# Wife found dead bat in house -- rabies confirmed.. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 16, 2014, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674 "2014-08-16T12:41:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/1 "2014-08-16T12:41:48Z")
While I was (thankfully!) away for several days, my wife found a dead bat in our house. She took it to the health department. They called her the next day and said “Yes, rabid! Go immediately to the ER and start rabies shots.” No confirmed bite or anything, but apparently you can get bitten and not even realize it (several deaths have been traced to such circumstances). Our two cats were up to date on rabies vaccinations. Seven year old daughter got four to start with, three more to come. Poor child! but I’m happy I wasn’t in the house when the bat was… ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/2 "2014-08-16T13:23:28Z")
This just happened to someone in my family. The shots cost $11,000 for each family member. Not sure yet if insurance is going to cover it. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAlecCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/67e7ee/32.png) [@SmartAlecCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAlecCat)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/3 "2014-08-16T13:36:06Z")
> [@Desert\_Nomad](#): > > This just happened to someone in my family. The shots cost $11,000 for each family member. Not sure yet if insurance is going to cover it. Hmm… I haven’t gotten the bills yet… I was hoping my insurance would cover it. ---
**Author:** ![PorchePine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@PorchePine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorchePine)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/4 "2014-08-16T16:25:19Z")
> [@SmartAlecCat](#): > > Hmm… I haven’t gotten the bills yet… I was hoping my insurance would cover it. If medical doesn’t, homeowner’s might. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/5 "2014-08-16T16:54:16Z")
I’d start trying to find out how/where the bat entered your house and see about blocking the entrance. There are worse things that bats can spread besides rabies. Look what’s going on in Western Africa now. ---
**Author:** ![Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/77aa72/32.png) [@Fluffy\_PickleSniffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fluffy_PickleSniffer)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/6 "2014-08-16T17:12:30Z")
Yikes! I hope you don’t have more bats in the house… where one is, there may be others. Have you got an exterminator or anyone coming out to check and see? I can’t believe rabies shots cost that much, that’s just crazy! I hope your insurance covers it. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/7 "2014-08-16T17:14:09Z")
if the bat was ther before you left then you would need shots too. bats can stay very concelled when inside structures. their defense if being in the open to fly freely or hidden in a dark and maybe tight spot. bats do live in colonies and you will see them fly at night or hear then in their roost during parts of the day, especially before and after flying. if you had a colony then you would know it. single bats wandering is common. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/8 "2014-08-16T17:37:13Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > single bats wandering is common. Apparently, a single bat wandering from the colony is more common with a rabid bat, because they aren’t neurologically intact. $11,000 is a lot, but rabies is worse. If you are expected to pay it OOP, the hospital probably has the ability to write off part of it, and if you are still stuck with a big chunk, and it’s a problem, you might consider setting up one of those FB pages. I’m not the kind of person who normally donates, but a little girl who had to get rabies shots because a bat got into her house, and the insurance company won’t cover the shots-- I’d give to that. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/9 "2014-08-16T18:32:45Z")
Yes, you probably should ask a doc how long it could lurked in the house sick aka could you have been exposed before you left? And having an exterminator check the place out is an _excellent_ recommendation. Good luck. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/10 "2014-08-16T18:33:34Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > There are worse things that bats can spread besides rabies. Look what’s going on in Western Africa now. I don’t know, rabies is a pretty terrible way to die. I’m not sure there \*are \*other worse things to catch. Equally bad, maybe. Also, I keep reading this thread title as “Wife found dead in bat house – rabies confirmed.” ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/11 "2014-08-16T18:51:35Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > There are worse things that bats can spread besides rabies. Look what’s going on in Western Africa now. There are only a few cases where someone has survived rabies once symptoms have set in. That is, it’s nearly 100% fatal. The mortality rate for ebola is between 50% and 90%. Rabies is worse once symptoms appear. The main advantage with rabies is that the patient can be saved pretty easily if he or she is treated before symptoms show up, within ten days of exposure. ---
**Author:** ![FaerieBeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e95f7d/32.png) [@FaerieBeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FaerieBeth)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/12 "2014-08-16T19:38:01Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Also, I keep reading this thread title as “Wife found dead in bat house – rabies confirmed.” I keep reading it with a comma between the clauses “Wife found dead, bat in house – rabies confirmed”:eek: ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/13 "2014-08-16T20:27:01Z")
Cue the mother-in-law jokes. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/14 "2014-08-16T20:43:28Z")
Regarding you getting the shots, at $11,000 per patient for a round of shots, you’ll have hit your deductible. In fact, you’ll probably have hit it halfway through the first round of shots. If money is the concern, I wouldn’t let it stop you from getting them as well. Depending on how you’re set up, you’ll have to pay either a co-pay or nothing, I’d assume. OTOH, a call to your carrier might be in order to confirm that before you end up $33,000 in the hole instead of just $22,000. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/15 "2014-08-16T20:45:35Z")
Seems very unlikely that one would not notice being bitten by a bat, but better safe than sorry. $11,000 is not the normal cost, but obviously they just charge whatever they want. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/16 "2014-08-16T21:02:10Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > There are worse things that bats can spread besides rabies. In terms of suffering, maybe. But in terms of lethality, rabies is almost 100% fatal. Diseases don’t get much deadlier than that. ---
**Author:** ![Marion\_Wormer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d07c76/32.png) [@Marion\_Wormer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marion_Wormer)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2014, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/17 "2014-08-16T22:24:14Z")
Some states will pay for rabies shots. It never hurts to ask. I had them about 25 years ago. Even then they didn’t give them in the stomach. They were painful, but not the nightmare they were. I think I paid about $500 for the doctor’s visits. I don’t know what they cost my insurance company. $11,000 sounds excessive. But apparently, I’m wrong. > **[Guess what first rabies shots in the ER cost?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=650902)** > > So, guess what it cost last week for somebody to get the first set of shots in the Emergency Room after we figured out the cat that did the scratching was rabid? $5,082. For 8 shots (one vaccine and seven separate syringes of the same immunoglobulin... ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/18 "2014-08-17T01:19:16Z")
$11,000??? I had a partial rabies series a few years ago–they stopped when it became obvious the cat wasn’t infected. The vaccine was only available through emergency rooms, so I had to go in each time. My insurance billed me $100 each time, which seemed high. So in all I spent $300-400. Eleven thousand is simply theft. ---
**Author:** ![PorchePine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@PorchePine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PorchePine)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/19 "2014-08-17T01:43:21Z")
> [@FaerieBeth](#): > > I keep reading it with a comma between the clauses > “Wife found dead, bat in house – rabies confirmed”:eek: That’s how I read it… ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674/20 "2014-08-17T02:13:30Z")
My brain glossed over the “bat” and read: Wife found dead in house - rabies confirmed. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wife-found-dead-bat-in-house-rabies-confirmed/695674.md?page=2)