Bat Removal Plano, TX

Recent rabid bats in Plano

Plano's own announcements show that rabid bats do turn up in neighborhoods. In an August 20, 2025 press release, the city reported that a bat found on August 14 near an apartment pool in the 5000 block of Whitestone Lane had tested positive for rabies. The city had issued a similar release about a rabies-positive bat in September 2024. Local outlets reported others: WFAA covered a dead rabid bat found in the 3300 block of Landershire Lane, and Plano Magazine reported a rabies-positive bat near the restaurant at 8100 Dallas Parkway.

When Plano tests a bat

Plano Animal Services, at (972) 769-4360, doesn't test every wild animal. It tests when an animal had contact with a person or pet and is one of five high-risk species: bats, foxes, skunks, coyotes, or raccoons. A bat found in a bedroom, one a dog brought in, or one that landed on someone meets that standard. Don't throw it away. Keep it contained, without bare hands, and call. Plano is mostly in Collin County, where Collin County Health Care Services is the DSHS disease-reporting contact: (972) 548-4707, with an after-hours line at (972) 547-5350.

Plano homes and bats

Plano's housing mostly dates from 1980s and 1990s growth. The median year built is 1994, only about 19% of homes predate 1980, and about 61% are detached houses. Many homes that age have complex roofs with several gables, valleys, and roof-to-wall joints, and decades of weather open the joints between trim pieces. About a quarter of Plano housing is in buildings with 10 or more units. As the Whitestone Lane case shows, apartment communities get bats too, usually in expansion joints, gaps behind siding, and around rooftop vents.

The bats that use Collin County buildings include Brazilian free-tailed bats and big brown bats, which form maternity colonies of about 20 to 300 with young born May through August. Evening bats also occur here, since Plano is east of the 100th meridian.

Exclusion timing

TPWD discourages excluding bats from buildings from May 1 through August 15. At McKinney National Airport, the nearest long-term NOAA station, average lows stay at 50°F or warmer only from April through October, and January averages about 34°F. In Plano, that leaves a fall window from mid-August to late October and a short spring window in April.

Plano housing and climate snapshot (McKinney station climate)

• Housing units: 120,096 (median year built 1994)
• Built before 1980: 19%; built 2010 or later: 16%
• Single-family detached: 61%; buildings with 10+ units: 24%
• Renter-occupied homes: 43%
• Average January low: 34°F; average August high: 96°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, Mckinney Muni Ap station.

Common questions

Nearby city guides

• Frisco
• McKinney
• Allen
• Richardson
• Carrollton

Sources

1. City of Plano: bat tests positive for rabies (Aug 20, 2025)
2. City of Plano: bat found in Plano tests positive for rabies (Sept 13, 2024)
3. Plano Magazine: rabies-positive bat
4. Texas DSHS: Collin County disease reporting contacts
5. Mammals of Texas (TTU NSRL): Brazilian free-tailed bat
6. Mammals of Texas (TTU NSRL): big brown bat
7. Mammals of Texas (TTU NSRL): evening bat
8. TPWD Outdoor Annual: nongame and other species (bats)
9. Texas DSHS: bat exposure scenarios and capture tips
10. Census Reporter: Plano ACS 2024 profile
11. NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 monthly normals (Mckinney Muni Ap)