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Michigan health departments

Who to Call About a Bat in Michigan, by County and City

A bat found in the home is a health question first: ask the department that serves your address whether it should be tested. Each entry gives that department's own steps where it publishes them, every number with what it is for, and, where the county or city says, who will or will not remove wildlife.

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Calls route by ZIP where an operator covers the address, and otherwise come to Local Core Group, which runs this site. Or send a request.

The first steps for any bat in the house, whatever county you are in, are on the bat in the house page: do not let the bat go until you have talked to the health department.

Health departments, county by county

Grand Rapids and the rest of Kent County

Kent County Health Department

  • 616-632-7228: about a bat. On weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Option 2 reaches staff for a rabies risk assessment; Option 1 takes a message, and staff call back the next business day.

What to do with the bat: Kent tests a bat only when its staff find a possible risk to a person, and asks that no bat be brought in before you have talked to them. If testing is approved, you take the bat to the Kent County Animal Shelter; one that arrives before 2:30 p.m. is usually sent for testing that afternoon. A dead bat is kept cool. The Grand Rapids page has more.

Who removes wildlife: If you would rather not catch the bat yourself, the county suggests a professional pest or wildlife control company. Its animal shelter says it is not licensed to handle wildlife.

Source: Kent County Health Department, Bat in the Home (read 2026-10-27); Kent County Health Department, Rabid bat bulletin (May 28, 2026) (read 2026-10-27); Kent County Animal Control, Animal Control (read 2026-10-27); U.S. Census Bureau, Places by county, Michigan (2020 Census) (read 2026-10-31).

Ann Arbor and the rest of Washtenaw County

Washtenaw County Health Department

  • 734-544-6700: during business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays; the county also takes bat reports through a secure online form on its rabies page.

What to do with the bat: The county asks residents not to let a bat found in the house go until they have spoken with its staff, and to use the online form instead of bringing bats to the health department, then wait to hear from staff. Staff approve each bat before it is tested, and the county charges a fee for each one it approves. Never put the bat in the freezer. The county does not give rabies shots; if staff say treatment is needed, it starts in an emergency department. The Ann Arbor page has more.

Who removes wildlife: For a bat that has to be caught, the county’s steps say to call animal control or capture it yourself. In Ann Arbor, animal control runs through the Humane Society of Huron Valley, the police department’s partner; city patrol officers do not remove skunks or bats.

Source: Washtenaw County Health Department, Rabies (read 2026-10-27); Ann Arbor Police Department, Animal Control (read 2026-10-27); U.S. Census Bureau, Places by county, Michigan (2020 Census) (read 2026-10-31).

The City of Detroit

Detroit Health Department

  • 313-933-3437: the department’s number for public health emergencies, such as a concern about a communicable disease.
  • 313-876-4000: its Communicable Disease program.

What to do with the bat: Wayne County says Detroit runs a public health department of its own, separate from the county’s. The Detroit Health Department pages read for this site gave no steps for catching or testing a bat. The CDC’s advice is not to release a bat found in the home until you talk with a public health expert. The Detroit page has more.

Who removes wildlife: Detroit Animal Control says it has no license to take in wildlife unless the animal has bitten a person or a companion animal, and sends residents to a nuisance wildlife control company. Bites go to Animal Control at (313) 922-DOGS.

Source: Detroit Health Department, Detroit Health Department (read 2026-10-27); Detroit Health Department, Communicable Disease program (read 2026-10-27); Detroit Animal Care and Control, Animal Control (read 2026-10-27); Wayne County, Communities Allowed to Hold Virtual Public Meetings through May 31 (March 30, 2021) (read 2026-10-31); CDC, Preventing Rabies from Bats (read 2026-10-24).

Hamtramck, Highland Park, Livonia and the rest of Wayne County outside Detroit

Wayne County Health Department

  • 734-727-7000: the Public Health office of the department, whose disease reports cover Wayne County excluding the City of Detroit.

What to do with the bat: The county says it still accepts wildlife specimens that meet its rabies testing protocol. The CDC’s advice is not to release a bat found in the home until you talk with a public health expert.

Who removes wildlife: Livonia records animal bite reports through Public Service at (734) 466-2655 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; outside those hours and on weekends, the Livonia Police Department takes the report at (734) 466-2470. Livonia Animal Control does not collect healthy wild animals, so residents hire a pest control removal service themselves.

