If nobody touched the dead bat, you can scoop it into a lidded container and put it in the trash. The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) says finding a dead bat does not require any action unless someone was bitten or scratched before the bat died. If a person or a pet touched it, or you cannot be sure nobody did, keep the bat and call your county health department. Treat a bat found in a room where someone was sleeping, or one a young child was alone with, as possible contact even if nobody felt a bite. When a person may have been exposed, public health officials at the county or at OHA decide whether the bat is tested for rabies.
Do bats in Oregon carry rabies?
Some do, though OHA says bats generally carry rabies at a very low level. Bats are by far the most common carrier of rabies in Oregon, according to Washington County, which adds that any mammal can have rabies. OHA’s release of July 30, 2026 calls bats the natural carrier for rabies in Oregon.
In that release, Emilio DeBess, public health veterinarian at OHA’s Public Health Division, said people who find a dead or dying bat may pick it up with their hands because they want to help it. Never touch a bat with bare hands.
DeBess also wrote “Rabies in Oregon: What to know if you find a bat in your home,” published on September 1, 2026 by the veterinary college at Oregon State University (OSU). It reports that, according to OHA data, 30 bats had tested positive for rabies in Oregon so far in 2026, putting the state on track to exceed its previous record for animals testing positive in a single year.
Do I have to report a dead bat if nobody touched it?
No. OHA’s guidance is that a dead bat calls for action only if someone was bitten or scratched before it died. For anyone who finds one, Multnomah County’s instruction is to scoop the bat into a disposable container with a lid and put it in the trash.
Wear gloves while you scoop, because the OSU article says not to handle a bat with bare hands. Slide the open container under the bat, tip the bat in, press the lid on and put the container in your household trash. Keep children and pets away from the bat until it is in the bin.
If you would rather not do even that, this site can pass the job to an independent operator where an operator covers the address. That option is only for a bat nobody touched and nobody needs tested.
What if someone touched the bat, or might have?
OHA’s bats and rabies page says that when contact with a person or pet occurred, or you are not sure whether it did, the bat should not be released, and you should call your local health authority. Multnomah County adds that such a bat should be tested for rabies, so it stays out of the trash.
Cover the bat where it lies, dead or still moving. For a sick or dead bat on the ground, OHA says to put a pail, coffee can or similar container over it as soon as it is found and set a heavy object such as a brick or rock on top, so people and animals cannot reach it.
If you have to touch the carcass at all, wear gloves, as Washington County advises. Keep it in one piece. Under Oregon Administrative Rule 333-019-0024, no person may destroy the head of any mammal that has bitten a person without authorization by the local public health administrator. OSU’s Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory recommends submitting bats as an entire carcass.
If someone was bitten or scratched, or may have had direct contact with the bat, the OSU article says to seek medical care promptly and to report the possible exposure to the local public health or animal-control authority.
Who decides whether the bat is tested for rabies?
When a person may have been exposed, public health officials make that call. OHA says the Oregon Public Health Laboratory tests bats only when a human exposure has occurred. The Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at OSU also tests animals for rabies, but it cannot test a human-contact case without prior approval from OHA or a county health department.
Oregon Administrative Rule 333-019-0024 also gives the local public health administrator the job of investigating the circumstances whenever a mammal bites a person. Washington County, which includes Hillsboro, tells anyone exposed to a bat to call 503-846-3594, and says that if it determines the exposure may be potentially dangerous, it will guide you on how to get the bat and have it tested.
In Multnomah County (Portland), a September 2021 county release gave 503-988-3406, the number for Multnomah County Communicable Disease Services, as the call to make about a sick or dead bat that had contact with a person or pet, for guidance on capturing or storing it for testing. In Lane County (Eugene), Jackson County (Medford) or anywhere else in Oregon, call your own county health department.
Does a bat in a bedroom count as contact if nobody felt a bite?
Treat it as possible contact. An Oregon State University article says a bat found in a bedroom where someone was sleeping, especially a young child or someone who may not be able to recognize or report a bite, deserves prompt medical and public-health assessment, because a bite or other contact may not always be noticed.
Bat bites can be tiny and may go unrecognized, DeBess adds. Seeing a bat in the house does not by itself mean everyone in it was exposed, and he writes that risk depends on the circumstances. His list of cases that call for a medical or public-health check also includes a young child alone with the bat or unable to say whether contact happened, anyone unsure whether they touched it, and a pet that had contact.
In any of those cases, contain the bat if you safely can, and contact your medical provider or your local public health authority. If the bat is still flying, OHA says to turn on the room lights, close the windows and the room and closet doors, and wait for it to land. Then, wearing gloves, cover it with a coffee can or pail, slide a piece of cardboard underneath, hold the cardboard firmly against the container, turn it right side up and tape the cardboard on. DeBess writes that a person should not wait for symptoms before seeking medical advice after a possible exposure.
What if a dog or cat got to the bat?
Multnomah County says a bat that you know or suspect had contact with a pet should be tested for rabies. Anywhere in Oregon, OHA’s advice is to contact your local health authority or a veterinarian right away to discuss a possible exposure of a person or pet.
Washington County says cats are more likely to find bats than dogs, and that even indoor cats have been exposed to rabid bats. Leave the pet’s follow-up to your veterinarian and the county, and keep the bat until they have told you whether they need it.
When should I call ODFW about dead bats?
When you find several dead or injured bats in one place, or a bat in winter with a white substance on its face or wings, call the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). ODFW says both could be signs of an infectious disease that could affect bat populations.
That report does not answer the rabies question, because ODFW says it cannot offer medical advice and will not typically test a bat for rabies or other diseases. For a person or pet bitten or scratched by a bat, ODFW’s own page points you to a medical professional or your local health department.
For live bats roosting in an attic, ODFW says to call a wildlife control operator, and that it is unable to respond to homeowner requests for bat removal. ODFW also notes that state law prohibits evicting or excluding bats in June, July and August, to protect immobile pups that may be present.