Pennsylvania Bat Laws: What Altoona Homeowners Can & Can't Do

Bats in the attic are stressful, and the instinct is to get rid of them however you can. In Pennsylvania, though, how you handle a bat problem is governed by law, and getting it wrong can mean fines, an illegal outcome for a protected species, or a missed rabies exposure. Here is what actually applies to a homeowner in Altoona and the rest of Blair County.

Every Bat in Pennsylvania Is Protected

All bat species native to Pennsylvania are protected under the state's Game and Wildlife Code. You cannot legally poison, trap-and-kill, or exterminate them. The lawful path is humane exclusion: one-way devices that let bats leave and prevent re-entry, followed by permanent sealing of entry points. Three species matter most locally:

• Big Brown Bat (Eptesicus fuscus) — now the dominant house-roosting bat in Blair County, and a year-round resident.
• Little Brown Bat (Myotis lucifugus) — once abundant, reduced by more than 90% since 2008 by White-nose Syndrome.
• Tri-colored Bat (Perimyotis subflavus) — present but declining, and a state conservation concern.

Because these populations are already under pressure, Pennsylvania takes enforcement seriously. Anyone offering to exterminate bats is offering to break the law.

What a Homeowner Can Legally Do

• Inspect your own home and identify where bats are entering.
• Install preventive exclusion (caps, screens, sealing) on your own property outside maternity season, provided no bats are trapped inside.
• Safely confine and report a single bat that gets into living space (see the rabies section below).
• Hire a PA Game Commission licensed Wildlife Control Operator to handle the colony.

What Requires a Licensed Wildlife Control Operator

Active colony exclusion, sealing while animals are present, and any commercial removal work should be done by a licensed WCO. The license requires training in PA wildlife law, humane exclusion methods, and species identification. When you call any company, ask for their PA Game Commission WCO license number — if they can't provide it, don't hire them.

The Maternity Season Rule (May 1 – August 15)

Physical exclusion is prohibited May 1 through August 15. During those months, pups are born and cannot yet fly. Sealing the entry points would trap flightless young inside the structure, where they die in the walls — an inhumane and unlawful outcome, and a guaranteed odor and secondary-pest problem for you. The lawful sequence is: inspect and document now, exclude from August 16 onward. Inspections are legal year-round, and this rule is exactly why booking early matters — the post-August 15 calendar fills quickly.

A Bat in the Living Space: The Rabies Protocol

A bat flying inside the house is treated differently from a colony in the attic. Bats are the most common rabies vector in Pennsylvania, and bat bites can be too small to feel or see. Treat it as a potential exposure if the bat was in a room with someone sleeping, a young child, someone unable to communicate, or a pet.

• Do not release the bat outside — it may need to be tested.
• If you can do so safely, confine it to one room by closing doors and windows.
• Contact the Pennsylvania Department of Health and your county health authorities about capture and testing.
• Seek medical advice about post-exposure prophylaxis if a bite or exposure can't be ruled out.
• Then have the home inspected — a bat inside often means a colony somewhere in the structure.

Penalties

Killing or unlawfully handling protected bats can bring citations and fines under the Game and Wildlife Code. Beyond the legal risk, illegal removal usually fails on its own terms: trapped pups, incomplete exclusion, and a colony that returns the next season. Doing it the lawful way is also the way that actually solves the problem.

Sources

• Pennsylvania Game Commission — Bats
• Pennsylvania Department of Health