DPH Spotlights Benefits of Bats and Safety Tips During International Bat Week

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Oct. 22, 2025

COLUMBIA, S.C. ― The South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH) is celebrating International Bat Week (Oct. 24-31) by encouraging residents to learn about the important role bats play in the environment while also being cautious in their presence.

Bats are beneficial mammals that eat thousands of mosquitoes and other nuisance insects every day. However, bats can spread the rabies virus just like raccoons, foxes, skunks and other animals. Rabies is almost always fatal but is also preventable with treatment after an exposure before symptoms start.

“This year’s Bat Week campaign is another opportunity to educate and share awareness about bats, which unfortunately, have a generally bad reputation,” said Terri McCollister, DPH’s Rabies Program manager. “While bats are one of the more recognizable species that can carry and transmit the rabies virus, not every bat is infected with rabies. Bats are an important part of South Carolina's ecosystems, and they deserve a healthy degree of respect just like all wild animals.”

Bat Week Events and Recognition

Members of the South Carolina Bat Working Group have compiled a list of events during October in celebration of Bat Week. DPH would like to thank all hosts and members of the bat working group for their passion to share educational opportunities for our community members.

As part of Bat Week, DPH will be spotlighting drawing contest entries from students on the agency’s social media platforms. See details here, dph.sc.gov/batweek.

How to Protect Yourself and Others from Potential Rabies Exposure

If you find yourself in the presence of a bat, it’s important to know that it’s not always possible to tell if you’ve been bitten because their teeth are small, and bites may go unnoticed. Unusual behaviors in bats that might indicate the animal has rabies include daytime activity, inability to fly, and being found in places they are not usually seen, like in your home or on your lawn. It should be assumed a person or pet has been potentially bitten by a bat, regardless of whether a bite wound is visible, when:

• a bat is found in a room, living space or tent where someone was sleeping.
• a bat is found where children, pets or persons with impaired mental capacity (intoxicated or mentally disabled) have been left unattended; or
• they have been in direct contact with a bat.

“Usually, a person’s first reaction to finding a bat inside is to get it out. It is only after they have released it that they begin to wonder where it came from and if they could have been exposed,” McCollister said. “Typically, that is when we are called. However, we encourage people to not release bats and call us first to rule out a potential rabies exposure.”

DPH advises that bats involved with potential human or pet exposures should be captured using precautions to prevent exposure when possible. Stay calm and contact a wildlife control operator or visit DPH’s bat webpage to learn how to safely capture a bat, and contact your local rabies prevention team by calling 888-847-0902 (option 2), to assist with submitting specimens to DPH’s Public Health Lab for rabies testing and to address any questions or concerns you may have about rabies.

“You can't tell if a bat or any other animal has rabies by simply looking at it; rabies has to be confirmed in a laboratory,” McCollister said. “As with any wild animal, give bats their space and call a professional wildlife control operator if bats are found inside your home or in the crevices of your eaves or roof, or in other small openings of your home. A wildlife control operator can safely remove the bats without causing them or you harm.”

It is important, and state law requires, that pets be kept up to date on their rabies vaccination, as this is one of the easiest and most effective ways to protect people and pets against the disease. DPH’s Rabies Prevention Program team members work tirelessly to ensure the safety of people and pets from rabies.

In 2024, there were three human deaths to rabies in the United States. The virus exposures for two of the three deaths were from bats. The last human death due to rabies in South Carolina occurred in 2011, from a rabies infected bat. The deadly nature of rabies highlights the continued need for education, awareness, and a team of public health experts working diligently behind the scenes providing rabies risk assessments to known or potentially exposed people to ensure their safety from a rare but serious public health concern.

If you believe a person or pet has come in contact with a bat or another animal that potentially has rabies, please call the DPH Rabies Prevention Program, anytime, at 888-847-0902 (Option 2). Contact information including fax numbers and email addresses for your local Public Health Rabies Prevention Program offices is available at dph.sc.gov/RabiesContacts. For more information on rabies, visit dph.sc.gov/rabies or cdc.gov/rabies. 

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