Bats and Rabies in Texas: What to Do After a Bat Encounter

Bats were half of all rabid animals confirmed in Texas in 2024. Here is what Texas health officials count as a possible bat exposure, who to call, how testing works, and how to stop bats from getting into your living space again.

The short version

Possible contact? Don’t let the bat go. Keep it in one room, don’t touch it bare-handed, and call your local animal control agency so it can be tested.
Report it. Texas rules say anyone who knows about a potential rabies exposure to a person should report it to the local rabies control authority as soon as possible.
Call a doctor or your local health department. They decide whether rabies shots are needed, usually based on the bat’s test result.
No contact at all? If you are certain no person or pet touched the bat, DSHS says it can be released outside, preferably at night.

Why bats get special attention in Texas

Texas has more bat species and more lab-confirmed rabid bats than any other state, according to a study of Texas bat rabies from 2001 to 2010 published in JAVMA. Under Texas rules, bats are high-risk animals for rabies.

The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) says rabies is enzootic in Texas bats, which means it is always present in the population. DSHS also notes that most recent human rabies cases in the United States have been traced to bat strains of the virus, and that victims often don’t remember a bite. That is why public health treats bat contact more cautiously than contact with most other animals.

How often Texas bats test positive

Most bats are healthy, but bats that end up tested are not a random sample. In DSHS’s 2024 statewide summary, 205 bats tested positive for rabies and 1,453 tested negative. That is about 12% of bats with a result. Bats made up 205 of the 412 rabid animals confirmed in Texas that year, more than skunks (136) and foxes (35) combined.

The 2001–2010 study found a similar pattern. An average of 3,107 bats were tested each year, and 11% were positive. About 83% of those bats were submitted because someone worried that a person or pet had been exposed. Sick and grounded bats are much more likely to be picked up and tested.

What counts as a possible bat exposure

Bat bites can be too small to see. DSHS lists these as situations with a reasonable probability of exposure, where the bat should be captured and tested:

A child touches a live or dead bat.
An adult touches a bat without seeing what part of the bat they touched.
A bat flies into someone and touches bare skin.
Someone steps on a bat barefoot.
Someone wakes up to find a bat in the room.
A bat is found near an infant, toddler, or someone who can’t reliably say whether they were touched.
Someone reaches into firewood, brush, a crevice, or a dark closet, feels pain, and then sees a bat.

If rabies can’t be ruled out by testing, people with a reasonable chance of exposure may be advised to get post-exposure treatment. For pets, that can mean booster vaccination and quarantine.

Step by step: a bat is in the house

Call animal control first. DSHS recommends calling your local animal control agency right away so a trained officer can capture the bat.
If nobody can come, take children and pets out of the room, close the windows and doors, and turn on the lights. Wear leather gloves and wait for the bat to land.
Cover it. Put a coffee can or similar container over the bat, slide cardboard underneath, and tape the cardboard to the can.
Don’t hit it. Damage to the head can make a rabies test impossible.
Possible contact? Keep it. Call animal control or law enforcement to arrange testing. If you’re certain there was no contact, release it outside, away from people, preferably at night.

How Texas tests bats

Whole bats can be sent to the state rabies lab, but the lab does not accept live animals and cannot euthanize them. DSHS warns that putting a bat in the refrigerator is not a way to euthanize it, because cold bats go into torpor and don’t necessarily die. Specimens must be chilled, not frozen, and the lab cannot return them. Leave this to animal control, which handles submissions every day.

The Texas reporting rule

Under 25 Texas Administrative Code § 169.25, anyone who knows about a potential rabies exposure to a person must report it to the local rabies control authority as soon as possible. The local rabies control authority then investigates. In most cities, that is the animal services or animal control department. For example, Richardson’s city site names Richardson Animal Services as the local rabies control authority for bites in the city.

Local contacts on our city pages

Our city guides list the local animal services office, the county health department’s epidemiology line, and the regional DSHS zoonosis office. Start with Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Fort Worth, or Richardson.

Stopping repeat encounters

A bat in the living space often means a roost in the attic, walls, or soffits. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department discourages bat exclusion from May 1 through August 15, while flightless pups are in the roost. During that time you can still seal the indoor gaps bats use to reach rooms, such as attic hatches, recessed lights, ductwork, and plumbing penetrations.

After August 15, humane exclusion removes the colony for good. One-way devices go over the openings the bats are using, and the rest of the gaps are sealed once the bats are out. Read more about bats in the attic, Texas bat species, and how attic bat exclusion works, or see our Texas bat removal service. Call (512) 910-3825 or schedule online.

This guide is general information, not medical advice. For any possible exposure, follow your doctor’s and local health department’s direction.

Frequently asked questions

I woke up and there was a bat in my room. What should I do?

Don’t release the bat. Texas DSHS counts waking up to a bat in the room as a reasonable probability of exposure, because bat bites can be very small. Call your local animal control agency so the bat can be tested, and contact your doctor or local health department about whether treatment is needed.

How common is rabies in Texas bats?

In DSHS’s 2024 statewide summary, 205 bats tested positive and 1,453 tested negative, about 12% of bats with a result. Those were mostly bats sent in after a possible exposure, so the rate in healthy wild bats is much lower. Bats were 205 of the 412 rabid animals confirmed in Texas that year.

Do I have to report a bat bite in Texas?

Yes. 25 Texas Administrative Code § 169.25 says anyone who knows about a potential rabies exposure to a person must report it to the local rabies control authority as soon as possible. In most cities, that is animal services or animal control.

Can I put the bat in the freezer or refrigerator for testing?

Don’t. The state lab does not accept live animals, and DSHS warns that refrigerating a bat doesn’t reliably kill it because bats go into torpor in the cold. Specimens must be chilled, not frozen. Contain the bat and let animal control handle submission. Don’t hit the bat, because head damage can make testing impossible.

If one bat got inside, do I have a colony?

Often, yes. A bat in the living space is a common sign of a roost in the attic or walls. TPWD discourages exclusion from May 1 to August 15 while pups can’t fly, so plan exclusion after that and seal indoor gaps in the meantime.

Sources

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