VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A Virginia Beach woman says a routine pool cleaning turned into a frightening experience after a bat hiding inside her electronic pool cleaner bit her finger.
Jamie Fiore said she was pulling a stick out of the pool cleaner when she felt something bite her.
"I just reached in and grabbed a stick and the bat was stuck in there with his bat wing," Fiore said.
She said she barely felt the bite at first, but quickly realized what had happened.
"When I pulled my finger away and I heard em screech I saw his wings so that's when I realized he was there," Fiore said.
Fiore acted fast after the bite, using grabbers to get the bat into a container and placing a lid on it before heading to the hospital with her husband — taking the bat with them.
"They were surprised we brought the bat with us, but we kept the bat outside for animal control to come get that and then Virginia Beach general took very good care of me," Fiore said.
Animal control took the bat from the hospital. Fiore's medical records show doctors gave her medication to prevent rabies.
"They went ahead and started the inoculations for that, so it ended up being about 5 shots and I have to go back for some follow up shots," Fiore said.
Tim Jordan with Summit Environmental Solutions said April through September is bat season, when some bats fly from caves into residential neighborhoods, making sightings more common. However, Jordan said bat bites are uncommon.
"In most cases they don't bite us its very rare, but in all cases we do tell people to get tested or have that bat tested by animal control," Jordan said.
Fiore said she feels fine as she awaits follow-up appointments with doctors.
"We've seen bugs, and you know an occasional lizard might fall in there or something but this is the first time for a bat I can tell ya," Fiore said.
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