Health & Wellness

What you need to know about bats and rabies

Tanya Luszcz, a volunteer bat biologist and an Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Alliance board member, holds up bats during an interpretive walk in Peachland, B.C. B.C. is home to 16 bat species, many of which are threatened or endangered.

Bats play an essential role in B.C.'s ecosystem, providing natural pest control and plant pollination.  

Bats can also carry diseases that can be transmitted to humans, including rabies. In B.C., bats are the only known “reservoirs” of rabies, meaning they can carry the disease and pass it on without showing signs of the disease themselves.  

Warm-blooded animals like skunks, raccoons and foxes, and pets (dogs and cats) can also carry rabies, but cases are extremely rare in our province.

If you suspect you’ve come into contact with a bat

If you suspect:

  • You’ve been bitten by a bat
  • You’ve been scratched by a bat
  • A bat touched your body, even through clothing

Thoroughly wash the area with soap and water for at least 15 minutes. Contact your local public health authority or primary care provider immediately or go to the emergency department.

Treatment, which usually includes four vaccines over a two-week period, should be administered as soon as possible after exposure to prevent rabies.

How to protect yourself from contact with bats

  • Do not touch live or dead bats. Talk to your children about not touching bats lying on the ground as these creatures may be potentially sick.
  • Bat proof your home to ensure bats cannot enter our living space. Keep doors and windows closed, make sure window screens don’t have any holes, and keep attic vents properly screened and openings closed. Ensure soffits under your roof eaves don’t have holes or openings.
  • Be careful when opening power sunscreens or awnings. Bats may be roosting in the power box or casing and can get squished when the screen is rolled up or down.
  • Avoid locations where bats are likely to be found (e.g. caves).
  • Vaccinate your pets against rabies.

What do I do if there is a bat in my home or a building?

  • If you find a live bat in a room of your home, open the window and close interior doors until the bat leaves. Do not try to catch the bat.
  • If you have bats in your house, barn or property, please contact BC Community Bat Programs. Note that bats are protected under the BC Wildlife Act.
  • If you find bats living in a building, learn how to evict them safely.
  • If you find a dead bat in your yard between Nov. 1 and May 31, and you are sure that there has been no human or pet contact, you can contact the BC Community Bat Program at 1-855-9BC-BATS (1-855-922-2287) to ask if they need to collect it for wildlife health surveillance purposes. Don't touch the bat.

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