Rabid bat found in Ringwood residence

A bat that tested positive for rabies was found inside a home in Ringwood, the first rabid bat in the county in 2025, according to a Thursday news release from the McHenry County Department of Health.

The health department said the bat was collected by the Veterinary Public Health division and sent in for testing. No humans were exposed to the bat, so rabies post-exposure prophylaxis wasn’t recommended.

Bats are more active during warmer months, according to the release. Bats that are active in the day, found in an “unusual location” like homes or unable to fly is potentially rabid, according to the release.

The health department said “bite and scratch exposures” from bats can be small and go unnoticed. Children should also be “educated” to avoid wild animals, according to the release.

“The best way to prevent exposure is to avoid handling wild animals, especially bats,” Maryellen Howell, the animal control director, said in the release. “Since bats can enter through very small gaps, sealing cracks and replacing damaged or loose screens can help keep them out of your home.”

The health department gave tips to avoid exposure:

• Ensure that doors, windows, and vents have securely framed screens free of holes, chimneys are capped, and gaps around utility lines are sealed.
• Do not touch, feed, or unintentionally attract wild animals with open garbage cans or litter.
• Never adopt wild animals or bring them into your home. Do not try to nurse sick, wild animals back to health. Instead, contact McHenry County Animal Control for assistance.

People who find a bat in the home, encounter it or were in the same room as the bat while sleeping should keep the animal to an enclosed room and close the door and seal gaps at the base with a towel.

If the bat is in a “main living area” and people or pets might have been exposed, people should place an upsidedown bucket over it to contain it.

Residents should immediately call McHenry County Animal Control at 815-459-6222 to arrange for the bat’s collection “and potential testing following an exposure risk assessment by the MCDH’s Communicable Disease Program,” according to the release.

Bats have to be in good condition, such as with the head intact, and either alive or recently dead, according to the release. For questions or concerns about rabies exposure, call the Communicable Disease Program at 815-334-4500.