I’m not worried about having been bitten. I wasn’t in a sound sleep as I became aware of the situation when the little dog began his bark. I heard the wings flapping and the only mystery at that point was whether it was a bird or a bat.
Bats aren’t aggressive and it was just down to his panic that had me concerned about how to deal with him. They don’t bite unless they feel threatened. I wasn’t threatening him. He’s just lost.
Bats can carry rabies, but it’s not common. He wasn’t acting in a non-batlike manner so no indication of rabies. Getting bit by a bat is almost unheard of if you’re not actually handling one.
I appreciate the concern, jaycat. If I had even a notion I’d actually come into contact with the animal, I wouldn’t hesitate to see a doc. And burpo, I’m always up to date on tetanus… it’s just prudent if you live rural. Thanks to you both for the suggestions and information. Tell you what: If I stop posting altogether, you can assume I’ve died a horrible, lonely death due to untreated rabies despite your warnings. :smack:
For now, I just hope he’ll accept my twilight invitation to leave the room. Naturally we’re practically at the solstice, twilight isn’t until nearly 9:00 p.m. and I must hope I can see him when he leaves. He’s probably pretty hungry and thirsty by now and that will act as inducement. I just want to change the sheets and sleep in my own bed tonight instead of one of the guest beds. Wish us luck.
why can’t we have any of those awesome flying foxes like they do over on the other side of the planet? we just have these tiny, freakish looking things.
Damn, they’re quick. I was sitting outside just beyond the wide open door nearly 45 minutes before actual twilight, so I had good light to spot him as he left. It was raining a bit. I hoped the smell of the rain would entice him out to look for water. There I lurked, waving off annoying little gnatty things with my eyes mostly fixed on the exit. Despite my vigilance, I never saw him go.
Finally checked to see if he was still hanging in the spot where he’d last parked himself in the room. He was gone, leaving behind an inconvenient dirty mark in the highest corner. It will be a bitch to wash away.
I’ll look again in a little while to make sure. I hope I’m right and he’s made good on his escape. We’ll both be very happy.
But my bat issues pale in comparison to the challenges of dealing with a decomposing raccoon corpse. I really hope for an update soon!
Yep, have dealt with dead raccoons, foxes, possums, etc many times. Dig a hole, roll the carcass into the hole, add some lime if handy, cover with soil. TaDa!
Who owns the ground the raccoon is lying on? You probably don’t have any particular right to dig graves in any land but your own, and I sense some reasonable hesitancy to drag a putrid rot-bomb back to your property.
I’m a little surprised the local scavengers have not been to town on it yet. I promise you, out here in the hinterlands, two nights max and the coyotes would have devoured it.
You don’t have to bury it, just dump a bag of quicklime on top of it. It might take a season or two for the grass to recover, but the smell will be dealt with.
I don’t know but that I might let the bugs take care of it though. Once they take hold the wet smelly bits are usually gone in a day. If you put the quicklime on, they’ll die and the longer, slower (but less smelly) breakdown process will take place.
I’ve heard this about South American bats that feed on the blood of cattle. But AFAIK all the North American bats feed on insects, and can’t/won’t do this.
There are some nasty diseases you can get from their guano though.
I placed notices online, offerring $50 for raccoon retrieval. No soap.
An older white lady, the kind that DEFINITELY wants to speak with the manager accidentally walked her chihuahua, which wore a little pink suit, near the raccoon. She was none pleased! I informed her of my chat with the local constabulary. She strongly asserted that the raccoon was not a raccoon, but in fact a cat. She felt it most immoral that a cat would be dead in the road, without benefit of government services to dispatch it. I encouraged her to summon all of her nice white cisgender heterosexual middle class outrage and summon the local constabulary. I am a very obviously queer transman of dubious ethnicity and this is a strong red area in a mostly blue state. Trust and believe the police do not support my attempts at communication. But her, probably.
Meanwhile, the corpse continued. I was hopeful yesterday that the corpse was deflating, and with deflation would come less stank. This was not so.
Today, it is 90+ degrees. The stank has grown to a degree most foul. A stank unbeknownst previously. It has also briefly rained. This seems to have also increased the smell. Spread it out a bit.
The corpse has slightly rolled into the median. The grass is long. My current hope is that municipal lawn care will come to tend to the median and insist the animal be collected for worker safety and sanitation. Failing that, I hope they run over it with an industrial mower, as perhaps if spread across a large area it will desiccate and cease to smell.
Down the road, a skunk and a gopher have joined the party. My street jogging is most difficult. This lack of collection, I should add, is new. In previous years I have witnessed road collection.
Perhaps it could be bagged and taken to the dumpster located at the police office? Empathy training, gratis.
OK, seriously, you don’thave to live like this. It’s time. Just get some quicklimeand dump the bag over top of it. Or maybe dump half the bag and save the other half in case it rains.
Could a leaf blower be used to push it into the street further, to facilitate abrupt spreading, thus allowing rain to wash some away and tomorrow desiccation?
You are damn right that I will go shirtless in pajama bottoms with a leaf blower, if so.
