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Bats in your house? Stay calm |
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September 1, 2017 |
By Rita Dixon
IDFG Wildlife Natural Resource Program
Coordinator
News of recent cases of rabid bats in various
parts of Idaho have left residents nervous about
encountering bats inside or outside their homes.
It is important that people understand how to
best handle a bat that is found in their home,
including what precautions to take to prevent
exposure to rabies.
Improving rabies awareness and preventing human
exposure to rabid bats is a public health
priority. At the same time, conservation of bats
and the benefits they provide is increasingly
important due to declining populations of many
bat species.
If a bat is found, the first thing to determine
is whether the bat had direct contact with
people or pets. Bats that have not had contact
with humans or pets can be captured and released
outside.
Capture the bat without touching it by using a
cardboard box or other container, with small air
holes. Then slide a folder or piece of cardboard
over the opening of the box to secure the bat
inside.
Carry it outside, then step back and remove the
folder. The bat may not immediately fly away
until it becomes familiar with its surroundings.
The open box can be left outside and retrieved
later.
If a bat is suspected, or known, to have had
direct contact with a person or pet, a risk
assessment should be done with the Idaho
Department of Fish and Game and the Idaho
Department of Health and Welfare.
If the risk is deemed high, the bat should be
safely captured without touching it with bare
hands (you can use leather gloves), and it
should be tested for rabies.
Capture a live bat as described above, but
instead of releasing it, close and secure the
top of the box or container. Then call an Idaho
Department of Fish and Game office.
The bat will be humanely euthanized and
transferred to the nearest Public Health
District for submission to the Idaho Bureau of
Laboratories for rabies testing. If the bat is
dead, homeowners can contact the nearest Public
Health District directly so it can be submitted
for testing.
Some inaccurate generalizations about bats and
fear that all bats have rabies has resulted in
negative perceptions, which can lead to the
indiscriminate killing of bats and barriers to
bat conservation.
It’s important to clear up some of those common
misconceptions. Although bats are primarily
nocturnal, they are occasionally active during
daylight, so seeing an active bat during the day
does not mean it is sick or rabid. This is
especially true during late summer and early
fall as they prepare to migrate, and when young
bats are leaving their maternity colonies for
the larger landscape.
Also, bats do not “carry” rabies. Bats, like
other mammals, can contract and die from rabies.
Across North America, only about 0.1 percent of
wild bats have rabies. However, bats are
considered a significant wildlife reservoir for
rabies across the United States, and they are
the only known natural reservoir of rabies in
Idaho.
Therefore, human and domestic animal contacting
bats should be minimized, and bats should never
be handled by untrained and unvaccinated
persons, or be kept as pets.
Rabies is 99.9 percent fatal, but 100 percent
preventable through prompt, appropriate medical
care. People should call their health care
provider immediately if they have:
* Been bitten or scratched by a bat.
* When saliva, or other potentially infectious material (such as brain
tissue) from a bat has come into contact with an
open wound, abrasion, scratch, or mucous
membrane.
* Woken up to find a bat in the room.
* Witnessed a bat in the room with a previously unattended child,
mentally challenged person, or intoxicated
individual.
For exposure of pets to bats, people should call
their veterinarian for advice. |
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