What To Do When You Find a Bat

Call or text 480-313-2243 for help with your specific situation.

NEVER touch a bat with bare hands and keep all pets and people away from the bat. If you are concerned about rabies exposure, get the advice of a medical professional. Take as clear and close of a picture as you can and text it along with your other information.

RABIES can be transmitted by any mammal but less than 1% of the bat population has rabies. To be safe, treat any wild animal as if it could be rabid and take proper precautions. Use thick gloves or a towel if you need to handle a bat. Rabies is transmitted by saliva; you can't get rabies from bat feces or urine or by being in the same room as a bat.

BATS IN POOLS If you fish a bat out of your pool, it is likely that the bat has ingested water or is injured or ill. Contact us immediately for further instructions. To protect bats and other animals in the future, add at least two Frog Logs to your pool to give critters an escape route. Use code AZBATS20% to get 20% off your order.

BABY BATS are born between May and June and are helpless without their mothers to care for them. Many people think they have found a baby bat because even adult bats are very small. Full grown bats can be as small as two inches long! A baby bat will be hairless or have a very light coating of fur and few or no teeth. A baby bat on its own is always in trouble so contain it as soon as possible and put it in a warm, quiet dark place and contact us immediately. Don't provide water, it can harm or even kill the baby if it is already dehydrated.

NEVER CARE FOR A BAT ON YOUR OWN Bats require special care feeding. Even if you have rehabilitated other wild or feral animals, if you aren't trained with bats you are putting yourself and the bat in danger if you try to rehabilitate it on your own. It's also illegal to keep wildlife in your home without a license for that specific animal.

ARIZONA BATS are not fruit bats. They either eat insects or nectar so don't leave fruit out for them or put fruit into the box with them. You can provide a shallow dish of water outside or use a drink or jar lid to provide water in the box. Be careful not to spill water in the box.


If you can't reach us right away, do what you can to protect the bat in the meantime

Contain the Bat: Using thick gloves and/or a thick towel, gently scoop up the bat and put it into a cardboard box with a lid. Add some tshirt type material (not towels or cloth with loops if possible). Secure the box with a rubber band or with tape but make sure the sticky side won't come into contact with the bat. Bats can squeeze through very small spaces so make sure that it is well secured. Poke holes in the box and put it in a warm, quiet place away from people and animals.

Putting bats into glass or plastic containers can cause stress or harm but if you have no other alternative, be sure that the bat has at least some fabric or even paper napkins or paper towels in the container.

Protect the Bat: If you're unable to safely or comfortably contain the bat, do what you can to protect it where it is. Bring any pets indoors and close gates to keep other animals out. Keep an eye on the bat and see if it is crawling around or trying to fly. If you are able to, put a large box over the bat or lean something in front of it to give it some shade and protection.

You May Need to Leave it Alone: Your bat might be fine even if it is visible during the day. Many bats have various day roosts that can include houses or trees in urban areas. We prefer that you contact AZ Bat Rescue for advice but some bats just need to be left alone to fly away. If the bat is outdoors in a sheltered, high place or on the ground sheltered near a wall or tree it can easily access to climb, it might just be snoozing until dark. Keep an eye on the bat and if it hasn't left about 30-60 minutes after dark, it may be in trouble. Contain it if possible and contact us.


More information about rabies