There's a Bat in My House: What to Do Right Now
Stay calm, keep pets and children out of the room, and close interior doors to confine the bat to one space. Open an exterior window or door so it can leave on its own. Do not release it outside if anyone may have been bitten or exposed while sleeping — in that case the bat must be safely captured for rabies testing. When in doubt, call a professional.
First steps
Confine the bat by closing doors to other rooms, and give it a way out by opening a window or exterior door. Most single bats will leave on their own once the room is quiet and dark and there's an exit. Don't swat at it — that risks injuring the bat and getting bitten.
The rabies question matters
This is important: if a bat is found in a room where someone was sleeping, or with a child or someone unable to report a bite, public-health guidance is not to release it, because a bite can be tiny and unnoticed. The bat should be safely captured so it can be tested for rabies. If there's any chance of exposure, contact your doctor or local health department and don't let the bat go.
One bat often means more
A single bat in the living space, especially in summer, can be a sign of a colony roosting in your attic. If you're finding bats repeatedly, you likely have a roost that needs humane exclusion — sealing them out legally and at the right time of year.
How we help
We safely remove bats from living spaces, assess whether there's a roost, and perform humane, legal exclusion — working within New York's maternity-season restriction so flightless pups are never trapped. If a bat needs to be retained for testing, we can handle it safely.
Containing a bat safely
If the bat is flying in a room, do not chase it. Close the interior doors so it stays in one room, open an exterior window or door if one is available, turn the lights down, and give it a few minutes — most will find their way out on their own. Chasing exhausts the animal and makes everything harder.
If it lands and you need to contain it, wear thick leather gloves — never bare hands. Place a rigid container such as a plastic tub or coffee can over it, slide stiff cardboard underneath to trap it, and tape the cardboard in place. Keep the container.
When the bat must not be released
This is the part that matters most, and it runs against instinct. If a bat is found in a room where someone was sleeping, or in a room with a young child, someone intoxicated, or anyone else who could not reliably report being bitten, the bat should be contained rather than released so it can be tested, and your county health department should be contacted.
The reason is that bat bites and scratches can be extremely small and easy to miss entirely — a person can be bitten in their sleep without knowing. Testing the animal resolves the question quickly. Releasing it removes that option permanently, and the alternative is a decision made without information.
A single bat in the house is also worth treating as a question about the building. One that came down a chimney is a one-off; one that emerged from a wall or attic usually means a roost, and that is a separate job with its own legal timing.
Common questions
A bat was in our bedroom while we slept. What now?
Contain it rather than release it, and call your county health department. Bat bites can be too small to notice, so someone can be bitten while asleep without knowing, and testing the bat answers the question quickly. Once it is released that option is gone.
Does one bat mean there are more?
Not always, but it is worth finding out. A bat that came down a chimney or through an open door is often a one-off. One that emerged from a wall void or attic usually indicates a roost, which is a separate job — and one whose timing New York restricts during the summer maternity season.
This is what we do