Bat Removal Fort Worth, TX

How Fort Worth handles bats

The City of Fort Worth's wild animal guidance is clear about where its responsibility ends. Animal Care & Control investigates high-risk rabies suspects, including bats, foxes, raccoons, coyotes, and skunks, when there is a reasonable chance a person or pet was exposed. It does not handle healthy wildlife living on private property. A bat colony in an attic is the property owner's job. A bat that bit someone, or was found in a bedroom, is a call to 817-392-1234.

The city's rabies page asks you not to release a bat that may have touched a person or pet. Wash any wound with soap and water and get medical care. In Tarrant County, Tarrant County Public Health Epidemiology is the DSHS disease-reporting contact for both city and county residents. It's at 4807 Mercantile Dr and has a 24-hour line at (817) 321-5350.

Which bats use Fort Worth houses

Fort Worth sits where Texas Tech's ranges for eastern and western species overlap. The cave myotis is listed for north-central Texas. It usually roosts in caves but also uses old buildings, carports, and bridges, and nursery colonies can be large. Big brown bats form building maternity colonies of about 20 to 300, with young born May through August. Evening bats, which range east of the 100th meridian, also use buildings. Brazilian free-tailed bats are the most common building bat across the state.

Newer homes still get bats

It's easy to assume a new house is sealed, but Fort Worth's housing shows why that isn't true. The median home was built in 1998, and about 29% were built in 2010 or later, much newer than Dallas. Texas Tech notes that no style, age, or condition of building is immune to free-tailed bats. In new subdivisions we often find gaps at roof-to-wall joints where two rooflines meet, at loose ridge-vent ends, and behind stone or brick veneer where it meets the soffit. Older houses in the central neighborhoods have more open gable vents and weathered trim.

Exclusion timing

TPWD discourages excluding bats from buildings from May 1 to August 15. At Meacham Field, average lows stay at 50°F or warmer only from April through October, and January averages about 37°F. Fort Worth's fall exclusion window is fairly short: mid-August through October, before cold fronts stop bat activity for days at a time. Spring work is possible in late March and April, before pups are born.

Fort Worth housing and climate snapshot

• Housing units: 397,627 (median year built 1998)
• Built before 1980: 32%; built 2010 or later: 29%
• Single-family detached: 65%; buildings with 10+ units: 21%
• Renter-occupied homes: 42%
• Average January low: 37°F; average August high: 97°F
• Months with an average low of 50°F or warmer: Apr–Oct

Housing figures: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 1-year estimates (tables B25024, B25034, B25035, B25003) via Census Reporter. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals, Ft Worth Meacham Fld Naaf station.

Common questions

Nearby city guides

• Arlington
• Haltom City
• North Richland Hills
• Benbrook
• Saginaw

Sources

1. City of Fort Worth: wild animals
2. City of Fort Worth: rabies
3. Texas DSHS: Tarrant County disease reporting contacts
4. Mammals of Texas (TTU NSRL): cave myotis
5. Mammals of Texas (TTU NSRL): big brown bat
6. Mammals of Texas (TTU NSRL): evening bat
7. Mammals of Texas (TTU NSRL): Brazilian free-tailed bat
8. TPWD Outdoor Annual: nongame and other species (bats)
9. Texas DSHS: bat exposure scenarios and capture tips
10. Census Reporter: Fort Worth ACS 2024 profile
11. NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 monthly normals (Ft Worth Meacham Fld Naaf)