Source: Wayne County Health Department, Rodents, West Nile, bedbugs and rabies (read 2026-10-27); Wayne County Health, Human & Veterans Services, Contact Us (Public Health office) (read 2026-10-31); Wayne County Health, Human & Veterans Services, Select Communicable Disease Quarterly Report, Quarter 1 2026 (read 2026-10-31); City of Livonia, Animal Control questions (read 2026-10-27); U.S. Census Bureau, Places by county, Michigan (2020 Census) (read 2026-10-31); CDC, Preventing Rabies from Bats (read 2026-10-24).

Most of Lansing, and the rest of Ingham County

Ingham County Health Department

  • 517-887-4308: the number Ingham’s bat and rabies fact sheets give.
  • 517-676-8370: Ingham County Animal Control, which the April 2026 rabies fact sheet gives as a second number for advice.

What to do with the bat: Ingham’s fact sheets say to capture or collect any bat found in the home, dead or alive, and call; the bat must not be released or thrown out. Ingham says a pet that may have come into contact with a bat should go to a veterinarian for a rabies vaccine booster. The Lansing page has more.

Who removes wildlife: County animal control says wildlife is regulated by the Michigan DNR, and the county’s bat fact sheet says to consult a pest control company.

Source: Ingham County Health Department, Bats in your home (fact sheet, February 2026) (read 2026-10-27); Ingham County Health Department, Rabies (fact sheet, April 2026) (read 2026-10-27); Ingham County Animal Control, Animal welfare (read 2026-10-27).

The Eaton County part of Lansing, and the rest of Eaton and Barry counties

Barry-Eaton District Health Department

  • 517-541-2641: the district’s line for Barry and Eaton counties after a bite, or after contact with a bat.
  • 517-543-2430: its Eaton County office in Charlotte; the district serves Barry and Eaton counties.

What to do with the bat: The district asks anyone who thinks a bat may have exposed them or their family to keep the bat: catch it safely so it can be tested, and call the district, or on the next business day if it is after hours. It treats as a possible exposure a bat that was in a room with someone who might not know there was contact, such as a child, a sleeping person, or someone intoxicated or mentally disabled.

Source: Barry-Eaton District Health Department, Bats, ticks, mosquitoes and animal bites (read 2026-10-28); Barry-Eaton District Health Department, Contact Us (read 2026-10-31); U.S. Census Bureau, Places by county, Michigan (2020 Census) (read 2026-10-31).

The Clinton County parts of Lansing and East Lansing, and the rest of Clinton County

Mid-Michigan District Health Department

  • 989-224-2195: its Clinton County office in St. Johns; the district serves Clinton, Gratiot and Montcalm counties.
  • 989-831-5237: its administrative office in Stanton.

What to do with the bat: Its bat guidance was not read for this site. The CDC’s advice is not to release a bat found in the home until you talk with a public health expert.

Source: Mid-Michigan District Health Department, Home page: counties served and office locations (read 2026-10-31); U.S. Census Bureau, Places by county, Michigan (2020 Census) (read 2026-10-31); CDC, Preventing Rabies from Bats (read 2026-10-24).

Kalamazoo and the rest of Kalamazoo County

Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services

  • 269-373-5044: the Communicable Disease team, when a bat is actually there and a bite or exposure cannot reasonably be ruled out.
  • 269-383-8775: Animal Services & Enforcement, which the county says to notify to retrieve a bat displaying behavior consistent with rabies, for testing.

What to do with the bat: The county treats it as a rabies exposure when a bat has been in a room with a person who was asleep, disabled or handicapped, or with a domestic animal. Its signs of rabies in bats: being active by day, turning up somewhere bats are not normally seen, such as a home, a playground or anywhere on the ground, and not being able to fly.

Source: Kalamazoo County Health and Community Services, First rabid animal of 2025 (May 14, 2025) (read 2026-10-27); Kalamazoo County, Rabies questions (read 2026-10-27); U.S. Census Bureau, Places by county, Michigan (2020 Census) (read 2026-10-31).

Jackson and the rest of Jackson County

Jackson County Health Department

  • 517-768-1664: the Health Department’s Communicable Disease Department, which the county names for arranging rabies testing.
  • 517-788-4464: the Jackson County Animal Shelter, which the county also names for arranging rabies testing.

What to do with the bat: The county says not to discard or let go a bat found inside the home, or one found in a room with someone asleep, an unattended child, or anyone mentally impaired or intoxicated. If it is a weekend or a holiday, store the bat somewhere cold without freezing it, and follow up with the county on the next business day. The same instruction covers a bite or scratch from a bat. After hours, or if you cannot reach the department, the county takes an online bite report form and follows up with guidance on next steps. In Jackson County, rabies vaccine is given only at the Henry Ford Jackson emergency room.

