Bats

Rabies is a virus that attacks the brain and nervous system. Without prompt medical treatment after exposure, rabies is almost always fatal. All warm-blooded animals, including humans, can get rabies.

Contact with infected bats is the leading cause of human rabies deaths in the United States. At least 7 out of 10 people who die from rabies in the U.S. were infected by bats. In Flathead County, bats are the main rabies concern.

First, find out whether the bat may have exposed any people or animals in the home. An exposure can happen when someone:

• Handles the bat
• Sleeps in the same room as the bat
• Leaves a child, a pet, an intoxicated person or a person with a cognitive disability in a room where the bat was found or could have been

If no people or pets were exposed, you can release the bat outside.

If an exposure did happen, capture the bat, euthanize it and bring it to Flathead City-County Health Department so our staff can send it for rabies testing.

If you find a pet playing with a bat:

1. Capture the bat so it can be tested. See our instructions for catching a bat (PDF) to do this safely. Always wear protective clothing and gloves. Never handle a bat with bare hands.
2. Call Flathead City-County Health Department at 406-751-8117 so our team can walk you through bringing the bat in for testing. We only send specimens for testing Monday through Thursday. If you find a bat on Friday, Saturday or Sunday, euthanize it and store it in a refrigerator. Do not freeze the bat.
3. If your pet was exposed, contact your veterinarian about a rabies booster. All pets need to be vaccinated within 96 hours of their exposure. If you or your veterinarian have questions, call our team at 406-751-8117.

Call our communicable disease team at 406-751-8117. We'll go over your situation and help you decide whether the animal or bat can be tested, and whether anyone in your household may need follow-up treatment.

Follow our instructions for catching a bat (PDF). Once you have caught the bat, follow our instructions for euthanizing a bat (PDF) before bringing it to the health department.

To reduce the chance of more human exposures, Flathead City-County Health Department asks that no live animals be brought to the health department.

We can test wild animals for rabies if there is a concern that they may have exposed a pet or a person. The animal must be dead before it is brought to Flathead City-County Health Department.

• If the animal is already dead: Call the communicable disease program at 406-751-8117 to report the exposure and get instructions. You will drop off the animal at an agreed-upon time, in a leak-proof bag (such as a large garbage bag) inside a container. Do not damage the animal's head or neck. Testing may not be possible if the head or neck is damaged.
• If the animal is still alive: Call Animal Control at 406-758-5610. If you decide to dispatch the animal yourself, you must not damage its head or neck.

If the bat hasn't exposed a pet or a person, you can throw it away. Never handle a bat with bare hands. If you move or dispose of the body, wear thick gloves and use a tool, such as a shovel.

If the bat was somewhere a pet could have touched it, call the health department at 406-751-8117 and we'll walk you through bringing the bat in for rabies testing.

If the bat or wild animal can be brought in for testing, treatment can wait until the results come back. If testing isn't possible, our team will walk you through your treatment options.

For bites or other exposures from bats, we always recommend rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) if the bat isn't available for testing. Learn more in our rabies post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) guide (PDF).

Bat bites are extremely small and may not hurt when they happen. The photo below shows the size of the wound a bat bite leaves.

Puncture wound from a silver-haired bat bite (A, arrow) and the skull of a silver-haired bat (B). Reprinted with permission from Elsevier (The Lancet, 2001, Vol. 357, p. 1714).