After two more rabid bats were recently found in Will County, it’s important to know how to react if you come in contact with these wild animals.
Bats are entering mating season, a time when they can be more active at night.
“Where you do have issues is when a bat gets in your house or if there’s a bat colony or in your attic. Sometimes they’ll get down into the living quarters. Usually they’re not aggressive they just want to get outside. So close off the room they’re in and open a window and they’ll just fly right out,” said Brian Kraskiewicz, an ecologist for the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County
Kraskiewicz said bats are one of the most common animals in Illinois to carry rabies, but the percentage of bats carrying the disease is still only three to five percent.
Nine bats in Will County and three in DuPage County have tested positive for rabies this year.
If you do come in contact with a bat, the best thing to do is call Animal Control to come and retrieve it. If you think you were bitten or scratched, wash the area and go to the hospital to get tested.
But don’t go batty worrying about these flying creatures.
“They’re really beneficial,” Kraskiewicz said. “They are eating mosquitos and moths and insects out there. They do a lot of beneficial good for agriculture and the general homeowner.”
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
