Rabid bats on the rise in LA, Ventura counties

Bats and spooky season go together in the popular imagination, but health officials across Southern California are dealing with a less fanciful version of the pairing: a sharp rise in rabies-positive bats, including nine confirmed in Simi Valley so far this year.

Ventura County animal services had confirmed 28 rabid bats as of Sept. 21, 2026, a spokesperson told the Simi Valley Acorn — more than 22% of all bats the county has tested this year. Simi Valley's nine detections make it one of the county's hotspots, alongside Camarillo with eight and Thousand Oaks with four.

The timing is notable: the announcement from Los Angeles County health officials came Sept. 28, on World Rabies Day, an annual observance focused on preventing the viral disease. But the risk is not confined to one news cycle — late summer is typically peak bat season, and officials say the season is still underway.

A record-setting year across the region

The numbers are striking on both sides of the county line. In Los Angeles County, 2026 has already matched the record for rabid bats detected in a single year, with 69 confirmed as of late September, according to the L.A. County Department of Public Health. That includes one rabid bat found in Westlake Village — discovered Aug. 22 on a sidewalk near Village Center Road and Greengate Court — and two in Calabasas, one found alive but sluggish near a home's front door in April and another in September outside a home between the garage and driveway that may have exposed a family dog.

Ventura County's figures show how dramatic the recent climb has been. After years of single-digit totals — four rabid bats in 2021, six in 2022, four in 2023 and six in 2024 — the county confirmed 22 cases in 2025 and has already surpassed that this year with 28.

Health officials have not pinpointed a single cause for the surge, according to the Acorn's reporting. Possible factors include warmer, drier conditions affecting food availability and bat behavior, increased public reporting as awareness grows, and development pushing people into closer contact with wildlife.

What Simi Valley residents should watch for

The practical guidance from public health officials is straightforward: never touch a bat, alive or dead, and report any bat found indoors, active during the daytime, unable to fly, or appearing sick to local animal control.

That indoor advice matters more than many residents realize. Health officials say roughly one-third of bat encounters occur indoors, where the risk of exposure is greater — a bat that slips into a bedroom or living room overnight can bite a sleeping person without them waking, which is why indoor finds are treated so seriously.

"Bats are an important part of our environment, but they can be infected with and spread rabies, a disease that is almost always fatal once symptoms appear," L.A. County Health Officer Muntu Davis said in a statement. "If you find a bat indoors or think you may have had contact with one, contact your medical provider or Public Health right away."

Rabies in humans is very rare in the United States, and the reassuring local context is worth noting: Ventura County has never recorded a human case, and the last locally acquired human case in L.A. County dates to 1949. But the disease is nearly universally fatal once symptoms begin, which is why post-exposure vaccination after a bite or scratch — and prevention before one — is emphasized so strongly.

Protecting pets

Pet owners in Simi Valley have particular reason to pay attention. In California, dogs must be vaccinated against rabies under state law. Cats are a patchwork: vaccination is required in unincorporated L.A. County and in the cities of Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Westlake Village and Moorpark, but requirements vary by jurisdiction.

The September Calabasas case, in which a dog may have been exposed to a rabid bat near a garage, illustrates why. Rabies is almost invariably fatal in animals once symptoms start, but it is preventable through vaccination. Signs of infection in pets can include sudden behavior changes, excessive drooling, slight fever and progressive paralysis.

Simi Valley residents whose pets may have contacted a bat should contact their veterinarian and Ventura County Animal Services promptly.

Why the numbers may keep climbing

L.A. County's rabid-bat detections have trended upward for more than a decade, with positive specimens turning up everywhere from San Fernando Valley neighborhoods to downtown offices, parks, schools and businesses. In August alone, L.A. County recorded 24 rabid bats — 32% of those reported by residents.

Some of the apparent rise may reflect better reporting rather than more rabid bats in the environment, officials acknowledge. Either way, the message for the 805 region is the same: bats play a valuable ecological role, particularly in insect control, and coexistence is the goal — at a safe distance.

Residents who find a bat should not attempt to capture or dispose of it themselves. Instead, report the animal to Ventura County Animal Services, and if a person or pet may have been exposed, contact a medical provider or public health department immediately. Post-exposure treatment is highly effective when administered promptly.

With peak season still underway, Simi Valley residents would do well to check window screens, seal gaps in attics and eaves where bats may roost, and keep pet vaccinations current — the simplest steps, officials say, to keep a record year for rabid bats from becoming a local health scare.