Bat-related calls are rising sharply around Pittsburgh as young bats born in the spring begin flying on their own \u2014 and, in some cases, into people’s homes, turning a typically beneficial backyard animal into an indoor nuisance and, at times, a public health concern.<\/p>\n
Here’s what to know<\/p>\n
The Allegheny County Health Department had recorded 17 bat-related calls in August, after 19 in July, compared with six in June, according to CBS News Pittsburgh<\/a>. That puts both July and August at about three times June’s total.<\/p>\n Bryan Fichter of Critter Control of PGH NW said the pace has been nonstop for the Pennsylvania city and its surrounding area: “Even today, we had five inspections; they were all bats.”<\/p>\n Wildlife crews said that kind of workload is typical for the part of the year when pups born in the spring begin flying independently.<\/p>\n The Allegheny County Health Department said certain situations can count as exposure, including a bat circling in a room with a sleeping person, unattended children, or someone with cognitive impairments.<\/p>\n More background<\/p>\n Retired Pennsylvania Game Commission warden Gary Fujak said bats do not need much space to slip into a house.<\/p>\n “They flatten their body, and they crawl in. So, yeah, you don’t need a big opening at all,” he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Wildlife removal crews said the reports are coming from across the region, rather than from one specific neighborhood or hotspot.<\/p>\n What can be done?<\/p>\n Officials said residents should call the health department for guidance after any situation they consider a potential exposure, such as a bat flying around a room where someone was asleep, where unattended children were present, or where a person with cognitive impairments was staying.<\/p>\n Experts also recommend contacting a professional for removal whenever possible. Bats are protected animals, and trying to handle one can make the situation worse and increase the risk of being bitten.<\/p>\n Fichter said, “If you have a bat inside the house and you can’t get in touch with anybody you know, a heavy towel or something, try to get it onto the floor, and just, you know, take it outside with a heavy towel if you desperately need it out of your house.”<\/p>\n After removal, the key is preventing bats from getting back in through the same small gaps.<\/p>\n Fujak said bats still play a useful role outdoors: “They’re helping us out a lot, especially all the mosquitoes that they gobble up every evening.”<\/p>\n Where can I learn more?<\/p>\n Bats are showing up elsewhere, not just in Pittsburgh, including in Washington, Illinois, and California.<\/p>\n \u2022 In Washington’s Snohomish County, a rabid bat flew<\/a> into a home, sending three residents for treatment.<\/p>\n \u2022 In Illinois’ McHenry County, a rabid bat was found<\/a> inside a home, exposing a resident.<\/p>\n \u2022 In California’s San Diego County, rabid bats are turning up<\/a> at the Zoo, Safari Park, and elsewhere.<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bat-related calls are rising sharply around Pittsburgh as young bats born in the spring begin flying on their…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":291566,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[894,99173,120907,9183,73,75,74,120908],"class_list":["post-291565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-allegheny-county","tag-cbs-news-pittsburgh","tag-cognitive-impairments","tag-pennsylvania-game-commission","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news","tag-unattended-children"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=291565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/291565\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/291566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=291565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=291565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=291565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}