Bat Removal in Lansing, MI

Which part of Lansing are you in?

The Census Bureau lists the City of Lansing in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties. By the 2020 Census, 107,637 Lansing residents live in the Ingham County part, 5,003 in the Eaton County part and 4 in the Clinton County part, and part of East Lansing, home to 2,477 people, is in Clinton County too. The Barry-Eaton District Health Department describes itself as the public health agency for Barry and Eaton counties, and the Mid-Michigan District Health Department says it serves Clinton, Gratiot and Montcalm counties, so the department that serves you follows the county line, not the city line.

None of the pages read for this site lists the Lansing streets each department serves. If you are not sure which county your address is in, start with Ingham’s number, since most of the city is in Ingham County, and say where you live.

What does Ingham County say to do with a bat?

Keep it. Ingham County’s February 2026 fact sheet says a bat found in the home, alive or dead, should be caught or collected and the health department called to decide whether it needs testing, and its April 2026 rabies fact sheet adds that the bat must not be released or thrown out. If you wake to find a bat in your room, or one turns up in an unattended child’s room, the county says to catch it and call 517-887-4308. Ingham County Animal Control, 517-676-8370, is the second number the county gives for advice.

Pets count too. The county says a pet that may have come into contact with a bat should go to a veterinarian for a rabies vaccine booster.

And in the Eaton County part of Lansing?

The Barry-Eaton District Health Department asks anyone who thinks a bat may have exposed them or their family to hold on to the bat instead of releasing it, and it treats a bat in the same room as someone who might not know there was contact, such as a child, a sleeping person, or someone intoxicated or mentally disabled, as a possible exposure. The district does not give rabies treatment itself; it sends residents to their healthcare provider.

Who removes bats and other wildlife in Lansing?

Ingham County Animal Control says wildlife is regulated by the Michigan DNR, and Ingham’s bat fact sheet tells residents to consult a pest control company.

Ingham’s fact sheet gives a size to look for when sealing: caulk every gap that measures more than a half inch by a quarter inch. Exclusion waits out the maternity season, which the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service puts at typically May 15 to August 15; how bat exclusion works is covered separately.