05/31/2026
🐕🐾🐈🏠🦇Rabies - what we all need to remember! 🦇🏠🐈🐾🐕
After 17 years as a veterinarian, it turns out of all the bats and animals I've submitted for rabies testing, my first positive result came from a bat we found in the grass in MY backyard!!
When we counted over 35 bats at dusk living in the space between the chimney and the house I was sick to my stomach after we got over the amazement. We have known we had "some" bats for the last 5 to 7ish years but THAT MANY!! Turns out after talking to a Wyoming Game and Fish Biologist, bats lives in 10s, 100s or 1000s!!!! Thank goodness then we only have in the 10s!
My instinct was to immediately want them gone! Afterall, rabies is virtually 100% fatal once clinical signs onset. This fear even got the best of me after a recent travel experience which resulted in my daughter just finishing a post exposure series.
It's important to remember Rabies is also PREVENTABLE!!!!
After a LONG discussion with a Wyoming Game and Fish Bat Biologist I have a newfound understanding, and the bats are best left alone. Soon they will begin to have pups, the pups won't be able to fly for some time, increasing the chances they become trapped if we close off the area. If we try to exclude the bats, they will need to go somewhere - increasing the chances they DO find their way somewhere they aren't supposed to go, likely then leading to more exposure risks. We could place a bat box and hope they decide they like that better, but the truth is, they are likely Big Browns and like to be by the brick. Furthermore, one positive bat does not mean the entire roost is infected, although it got it somewhere! AWARENESS IS KEY! and yes, all my neighbors know!
The good news:
🎉my husband (after 3 submitted bats over the years and a few mistakes) handled this one correctly which means we had no human exposures.....yay husband!!
💉 our pets were current on their rabies vaccine - I did give them an additional booster to be safe, even though I don't think they came in contact with the bat - I couldn't be 100% sure
🏡 we have never had a bat enter our home
Take aways:
🦇 though bats CAN have rabies and account for roughly 70% of our reported human rabies cases in the US, bats are an important part our ecosystem - they individually eat thousands of bugs a night!!! hence why we never see mosquitoes at our house!! and some of those bugs ALSO transmit disease - some bats in Wyoming have threatened extinction and the incidence of Rabies is actually overall extremely low = around 0.5% when passively tested, maybe 1% statewide and possibly 4% in Sheridan County (so, yes, we often say Sheridan is a hot spot but we are still VERY fortunate looking at the incidence WORLDWIDE!)
💉VACCINATE your pets!!! even most importantly your barn cats!!
😬Rabies is transmitted in saliva through bites or open wounds
🚨understand what to do, when and how!
DO's:
⏩DO submit bats if you find them in your home, especially if you didn't see it come in or know how long it's been there, if you wake up from sleep to find one or have young children and pets in the home
⏩DO submit a bat if your cat or dog has had it in its mouth or been exposed
⏩DO handle the bat ONLY by covering it with a solid glass, hard plastic, or coffee container and slide a piece of cardboard under it, then tape it securely with duck tape avoiding any contact
⏩DO call Paul Herman, 307-751-1412, if someone or a pet has come in contact with the bat and you need to submit it for rabies testing (the brain is needed for testing)
DON'Ts:
⏩DON'T handle a bat with bare hands
⏩DON'T go out killing bats just to test them or in fear of them!
If your pet has NEVER been vaccinated and comes in contact with a wild animal, bites someone, or has an exposure you are going to be in a difficult position and euthanasia could be warranted! Don't let that happen!
If your pet has a wildlife encounter and HAS been vaccinated, remember it's still important to BOOSTER the rabies vaccine ideally within 48 hours.
Set up that appointment, get your pet vaccinated! Prevention is priceless! Knowledge is power!
https://app.petdesk.com/request-appointment/sheridan-pet-care?placeGUID=09c62cb6-a5cb-410a-9d91-19d7c984e1d6
Check out this great video to learn more:
https://youtu.be/O0IUxHkbXzI?si=fNidTPAnJnRoD35r
