At least some of the Halloween decorations are alive at one Washington elementary school – but officials still can't figure out how the bats keep getting inside.
Eight bats have been found at Edgerton Elementary School in Puyallup, about 10 miles southeast of Tacoma, over 17 days. The latest was a dead one found Thursday in a mechanical room by district maintenance staff, according to the Puyallup School District's Bat Activity Tracker.
“Based on its condition, it appeared to have been there for some time,” a Puyallup School District spokesperson told The Independent Thursday. “This is the third bat that has been found in the mechanical room, and that pattern is helping inform where our investigation and mitigation efforts are currently focused.”
No human contact was reported in Thursday’s encounter, and the bat was disposed of under established protocols, the spokesperson said. Health Services is consulting with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department as a precaution.
Pest-control professionals will begin exclusion work at the school over the weekend, focusing first on the building’s exterior near the mechanical room to identify and seal potential entry points. The work may take multiple visits, the spokesperson said. So far, repeated inspections have found no evidence that the bats are roosting inside the school, its website states.
The first incident was reported September 14, when teachers found two live bats in a downstairs hallway near the cafeteria and gym. One staff member had potential contact with a bat, prompting Health Services to consult with the local health department and recommend medical attention, officials said.
Three days later, on September 17, a teacher spotted another live bat in the downstairs main hallway before classes began. Then, on September 23, a night-shift custodian found two more live creatures in the downstairs kindergarten hallway. Both were safely contained and removed, according to the district.
The two other latest incidents occurred in the upstairs mechanical area. On September 28, a live bat was found underneath the door to a mechanical room. The following day, officials discovered a dead animal inside the upstairs mechanical room.
An added obstacle to this problem is that Washington classifies all bat species as protected wildlife, meaning there are rules governing how they can be handled, according to the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. The school district can, however, safely remove bats found inside the school and is working to address the activity without violating state wildlife protections.
Students and staff are being told not to touch or attempt to capture a bat if they see one. Instead, they should leave the area and immediately notify a teacher, administrator or other school employee so the animal can be handled appropriately.
If a child physically comes into contact with a bat, parents are advised to contact the child's healthcare provider and notify the school and district Health Services immediately. Health officials can assess the circumstances and determine whether additional medical follow-up is needed.
Human rabies cases are extremely rare in Washington, with just two identified in the past 75 years, according to the Washington State Department of Health. Both were linked to the bat rabies virus. In 1995, a 4-year-old child died of rabies four weeks after a bat was found in her bedroom. Two years later, in 1997, a 64-year-old man also died of rabies, though the source of his exposure was unknown.
The Independent has contacted the Puyallup School District for comment.
