What To Do If You Find a Bat in Your Home

Last Updated: 8/16/2023

Tioga County Public Health Department reminds residents what to do if a bat is found in the home. As summer winds down, you may find some expected guests in your home – bats! This time of year, juvenile, or young, bats are venturing off on their own and slipping into small cracks or gaps that may be found on the outside of your home.

If you find a bat in your home and have been bitten, or if you’re unsure if you have been bitten, it is important to act immediately. Bats can have and transmit rabies!

While you may be tempted to chase the bat out of your home, it’s important that the bat is captured, and you notify Tioga County Public Health for further instructions. Do not release or dispose of the bat. If the bat is thrown away, destroyed, or released, there is no way of knowing if your family was exposed to rabies. If rabies exposure cannot be ruled out, household members will need to receive post-exposure prophylaxis.

How to Safely Catch a Bat:

• Close all windows and doors, turn on all the lights and wait for the bat to land.
• While wearing heavy gloves, use a hard container with a lid such as a plastic food storage container, to trap the bat.
• Call Tioga County Public Health at 607-687-8600.
• Do not bring the bat to the health department.

To prevent bats from entering the home, inspect the outside of your home (particularly the roof) for gaps or holes. Bats can fit through openings as small as 1 inch by 3/8 inches. It is important to seal up every possible entrance, as bats prefer to return to the same location year after year.

If you or someone you know comes in contact with any animal believed to have rabies, get as much information as you can and if possible, take a picture of it. To report an animal bite, visit our website at ph.tiogacountyny.gov or call 607-687-8600. On holidays, weekends, or after-hours, you call the Tioga County Sheriff's Office (607-687-1010).

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