Source: Jackson County Health Department, Bites: animal, bat, tick (read 2026-10-27); Jackson County Health Department, Communicable Disease (read 2026-10-27); U.S. Census Bureau, Places by county, Michigan (2020 Census) (read 2026-10-31).

Troy and the rest of Oakland County

Oakland County Health Division

  • 248-858-1286: the county’s line for questions about a possible rabies exposure.
  • 248-858-1090: Oakland County Animal Control, during business hours, for help getting an animal tested.

What to do with the bat: The county says not to release a bat found in the home: catch it safely in a container, tape cardboard over it to keep the bat inside, and call the health department to have it tested. It recommends rabies treatment after exposure to a bat while sleeping. The Troy page has more.

Who removes wildlife: The county animal shelter says it does not take wild animals out of homes or yards and points residents to a local critter or pest control company. Troy’s dispatchers tell residents with wildlife on private property to call a private animal removal service.

Source: Oakland County Health Division, Rabies (read 2026-10-27); Oakland County Animal Shelter & Pet Adoption Center, Wildlife (read 2026-10-27); City of Troy Police Department, Animal Control (read 2026-10-27); U.S. Census Bureau, Places by county, Michigan (2020 Census) (read 2026-10-31).

Flint and the rest of Genesee County

Genesee County Health Department

What to do with the bat: The CDC’s advice is not to release a bat found in the home until you talk with a public health expert.

Who removes wildlife: For a nuisance animal, the county says to contact a contractor permitted by the Department of Natural Resources for the specific animal, preferably one with liability insurance and workers’ compensation insurance.

Source: Genesee County Health Department, Communicable disease (read 2026-10-27); Genesee County Health Department, Rabid bat identified in Burton (May 22, 2025) (read 2026-10-27); CDC, Preventing Rabies from Bats (read 2026-10-24); U.S. Census Bureau, Places by county, Michigan (2020 Census) (read 2026-10-31).

Saginaw and the rest of Saginaw County

Saginaw County Health Department

What to do with the bat: The Saginaw County Health Department page read for this site gave no bat steps. The CDC’s advice is not to release a bat found in the home until you talk with a public health expert.

Source: Saginaw County Health Department, Saginaw County Health Department (read 2026-10-27); CDC, Preventing Rabies from Bats (read 2026-10-24); U.S. Census Bureau, Places by county, Michigan (2020 Census) (read 2026-10-31).

Anywhere else in Michigan

Your local health department

What to do with the bat: The link above opens the MDHHS directory of local health departments, by county. The CDC says to contact animal control or your health department to safely capture a bat found in your home for rabies testing, and not to release it until you talk with a public health expert.

Source: CDC, Preventing Rabies from Bats (read 2026-10-24).

Sources for this page

Each rule and figure on this page comes from one of these pages, read on the date given. Agency guidance is described as guidance; it is not presented as law.

City pages

Bat Removal in Grand Rapids, MI

Kent County tests a bat only when its staff find a possible risk to a person; approved bats go to the county animal shelter.

Read the Grand Rapids page →

Bat and Raccoon Removal in Ann Arbor, MI

Washtenaw County takes bat reports by phone or online form, asks that bats not be brought in, and does not give rabies shots.

Read the Ann Arbor page →

Wildlife Removal in Detroit, MI

Detroit’s own health department, separate from Wayne County’s, and an animal control that receives wildlife only after a bite.

Read the Detroit page →

Bat and Raccoon Removal in Troy, MI

Oakland County’s container-and-cardboard steps for a bat, and Troy’s answer for wildlife on private property: a private removal service.

Read the Troy page →

Bat Removal in Lansing, MI

Which of three health departments serves your Lansing address.

Read the Lansing page →

If your city is not listed, use its county's entry above for the bat, or the MDHHS directory under Anywhere else in Michigan. For the attic, call anyway. The number is the same everywhere in Michigan, and your ZIP code decides where the call goes: to an independent wildlife control operator where one covers your address, and otherwise to Local Core Group, which runs this site.

Describe what you are hearing

When it happens, where in the house, and what you have seen outside. Your call routes by ZIP to an independent wildlife control operator where one covers your address, and that operator settles price and timing with you. Where none does, it comes to Local Core Group, which runs this site.

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