WEBSTER GROVES: A sign summer is near: Bats are back
One tests positive for rabies in Webster Groves
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| Art Lee, founder of Wildlife Control Solutions Inc., of O'Fallon, Mo., captured a bat on a ceiling fan as part of his job in pest removal. |
A bat found in a home in Webster Groves tested positive for rabies May 5, according to the St. Louis County Department of Health.
John Shelton, public information officer for the county, said, "Family members found the bat in their house, and it was sick and flopping around and they trapped it."He said the county health department was notified, and the bat was taken from the home. It was later euthanized, which was necessary in order to test it for rabies.
Shelton said this was the first bat capture of the season.
Last year, 439 bats were tested, and eight had rabies, said La'Rhonda Garrett, the health department's program manager of vector control and veterinary services.
Garrett said people who encounter a live or dead bat in their home are urged to call the health department. County residents should not attempt to capture a live bat but should confine it to the room where it was discovered so animal control officers can collect it for rabies testing.
Shelton said it's important that people not let it get away.
"For one thing, a pet, such as a dog or cat, could have been bitten, or someone in the house could have been bitten while they were sleeping," he said.
It's important the health department be able to test it for rabies, Shelton said. He said bats can enter a house through the eaves in the garage or when someone opens a door to the house.
"They can also enter through a hole in a screen of a window or door," he said. "Bats are surprisingly small."
Shelton said bats can be found in older homes in older communities such as Webster Groves, Kirkwood or University City.
Last year Deane Jones of Webster Groves had bats in her house. On July 13 - a Friday the 13th - she heard flapping noises.
She slept with a tennis racket that night and awoke to finding scratches on herself. Jones then called the county health department, which told her to get a rabies shot.
A pest control company later found a whole colony of bats that had to be removed.
"I had to stay out of my house until mid-September, since the bats were an endangered species and the bats could not be evicted until after their babies were old enough to fly," Jones said.
The house was sealed off except for a small area which contained a "bat tube" that allowed the bats to leave and not return.
"The total cost of the bat removal was $6,000," Jones said.
She said one of the companies that helped her was Wildlife Control Solutions Inc., of O'Fallon, Mo., a company that does pest removal that includes bats.
Art Lee, founder of the company, said the summer months are his busy season.
"Activity builds up in mid-August when juveniles are able to fly, and just like juveniles of other species, they are curious about their surroundings and work their way into interior living spaces," he said.
Chimneys are other places that bats can be found. Ash Wipers Chimney Sweep Inc., of Ballwin does work throughout the St. Louis area. The Webster Groves area keeps thee company busy.
"Webster Groves seems to be plagued with bats over the last five years," office manager Charlotte Rademacher said.
She said that when it comes to chimneys, people need to maintain fireplaces and animal guards in the chimneys.
Yet bats do perform a positive service for humans.
Garrett said most bats don't carry rabies, and in fact perform a beneficial service by eating large quantities of insects. But if one bat in a colony contracts rabies, chances are it will spread to other members of the colony.
For more information about pet vaccinations or to report animal bites, call the county health department, north animal shelter, at (314) 831-6500; or the south shelter at (314) 726-6655, or visit www.stlouisco.com/doh and click on animal control.
You can contact Todd Smith at tosmith@yourjournal.com.
