Bat Removal Lafayette, CO

Who to call about a bat in Lafayette

Boulder County notes that Lafayette, like Boulder, Erie, Longmont and Louisville, provides animal control through its own police department. The city's Code Compliance page tells residents to report animal problems to the Police Department's Animal Control Division, and the city's wildlife FAQ sends non-emergency wildlife issues to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

• Lafayette Police Animal Control: 303-441-4444 (Boulder County dispatch).
• Non-emergency wildlife issues: Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 303-297-1192. If you still need help after calling CPW, the city lists its Parks, Recreation and Open Space Department at 303-661-1306.
• Possible bat contact with a person or pet: Boulder County Public Health, 303-441-1564. The county asks residents to call right away if anyone may have touched a bat.
• General rabies questions: Colorado Health Information Line, 1-877-462-2911.
• Life-threatening emergencies: 911.

What Lafayette's code says about bats

Section 25-50 of the Lafayette Municipal Code treats wildlife as property of the state. Trapping, removing, relocating or controlling wild animals, and the code names bats specifically, is allowed only when it follows state law, rules and any CPW or Colorado Department of Agriculture permitting. The same section makes it unlawful to keep bats of any species, and it puts the duty to dispose of dead wildlife found on private property on the property owner. In practice that means a colony in a Lafayette attic is the owner's responsibility, and it has to be handled by exclusion that follows CPW rules, not by trapping or poisoning.

Rabid bats in Lafayette and Boulder County

Lafayette has a documented case. In May 2020 Boulder County Public Health reported that a bat found in the backyard of a Lafayette home, where household pets spend time, tested positive for rabies. It and a second bat in a Longmont backyard were the county's first rabid animals that year. The county's coordinator said it is normal to see a bat hanging under eaves, under a porch overhang or behind shutters or gutters, but a bat on the ground is a sign something may be wrong. He added that people are most often exposed when they try to take a bat away from a pet, pick one up, or try to remove one from the house.

The numbers have not gone away. Boulder County Public Health reported seven rabid bats in the county in 2025, and it says about 15% of bats submitted for testing in Colorado come back positive. CPW also lists Boulder among the counties where white-nose syndrome has been confirmed in bats (Boulder, Douglas, El Paso, Grand, Jefferson, Larimer, Otero, Routt, Teller and Weld), so exclusion should let bats leave alive through one-way devices. If a bat does get inside, read our guide to finding a bat in your house in Colorado before you open a window, because a bat in a bedroom may need to be tested.

Lafayette housing and where bats get in

Lafayette has 12,939 housing units with a median year built of 1994. The mix is wider than in most Boulder County towns: about 22% of homes predate 1980, mostly around Old Town, while 23% were built in 2010 or later. About 55% are single-family detached homes, 5% are mobile homes, and 34% are rented. Old Town houses tend to have aging wood trim, gable vents and masonry gaps around chimneys. Newer subdivisions still leave ridge-vent ends, stone-veneer-to-fascia gaps and garage-to-attic penetrations. The Colorado Bat Working Group says bats use openings about the width of a thumb and switch to another gap when one is blocked, so the whole building needs inspecting, not just the stained spot under the eave.

When bat exclusion can happen in Lafayette

Colorado Parks and Wildlife asks property owners to avoid sealing bats out of buildings during pupping season, June through August. The Colorado Bat Working Group gives a slightly longer window (June to mid-August) and asks a simple question first: can the work wait until the maternity colony disperses in autumn?

In Lafayette, NOAA normals for the Northglenn station put the average low at 50°F or warmer in Jun–Aug, the stretch when insects, and therefore bats, are most active. That lines up with the state window. We use those months for inspection and night exit counts. One-way doors go up after the pups can fly, and stay up for the 5–10 nights the Working Group recommends before the last gaps are sealed.

Lafayette at a glance

• Housing units: 12,939 (median year built 1994)
• Built before 1980: 22%; built 2010 or later: 23%
• Single-family detached: 55%; buildings with 10+ units: 13%
• Renter-occupied homes: 34%
• Average January low: 19°F; average July high: 91°F
• Months with an average low of 50°F or warmer: Jun–Aug

Housing figures: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates (tables B25024, B25034, B25035, B25003) via Census Reporter. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals, Northglenn station.

Common questions

Nearby city guides

• Louisville
• Erie
• Boulder
• Broomfield
• Longmont

Sources

1. Boulder County: Animal Protection (municipal animal control jurisdictions)
2. City of Lafayette: Code Compliance (report animal problems)
3. City of Lafayette FAQ: How do I report a wildlife issue?
4. Lafayette Municipal Code, Chapter 25: Animals and Fowl (Sec. 25-50)
5. Boulder County Public Health: Rabid bats found near pets in Lafayette and Longmont (May 26, 2020)
6. Boulder County Public Health: Animal-borne disease (vector control) weekly reporting
7. Boulder County: Bat found in Boulder County tested positive for rabies (May 23, 2025)
8. CDPHE: Colorado Rabies FAQ
9. Colorado Parks and Wildlife: Living with Bats
10. Colorado Bat Working Group (CNHP, CSU): excluding bats from buildings
11. Census Reporter: Lafayette profile (ACS 2024 5-year)
12. NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 monthly normals (Northglenn)