RABIES IN YOUR STATE
Between 2013-2017, bats with rabies were found in every state except for Hawaii
According to the most recent data available on the CDC’s website, 92.7% of all rabies cases in 2018 were from wild animals, and Bats topped the list as the most reported rabid wildlife species. Rabies in bats has been on the incline since the 1970s. Bats have also steadily been losing their roosting habitat over the last half-century. Loss of bat habitat has created havoc on the bat population, with millions of bats no longer able to roost in their natural habitat due to deforestation, natural disasters such as forest fires, landslides & avalanches.
What does this mean for a homeowner like yourself? To put it bluntly, every year, more and more bat colonies are choosing to roost in people’s homes due to the above reasons! And with rabid bats being reported in every state between 2013 – 2017, there is no reason to risk having bats in your home.
What should you do if you suspect bats have taken up roosting in your attic or roof?
Below is a simple list of suggestions to help you protect your family.
First things first, do a bat watch. What’s a bat watch, you ask? Go out at dawn or dusk with a deck chair when the weather is good and sit somewhere where you can see the roofline of your home, have a family member or friend do the same on the other side of the house, and watch for 30mins to an hour. Look for small black bird-like creatures flying out of the roof. They could be coming from anywhere along the roofline or on the siding. If you do not see anything do a second bat watch the next night as bats do not need to go out every night to feed and sometimes skip a night if the weather is not great or they have pups (baby bats) to care for.
Next Step – If you see bats coming and going, you know you have a colony in your home. If this is the case, we recommend calling a professional bat removal company to come out and assess the situation.
Why? For a couple of reasons:
- Our technicians are thoroughly trained, equipped, insured, and have up-to-date rabies vaccinations.
- They have years of experience and training to safely assess the infestation and work up a comprehensive plan to fix the problem.
After our technicians have accessed the infestation and written up a complete report, we will contact you to move forward with removing the bat colony, decontamination of the affected areas, guano, and urine clean up and air quality testing if needed.
We also work with homeowners insurance to help smooth out and expedite the process if you want to use your homeowner’s insurance to cover some of the clean-up costs.
Don’t risk your family’s safety. Make sure your home is bat-free and stays that way. Rabies is no joke, and as you can see from the above stats provided by the CDC, rabies in bats is on the up.
Your Local Bat Removal Specialist,
Michael Koski
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