

EWWWW. I don't know why but bats totally creep me out.

++++many times for me! Just to be safe, I would get checked out also.

[owlice]

I had a friend who unknowingly slept in a room with one under her bed. Even though it was dead, she had to have the rabies vaccination. You do not have to be bitten and you did come in physical contact with the bat.
The fear there is that the bat may have bitten her -- bat teeth are really tiny -- and then died while she was sleeping. If she'd seen the dead bat before she went to bed... well, she probably wouldn't have gone to bed! ;)

Seems to me the bat, already dead, could have been tested before someone decided she needed to have the rabies series. I wonder why they didn't do that?

[CycleTherapy]

It was due to time. It was going to be a period of 4-5 days to determine whether or not the bat was diseased. The County in which this happened had the bat sent to a laboratory in Atlanta. By the time they received it, the bat had been deceased for too long. Better safe than sorry, my friend had no problem complying with the recommendation for the vaccinations. She also had touched the dead bat... any contact with a carrier, dead or alive, can transmit rabies.

[bmccasland]

Bats are cute, little flying mice, although the fruit eating bats of the tropics are called flying foxes - they have a long fox-like face. When I worked for County Parks way back when, we had an ill bat in the cash drop drawer. I caught it, kept it in the dark until evening, then planned to release it away from the entry booth area, but alas, it died. It was a little Pipsitrelle (smallest of the North American bats) http://www.desertmuseum.org/kids/bats/western_pipistrelle.php. Since I worked at a park, and we had a museum, I decided to stuff the little guy - turned out it had a sinus infection.
When I was a university student I worked in the mammal collection (where I learned to stuff things), and the department head liked bats, so I got to help mist-net them on occasion, or just take care of and catalogue those in the collection. They are a fascinating class of mammals. And I have to admit, the Pipsitrelles are my favorites.