As temperatures drop, bats and other animals often look for a new home indoors. This increases the chance for
bats to have accidental contact with our family members and household pets (even our mostly “indoor” pets).
“If you find a bat in your home and there is a known or possible exposure to a human and/or pets it is important to try and capture the bat so it can be submitted for rabies testing,” says Savannah Bergman, Rabies Program Manager at the Health Department. “When capturing a bat, it is important to not expose yourself to the animal. Wear leather gloves and use an ice cream pail, coffee can or similar sized container to secure the bat inside. Then call the Health Department to see if the bat needs to be sent in for testing.”
In Wisconsin, skunks and bats are by far the most likely animals to carry the rabies virus. Bats don’t show signs of rabies; it’s impossible to tell if they carry the virus without laboratory testing. It’s possible to get rabies even when you don’t see any bite marks from the animal. Bat bites or scratches may be so small that you don’t even notice them. Rabies exposure is almost always through a bite, but rabies can also be transmitted if a rabid animal scratches a person or if its saliva is exposed to open skin.
The Health Department recommends the following steps to lower your chance of getting rabies:
• Avoid contact with bats and all wild animals.
• Vaccinate dogs, cats, ferrets and livestock against rabies.
• Keep your pets on a leash when outdoors.
• Contact local associations if help is needed to shelter and find homes for stray dogs and cats.
• Teach children not to go near any animals they don’t know.
• Don’t keep exotic or wild animals as pets.
• Keep screens in good shape and close any small openings where bats could enter.
• People traveling to developing counties where rabies is common, or who are at ongoing risk of
possible rabies exposure (such as veterinarians and animal control officers) should ask their doctor
about receiving pre-exposure rabies vaccinations.
