For any of you who thought I may have been overreacting to our bat problems, I wasn't. Nope, not one bit. That $550 I spent earlier this year? Worth every penny. Why? Well, according to this article I found on the NPR website, "Many signs point to bats as the main source of Ebola."
Ebola, people. EBOLA.
So I have a suggestion - let's all agree to stop pointing out that bats eat tons of mosquitoes every minute, as if that makes up for their utter creepiness. Really, how anyone can defend the existence of these flying rodents is beyond me. I'm thinking that bats have just got some really good PR people on their side. So good, in fact, that even the scientist who KNOWS that bats carry Ebola is still trying to defend these creatures. "Let's not blame the wildlife," he says. He claims it isn't their fault; it's our fault for living in their habitat.
Hello? Someone go explain to these bats whose habitat is whose, all right? You don't see me trying to live outside in the trees where they fly around, do you? They're the ones who are choosing to live in MY HOUSE, roosting in my walls and pooping in my attic. What's up with all these science-y bat apologists, anyway?
Ebola - the main source of EBOLA. Yikes.
Well, I now have a decision to make. My mother-in-law is already very, very hesitant to sleep at our house because we have been known to have a bat in it every once in a while. She was told by her daughter (a nurse practitioner) that if a bat is found in a bedroom, everyone needs to get rabies shots just in case the bat bit the person. (We have never gotten the shots. I say poppycock.) If I were to show this article to her, she'd never visit us again.
ReplyDeleteTo do...to do...
I'm with you. Bats are awful creatures. But we don't have many mosquitoes around our house. :)
Bats freak me out a little too. But Ebola?? I had no idea. Keeping the rats around is just bat-crap crazy! (Sorry, couldn't resist)
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is possible to overreact to bat problems.
ReplyDeleteHmm. We don't have bats in the house- in our belfreys, perhaps, but that's different. Last time we did, however, the cats felt it was the BEST CAT TOY EVAH...really, mice that fly? OOOh, the excitement. (Okay, I admit it, I'm one of those who think the mosquito-eating really does justify their existence.) I'm going to concentrate on bats carrying ebola IN AFRICA, however. Since I am thousands of miles from there and have no intention of visiting, I think I don't need to worry about it.
ReplyDeleteWith or without Ebola, bats are horrifying. I agree with you. I would have spent $550 or burned my house to the ground. Either way. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou're right that they must have excellent PR. I believe it is illegal to kill them in New York.
ReplyDeleteIt's got to be a toss up then, mosquitoes spread malaria which is pretty dreadful stuff, too. Though, you cannot swat at a bat with your palm like you can with a 'skeeter...
ReplyDeleteMalaria might be dreadful, but Ebola is catastrophic. I choose malaria.
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