With the arrival of warmer weather also comes the return of bat season. A bat in your home can be a serious health risk to you and your family. Rabid bats have been documented in the 49 continental states and are increasingly identified as the source of rabies transmission to humans. Data suggests that even minor, seemingly unimportant or even unrecognized bites from bats can transmit rabies.
For this reason it is important to protect yourself from bat exposure.
To prevent bats from getting into your living space, simple steps should be taken. First be sure to not leave unscreened doors or windows open to the outside. Survey your house and make sure that windows have screens, chimneys are capped, and electrical and plumbing openings are plugged. All openings larger than 1/4 inch by 1 inch to the attic, basement and walls should be sealed using materials such as expanding spray-on foam, caulk, wire mesh, wood that fits tightly, steel wool or bird netting.
Another important piece of protecting yourself is to assess whether bats are already present in the house. Be alert for squeaking noises coming from the attic, walls or elsewhere. Also inspect attic space, rafters, porches and walls for signs of roosting bats or for scratched areas on beams. Walking around the outside of the house at dusk to see if bats are flying out of the house to feed or before dawn to see if bats are flying into the house is also a good idea.
If you do find signs of bat occupation, killing or poisoning the bats is seldom a necessary or desirable solution. Rather, the most permanent way to manage nuisance bats is to exclude them from buildings. Openings to the house should not be sealed however while the bats are inside, as it may trap the bats, causing them to die or forcing them into the living space.
Once you have determined by observing the house where the bats entry and exit points are located, special netting can be used in a manner that allows bats to exit the house, but not to re-enter it. Pest control experts specializing in bat control should be consulted when necessary.
If a bat is found in the house and there is any chance that contact with a person or a pet occurred, the bat needs to be captured. Do not release the bat if there is a reasonable probability of an exposure such as direct physical contact with a bat, a bat found in a room with a sleeping person or unattended child or a bat found in a room with an individual under the influence of alcohol and drugs or with other sensory or mental impairment.
Because people have developed rabies after unapparent exposures, rabies treatment may be necessary in situations where there is reasonable probability of exposure unless rabies can be ruled out by submitting the bat for testing. To capture a bat in your house, turn on the room lights and close the windows and room and closet doors. Once the bat has landed, wearing a glove (leather if available), place a coffee can, pail or similar container over the bat. Slide a piece of cardboard under the container to trap the bat. Firmly hold the cardboard in place against the top of the container, turn it right side up and tape the cardboard tightly to the container. Call the Cayuga County Health Department to arrange for the bat to be tested for rabies.
If the bat is not available for testing or was un-testable, and there was physical contact with a person or reasonable probability of exposure, your physician may have you start a rabies vaccination series. On average, only 4 percent of bats tested by the rabies laboratory are positive for rabies, and thus most of the bat-related post exposure treatments could be avoided if the bats were captured and tested. The series of vaccinations can be expensive, however the health department covers the cost if your health insurance does not cover all or part of the treatment.
Don't take chances with bats. If a bat does find its way into your home, and there is a reasonable probability that human or pet exposure with the bat may have occurred, please safely capture the bat and contact the Environmental Health Division of the Cayuga County Health and Human Services Department at 253-1405.
Elane Daly is director of Health and Human Services for Cayuga County. She can be reached
at 253-1560 or cchealth@dfa.state.ny.us
To prevent bats from getting into your living space, simple steps should be taken. First be sure to not leave unscreened doors or windows open to the outside. Survey your house and make sure that windows have screens, chimneys are capped, and electrical and plumbing openings are plugged. All openings larger than 1/4 inch by 1 inch to the attic, basement and walls should be sealed using materials such as expanding spray-on foam, caulk, wire mesh, wood that fits tightly, steel wool or bird netting.
Another important piece of protecting yourself is to assess whether bats are already present in the house. Be alert for squeaking noises coming from the attic, walls or elsewhere. Also inspect attic space, rafters, porches and walls for signs of roosting bats or for scratched areas on beams. Walking around the outside of the house at dusk to see if bats are flying out of the house to feed or before dawn to see if bats are flying into the house is also a good idea.
If you do find signs of bat occupation, killing or poisoning the bats is seldom a necessary or desirable solution. Rather, the most permanent way to manage nuisance bats is to exclude them from buildings. Openings to the house should not be sealed however while the bats are inside, as it may trap the bats, causing them to die or forcing them into the living space.
Once you have determined by observing the house where the bats entry and exit points are located, special netting can be used in a manner that allows bats to exit the house, but not to re-enter it. Pest control experts specializing in bat control should be consulted when necessary.
If a bat is found in the house and there is any chance that contact with a person or a pet occurred, the bat needs to be captured. Do not release the bat if there is a reasonable probability of an exposure such as direct physical contact with a bat, a bat found in a room with a sleeping person or unattended child or a bat found in a room with an individual under the influence of alcohol and drugs or with other sensory or mental impairment.
Because people have developed rabies after unapparent exposures, rabies treatment may be necessary in situations where there is reasonable probability of exposure unless rabies can be ruled out by submitting the bat for testing. To capture a bat in your house, turn on the room lights and close the windows and room and closet doors. Once the bat has landed, wearing a glove (leather if available), place a coffee can, pail or similar container over the bat. Slide a piece of cardboard under the container to trap the bat. Firmly hold the cardboard in place against the top of the container, turn it right side up and tape the cardboard tightly to the container. Call the Cayuga County Health Department to arrange for the bat to be tested for rabies.
If the bat is not available for testing or was un-testable, and there was physical contact with a person or reasonable probability of exposure, your physician may have you start a rabies vaccination series. On average, only 4 percent of bats tested by the rabies laboratory are positive for rabies, and thus most of the bat-related post exposure treatments could be avoided if the bats were captured and tested. The series of vaccinations can be expensive, however the health department covers the cost if your health insurance does not cover all or part of the treatment.
Don't take chances with bats. If a bat does find its way into your home, and there is a reasonable probability that human or pet exposure with the bat may have occurred, please safely capture the bat and contact the Environmental Health Division of the Cayuga County Health and Human Services Department at 253-1405.
Elane Daly is director of Health and Human Services for Cayuga County. She can be reached
at 253-1560 or cchealth@dfa.state.ny.us
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are 1 comment(s)
mayharuka wrote on Jul 11, 2007 12:36 AM: