#PSA #BritishColumbia 
The #BCCommunityBatProgram has issued a #PublicAlert that #bats could be turning up in unusual places — and should be left alone.
This is the time of year that bats start to leave their summer roosts, and appear in spots like entryways, on walls, on the ground and on covered decks.
They might even fly into a house if a door is left open.
Bats should never be touched with bare hands, whether they’re dead or alive, a statement from the program said.
It said that under one per cent of bats in B.C. are known to carry# rabies but avoiding contact is important to prevent infection.
“Talk to your children to make sure they understand to never touch, play or try to rescue bats,” said South #VancouverIsland Community Bat Program co-ordinator Julianna Laposa-Wilde.
She said if you suspect a bite or scratch from a bat, wash it with soap and water for 15 minutes and contact a doctor or a public-health agency immediately.
As well, pets should be #vaccinated against rabies, and a veterinarian should be called if a pet comes in contact with a bat.
More details are available from the B.C. Centre for #DiseaseControl at http://bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/rabies.
Anyone who feels a bat should be moved can find out how to do it safely at
http://bcbats.ca. But Laposa-Wilde said bats should be left if they are in areas safely away from children and pets, and they will fly away at night to look for insects.
“Let the bat hang out for the day,” Laposa-Wilde said.
She said bats are very beneficial because they consume a large amount of insects, noting that the little brown myotis bat is capable of eating 600 mosquitoes in an hour.
Bats also eat other insects considered to be pests by the agricultural and forest industries.
“Smaller bat species eat the smaller insects, while larger bat species eat larger beetles and moths, including cucumber beetles, June bugs, stinkbugs and spruce budworm,” Laposa-Wilde said. “We have at least 15 species of bats in B.C., and they all provide free and natural insect pest control services for the community.”
