Bites by these animals are usually not considered a risk of rabies unless the animal was sick or behaving in any unusual manner and rabies is widespread in your area. Surveillance and spatiotemporal associations of rabies in rodents and lagomorphs in the United States, 1985-1994. Bats are mammals and are susceptible to rabies, but most do not have the disease. To minimize the risk for rabies, it is best never to handle any bat. Whenever possible, the bat should be captured and sent to a laboratory for rabies testing.
People usually know when they have been bitten by a bat.
However, because bats have small teeth which may leave marks that are not easily seen, there are situations in which you should seek medical advice even in the absence of an obvious bite wound. For example, if you awaken and find a bat in your room, see a bat in the room of an unattended child, or see a bat near a mentally impaired or intoxicated person, seek medical advice and have the bat tested. People cannot get rabies just from seeing a bat in an attic, in a cave, or at a distance. If you see a bat in your home and you are sure no human or pet exposure has occurred, confine the bat to a room by closing all doors and windows leading out of the room except those to the outside. The bat will probably leave soon.