The strange part is that McHenry County has accounted for fully 25 percent of all the rabid bats reported in Illinois this year and no one knows quite why. Some experts have speculated urban sprawl is displacing bats and other animals from their natural habitats so they have more human encounters. Against that idea, new housing came to a screeching halt in 2007 but rabid bat reports around the state have continued to rise.
McHenry County Department of Health spokesman Debra Quackenbush has suggested part of the increase in reports may just be better public bat awareness thanks to her agency and others.
The good news is that despite the increase in rabid bat reports Illinois Department of Public Health reports show there hasn't been a case of human rabies in the state in 56 years.
Bats are protected species in Illinois so it's illegal to kill them. Trap and release doesn't work, either, since there's research showing the things are almost as good as homing pigeons at finding their way back to a roost.
More than you want to know about bats in Illinois can be found here: http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pcbats.htm
In the pic: Not the way it works when there's a bat in your bedroom.
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