12/24/2025
❄️Winter brings colder weather and we are not the only species looking for a warm place to hide! ❄️
Bats, like mice, are able to sneak through small cracks and gaps, sneaking into cozy warm homes through damaged attic vents, open chimney flues, and missing soffit areas. Unlike mice, bats can carry rabies. In fact, about 4% of bats submitted over the last 5 years for rabies testing in Ohio were positive for rabies.
Preventing bats from entering your living spaces is key. Repair attic vents and soffits damaged in summer storms or age. Installing screens over vents will help maintain air flow while keeping bats from entering, Capping unused chimneys and keeping flues closed when fireplaces are not in use is another means of keeping bats outside.
If you find a bat inside, before shooing it back outside, stop! Ask yourself these questions before opening that window:
🔴Was the bat found in a room with a person that cannot speak, such as an elderly person with dementia or a toddler?
🔴Did someone in the household wake up and find the bat in their sleeping room?
🔴Did someone come into contact with it or was a family pet playing with it?
If your answer is yes, a possible rabies exposure has occurred! Steps to take:
🔴Keep track of the bat by shutting windows and doors and call the health department for guidance. We will gladly submit the bat for rabies testing at no cost to you.
🔴Call an animal removal expert to remove the bat. This person can hold the bat for testing by the health department but you may need to ask them to do so.
🔴If the bat has been killed by your pet, do not touch the bat. Instead use a dustpan or other means to gather the bat into a bag and then keep the bat in a cool location until the health department can collect it. 🔴Reach out to your family veterinarian for guidance as a rabies vaccination may be recommended for your pet even if the pet has previously been vaccinated.
🔴If the bat can be safely caught in a container with a lid, do so. Sometimes bats are slow and sleepy and easily trapped this way. Poke a few holes in the lid and secure it with tape to prevent escape.
Rabies is nearly always fatal to humans and cannot be treated once symptoms start. It is important to minimize the rabies risk to your family by testing bats found inside whenever exposures are possible or by beginning rabies vaccinations to prevent the disease when exposures are likely and the bat cannot be tested. 🦇
More information can be found here: https://www.cdc.gov/rabies/prevention/bats.html -resources and https://odh.ohio.gov/know-our-programs/zoonotic-disease-program/diseases/rabies
