I woke up at 3 AM and stumbled into the bathroom. Suddenly something hit me in the face, and then I felt delicate, membranous wings hit me around my face and head a couple of times. I guess I yelled, because my wife began asking what was the matter. I got a light on, and could see a bat flying around in our bedroom. My wife hid under the covers while I tried to avoid the bat while getting some clothes on. I went to the garage and got a long-handled net and a tennis racquet (gotta start keeping these weapons in the house). I managed to net the bat without destroying anything, and released it outside. Of course, I couldn’t get back to sleep after that adventure. What a way to start the day.
Catch and release.
Cool. 
How’d it get in? 
Probably changed into mist and came under the door.
And now you are obligated to point out that criminals are a superstitious & cowardly lot, don cape & cowl, & begin your career as a masked, crime-fighting Mystery Man.
Good luck!
So here’s an awkward question: at one point do you assume you’ve been exposed to rabies? Do you wait till you start foaming at the mouth and biting the neighbors, or are there some early-warning signs?
Sal is right…they just had a story in Texas about a kid who was sleeping with the windows open and he saw the bat fly out, but didn’t think he’d been bitten. They have small, sharp teeth and he didn’t feel the bite.
He’s dying (or dead) as we speak. DON’T TAKE CHANCES. GO TO THE DOCTOR AND GET THE TREATMENT.
P.S.: It can lay dormant in your body for YEARS. DON’T FUCK WITH THIS. GET THE TREATMENT.
For what it’s worth, my rabies vaccination of ten years ago was painless and still works. Bats around here are a know rabies vector.
He’s dead (, Jim).
Seriously… once the symptoms for rabies show up, it’s too late - treatment is useless at that point and the victim WILL die. It’s quite treatable prior to that. And bats have such sharp teeth, you might not even know you were bitten.
All right, Crotalus, if you weren’t worried before, you’re surely worried now. So score one for the SDMB! Of course, you’ll never know whether we saved your life or made you get a series of painful injections for nothing…
So, if I’ve thoroughly examined my face for scratches, and found no trace of a bite, I still need medical treatment? And to think I was pissed at the bat because I couldn’t get back to sleep. Maybe I should have used the tennis racquet instead of the net. Sheesh.
As to how it got in, I live in an old (built in 1901) house with three chimneys. I think the pathway is chimney to basement to my bathroom.
I dunno, I guess it’s your decision. I mean heck, only a confused bat would enter a confined space when there’s bugs to eat outside, right?
oops. confusion is a sign of rabies, isn’t it?
The treatment is a breeze anymore. You can’t afford NOT to. Dude, you WILL die if you catch it. If I read correctly, only two people have ever survived rabies. In the history of the world. I’d be more than a little concerned.
Just watchin’ yer back…ya know?
I think that they enter the house to sleep during the day and then don’t find their way back out again. A few years ago I had to replace my attic fan, and there were a couple of dessicated bat corpses hanging from the intact screen on the fan.
I’ll be seeing my doctor tomorrow. Thanks to all for your concern. I actually had not considered myself exposed until I read these posts.
Yay!
My un-tried rule about bats and rabies is if a bat has touched me, and I don’t die from the pure grosseningosity of the encounter, I’ve been exposed. I hear tell it is THE WORST death a person can experience. So bad, in fact, that they put you into a coma to spare you the grizzly demise.
Wow, I thought the bat’s radar would have kept it from flying into you. I’m forever reassuring people that bats don’t get tangled in your hair, that that’s just a myth. I stand corrected!
It’s either put you in a coma or have a guy with poor-fitting glasses shoot you in the street. Your choice.
As mentioned, Texas, or at least parts of it, are on high alert now. Here in Houston we recently had the young teen that died. Now they’re finding rabid bats seemingly everywhere and anyone coming in contact is getting treated. Last night’s news mentioned a woman and a toddler starting treatments. Only 1 or 2% of the bats are rabid but apparently they’re the ones displaying abberant behavior and making contact with people.
Their counsel wrt any dead bat encounter is to wear gloves and pick it up with a shovel. If you actually had a live one on your face… well…
A further lesson: If you catch a bat in such circumstances, Do Not Release It. Have it examined for rabies, and put your mind at ease (one hopes).
You all have convinced me that my catch and release program was a bad idea. If another bat finds its way into my living space, I’m going for lethal force. Maybe a back-hand with the tennis racquet, followed by a quick stomp.