Bats and rabies in Idaho

Bats are the only animal in Idaho that naturally carries rabies. Most bats are healthy, but a bite can be too small to notice. Here is what Idaho health officials say to do after a bat encounter, and how to keep it from happening again.

The short version

Never touch a bat with bare hands.
If a bat bit, scratched or touched someone, or was in a room with a sleeping person or a young child, call a doctor and your local public health district right away.
If you can do it safely, contain the bat so it can be tested. Do not crush or damage its head.
Keep dogs, cats and ferrets vaccinated, and ask your vet about horses and livestock.
If bats are living in your building, plan a humane exclusion outside the summer pup season.

How common are rabid bats in Idaho?

Idaho Fish and Game reports that the Idaho Bureau of Laboratories found an average of about 15 rabid bats a year between 2010 and 2020, from most counties in the state, usually between March and November. No part of Idaho is considered rabies-free.

The count was higher in 2026. Southeastern Idaho Public Health confirmed the state’s first rabid bat of the year in Bannock County on May 26, and by September 2 the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported 24 rabid bats statewide, more than in each of the prior three years. Health officials also reported more calls about possible bat exposures; Central District Health had received more than twice as many as at the same point the year before. Officials said the reasons were unclear and suggested population growth and wildfire smoke as possible factors.

Keep that in perspective. Across North America only about 0.1 percent of wild bats have rabies, according to Idaho Fish and Game, and a bat roosting quietly outdoors usually just needs to be left alone. The risk comes from direct contact.

What counts as a possible exposure

Idaho Fish and Game and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare advise calling a healthcare provider and your public health district if:

a bat bit or scratched someone, or landed on them;
bat saliva may have gotten into a cut, scratch, the eyes, nose or mouth;
someone woke up with a bat in the room;
a bat was found in a room with an unattended child or anyone who could not reliably say whether they were touched;
a pet or livestock animal had contact with a bat (call your veterinarian too).

Bat teeth are tiny, and a bite may not leave an obvious mark. Rabies is nearly always fatal once symptoms start, but prompt wound care and the rabies vaccine series are very effective at preventing it.

Which public health district to call

Idaho’s seven public health districts arrange rabies testing. These are the numbers each district has published for bat and rabies questions:

Central District Health (Ada, Boise, Elmore, Valley counties): (208) 375-5211.
Southwest District Health (Adams, Canyon, Gem, Owyhee, Payette, Washington counties): (208) 455-5400.
South Central Public Health District (Twin Falls, Jerome, Minidoka, Cassia and the rest of the Magic Valley): (208) 737-5912 or (208) 737-5971.
Southeastern Idaho Public Health (Bannock, Bingham, Oneida and nearby counties): (208) 478-6303.
Eastern Idaho Public Health (Bonneville, Madison, Lemhi and nearby counties): (208) 533-3152.
Panhandle Health District and Public Health – Idaho North Central District cover North Idaho; the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare rabies page links to every district.

How to contain a bat for testing

Only do this if public health or your doctor wants the bat tested, and only if you can do it without touching it. Idaho Fish and Game recommends heavy leather gloves, long sleeves and long pants. Wait until the bat lands, set a small box or container over it, slide a piece of cardboard underneath, and tape the container shut. Do not kill the bat by crushing it, because damage to the head can make testing impossible.

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare says a captured bat approved for testing can be taken to a veterinarian, an animal control agency or Idaho Fish and Game, which will humanely euthanize it and submit it. If the bat is already dead, put it in a plastic bag without touching it and call your public health district.

If nobody had contact with the bat, you do not need to test it. Idaho Fish and Game says you can capture it the same way and release it outside, or open a window or door to the outside and close off the rest of the house so it can leave on its own. Our emergency bat removal page covers that situation in more detail.

One bat inside can mean a colony

A single bat in the living space sometimes comes from a colony roosting in the attic, walls or chimney and finding its way in through a gap around a light fixture, attic hatch or duct. If you find bats indoors more than once, or see droppings, staining or bats leaving the roofline at dusk, the building likely has a roost.

Bats are protected nongame wildlife in Idaho, and the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare asks people who find a colony to get guidance on removing it safely rather than killing the bats. Idaho Fish and Game recommends evicting bats from structures from early September to mid-October, after the maternity season and before hibernation, unless bats are getting into living spaces. The legal, permanent method is one-way exclusion followed by sealing every gap. Read more about Idaho bat removal laws, bat-proofing and Idaho bat species.

Common questions

Do all bats in Idaho have rabies?

No. Idaho Fish and Game notes that only about 0.1 percent of wild bats across North America have rabies. But bats are the only known natural reservoir of rabies in Idaho, so any bat that may have touched a person or pet should be taken seriously.

How many rabid bats are found in Idaho each year?

Idaho averaged about 15 rabid bats a year between 2010 and 2020, according to Idaho Fish and Game. In 2026 the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported 24 by September 2, more than in each of the previous three years.

I woke up and found a bat in my bedroom. What should I do?

Contact your healthcare provider and your local public health district right away, even if you see no bite. If you can do it without touching the bat, contain it so public health can decide whether to test it.

Does it cost anything to have a bat tested for rabies in Idaho?

When the local public health district decides testing is warranted, the bat is tested at the Idaho Bureau of Laboratories at no cost to you.

How do I stop bats from getting into my house?

Find and seal the gaps bats use, but only after the bats are out. Sealing a roost while bats are inside, especially during the summer pup season, traps them. Humane one-way exclusion followed by permanent sealing is the lasting fix.

Local bat removal pages

Sources

For Idaho Fish and Game timing (early Sept–mid-Oct), maternity-season rules and one-way exit weather guidance, see when to exclude bats in Idaho.

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