St. Lucie County - Tuesday October 18, 2022: Following an incident related to bats at The Landings in Tradition the Florida Department of Health in St. Lucie County (DOH-St. Lucie) has issued an advisory to residents top avoid contact with bats and other wildlife.
Residents and visitors should be aware that rabies is present in the wild animal population.
Precautions to avoid contact:
• Do not handle, feed, or unintentionally attract wild animals with open garbage cans or litter.
• Call your local animal control agency to remove any stray animals from your neighborhood. Port St. Lucie Animal Control at 772-871-5042.
• Never adopt wild animals or bring them into your home.
• Keep rabies vaccinations up to date for all pets.
If you are exposed to a bat, which includes accidental contact, a bite or scratch, please contact DOH-St. Lucie at 772-462-3883, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. On weekends or after hours, please call 772-462-3800.
Appropriate treatment through post-exposure prophylaxis vaccination, starting soon after exposure, will protect you from the risk of rabies. The only preventative treatment for human exposure to rabies is rabies-specific immune globulin and rabies immunization.
DOH-St. Lucie is providing treatment to exposed individuals. DOH-St. Lucie is also working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to respond to this situation.
While Florida’s 13 native bat species typically roost in trees, caves or other natural spaces, they may also be attracted to man-made structures. Fall is the best time to exclude bats from your home or other structures because maternity season, which occurs from April 15 to August 15, has ended. During maternity season, it is illegal to install exclusion devices, which allow bats to exit, but block them from returning to their roosts. During the Fall, no young are present, making it the ideal time to evict any bats that may be occupying a structure on your property and to bat-proof your home.
In order to legally exclude bats, any exclusion device must be left up for a minimum of four nights and must be conducted when the overnight temperature is forecast to be at least 50ºF.
• Information about Bats in Buildings: https://myfwc.com/conservation/you- conserve/wildlife/bats/bats-in-buildings/
• Please keep your pets under direct supervision, so they do not come in contact with wild animals. If a wild animal bites your pet, seek veterinary assistance for the animal immediately and contact Port St. Lucie Animal Control at 772-871-5042.
• Prevent bats from entering living quarters or occupied spaces in homes, schools, and other similar areas where they might come in contact with people and pets.
• Information about Bats in Buildings: https://myfwc.com/conservation/you- conserve/wildlife/bats/bats-in-buildings/
About the Florida Department of Health
The department, nationally accredited by the Public Health Accreditation Board, works to protect, promote and improve the health of all people in Florida through integrated state, county and community efforts. For more information about the Florida Department of Health visit: www.FloridaHealth.gov.
To learn more about DOH-St. Lucie programs, visit http://stlucie.floridahealth.gov/index.html.