Bat infestation on a tile roof

[Oren]

"HOLY BATMAN! A crew of carpenters are in for a surprise when they begin the tear off process of a clients' old roof and hundreds of bats come flying out from underneath the tiles!"

Video:

[Doug]

More like Holy Bat Cave...

[joevan]

Seems to be more like thousands.

[Vic Smith]

Whoa!

[Justin Time]

Bats are actually good for the neighborhood and environment. As you view the video, you'll noticed there wasn't any damage caused by the bats, they simply colonized due to the openings of the tiles. Overall, they are useful as a warning sign to potential environmental problems, they help control the insect population, mainly the mesquito population but also other insects which can be dangerous to humans.

Bats are our friends. : )

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[RonB]

Actually no real change unless they moved in the night before. I'm guessing folks had been seeing bats in the neighborhood before this.

[Pete C.]

Overhyped. Cavers crawl through bat crap and past thousands of bats all the time and virtually nobody gets histoplasmosis.

[Robert Green]

A lot of people go through the shots simply because the offending bat could not be captured and dissected:

"Rabies is a fatal disease. Each year, tens of thousands of people are successfully protected from developing rabies through vaccination after being bitten by an animal like a bat that may have rabies."

The actual number of fatalities is quite low, and usually means a bite victim did not seek medical treatment, but bats are still the number All in all, I take the position: "I don't live in your trees or burrows - don't move into my house and we'll be (mostly) fine." My dog enforces that position with great determination. She's too proud to roll over for me, but she'll squirm upside all night in the juice of a cricket she just killed. Then she'll patrol the spot where she found him with extra vigilence for a week or so afterward.

Bats *are* our friends, especially if they do their "bat thing" away from human habitation. I'd even support artifically "bat caves" mounted on telephone pole or some other bat-attractive structure.

It's pigeons that are our TRUE enemy! I recently learned that in many cities, pigeon-netting is being applied to bridge ironwork because bridge engineers have realized that pigeon poop turns into a pretty potent corrosive agent over time. I also learned that the Tappan Zee bridge was built on the cheap with wood pilings that are in danger of being infested with shipworms.

-- Bobby G.

[Tony Miklos]

As I watched I kept wishing I could relocate a couple hundred of them to a bat house near my house. Yes, I'm a bat hugger.

[RonB]

Wellllll..... I think they are pretty cool little critters too. On occasion we have flocks of them appear in the evening down here is SE Kansas. Love to watch them swoop and do their evening rituals which is probably hunting insects.

But we have enough.

Ron

[Pete C.]

The issue referenced is histoplasmosis, not rabies. Histoplasmisis is caused by a bacteria that is sometimes found in bat droppings.

[The Daring Dufas]

What!? You've never seen a Mexican Bat Dance before? It would be good to put up a bat house much like a bird house but a bit different to keep the bats around for insect control. ^_^

TDD

[Robert Green]

Never said otherwise. Just pointing out that in addition to histoplasmOsis, bats transmit more rabies than any other animal in America and that finding them in your house can indicate that they're rabid. Probably not in this case, but indoor bats are not to be taken lightly. They usually stay away from humans and those that do approach humans are usually injured or sick and can have rabies.

As for "Caver's Lung" - it's not something to dismiss lightly:

-- Bobby G.

[Pete C.]

Both histoplasmosis and rabid bats are far more rare than the hype around them. I never said histoplasmosis was anything to sneeze at, just quite rare. And yes, cavers do pay attention for any signs of histoplasmosis, but they don't take any special precautions (masks, hazmat suits, etc.) since the risk is low and as long as you are alert and catch any case of it promptly it generally isn't a big deal.

[Pete C.]

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I'm pretty sure it was a Dirty Jobs episode, and I'm pretty sure they used the gear because histoplasmosis bacteria were known to be present at that site.

Spelunkers are not cavers... Cavers are the trained and prepared folks who typically rescue the lost, untrained and unprepared spelunkers. Cavers have maps of the caves (they surveyed and produced them), have appropriate gear for caves with vertical drops, etc.