According to the Puyallup School District, school officials have found eight bats at Edgerton Elementary School since mid-September as they work to resolve the issue.
The latest incident involved a dead bat found in the school’s mechanical room, the third bat located there in a four-day span.
The Puyallup School District said no individuals were directly exposed to the bats found in the last four days. However, the local health department recommended rabies shots and preventive measures for one student and one staff member in mid-September when one of the first bats was found.
District officials are monitoring the building daily and working alongside pest control experts to remove the bats.
The bat sightings at the school began on Sept. 14, when teachers discovered two live bats near a hallway adjacent to the cafeteria and gymnasium.
According to the district website, the discoveries continued thereafter.
On Sept. 17, a teacher found a live bat before school started. Custodians working a night shift later spotted two live bats in the kindergarten hallway on Sept. 23. A live bat was found in the school’s mechanical room on Sept. 28, followed by a dead bat in the same room the next day and another dead bat discovered shortly after.
Rhiannon Wise, a Puyallup parent, spoke to KIRO 7 outside the school Thursday and voiced concerns regarding student safety and potential exposure.
“I work in the ER (Emergency Room), so I’m very concerned about that. There’s no way to tell if your child was in contact with it because the kids don’t really know; they just know it was in the hallway or the classroom,” Wise said.
She noted that she has followed school communications closely about the bats.
“I just take it day by day, I see what they say and make my own decisions,” Wise said.
Sanam Shaikh, another Puyallup parent, said they were shocked and surprised at the findings.
Shaikh expressed confidence in the school district’s notification process and mitigation efforts.
“The steps that they are already taking, they have notified all of the parents, so I’m pretty much positive about that,” Shaikh said, adding, “I am sure they are doing their best job; they’re trying to get rid of them.”
Regarding continuing to send children to class, Shaikh said, “I have no choice; I have to send them.”
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department has been working with the school district on the issue with the bats and sent KIRO 7 the following statement:
“We are working closely with Puyallup School District to help advise them about the ongoing reports of bat activity at Edgerton Elementary.
We respond to any report of a person coming into contact with a bat in Pierce County in accordance with state guidance.
The school district is working with pest-control professionals to identify how bats may be entering the building and determine the best next steps.
Rabies is a serious viral disease that is extremely rare and 100% preventable with appropriate medical care. Safe and effective treatment after a bat exposure should begin as soon as possible. Medical treatment is a series of shots called post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).
We recommended PEP for the staff member who had contact with a bat on Sept. 14. We also recommended PEP for a student out of an abundance of caution after an unconfirmed report that they possibly came into contact with a bat.
If you think you have come into contact with a bat, immediately wash any bite or scratch with soap and water. Contact your healthcare provider and local health department to determine the potential for rabies exposure and need for treatment. The health department can also help you determine if it is safe and appropriate to capture the bat for testing.
If a bat involved in an exposure is captured, we send it to the state public health lab for rabies testing. We do not test bats that have not reportedly come into contact with a human and have not tested any bats related to the activity at Edgerton Elementary.
So far in 2026, we have tested 23 bats in Pierce County for rabies and none have tested positive. The last time we had a bat in Pierce County test positive for rabies was in 2017. Human cases of rabies are even more rare. According to Washington State Department of Health, the state has seen two cases of human rabies in the last 75 years.”
The district also sent KIRO 7 a detailed statement:
“We are continuing to actively monitor and respond to bat activity at Edgerton Elementary and have provided an update to staff and families today.
This morning, a dead bat was found inside the school’s mechanical room. Based on its condition, it appeared to have been there for some time. 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. There are no reports of human contact associated with today’s finding, and the bat was disposed of following established protocols. As an additional precaution, our Health Services team is consulting with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.
Bird pest control professionals are scheduled to begin exclusion work this weekend. Their work will initially focus on the exterior side of the building where the mechanical room is located, addressing potential entry points before moving to the interior. The exclusion process may require multiple visits as professionals continue to assess and address areas of concern.
We continue to monitor the building and update our Bat Activity at Edgerton Elementary webpage as new information becomes available.
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