ST. JOSEPH CO. — They are creepy, crawly and dangerous, and they could be hiding in your house! We're not talking about bugs or mice; Indiana has one of the largest bat populations in the United States.

Bats can carry rabies — a very dangerous and sometimes deadly disease. In fact, three years ago a 10-year-old Bourbon girl died after she was bitten by a rabid bat.

From now until the end of August, tens of thousands of baby bats will leave their mothers, and could be flying to an attic near you.

“This is the third time we've emptied this cage now,” Quentin Scheffield showed WSBT at a house in St. Joseph County.

It's certainly not the most glamorous job, but Scheffield and Bryan Minikel are real live "bat men.”

“We're gonna euthanize this colony because we found so many dead in the attic,” Scheffield said.

They work for the "Awesome Critter Gitters,” specializing in bat removal and control.

“For the most part we just get them all out, takes about a week, then we come on in and seal up the house,” he explained.

The people who live in the house called the Critter Gitters last week when someone woke up with a bat on his face. Scheffield says that bat later tested positive for rabies — a disease you shouldn’t mess around with.

“It needs to be taken seriously,” said Barbara Baker, Director of Nursing at the St. Joseph County Health Department.

Not all bats carry rabies. But the disease can cause severe neurological damage in pets and people, and if left untreated, death.

“You can be exposed to the saliva of the bat as well; you don't have to have a direct bite,” Baker said. “Their claws are also very thin and fine. So you might not know that you were scratched or bit.”

The Critter Gitters estimate they've removed about 150 bats from that house in St. Joseph County — something they usually don't do this time of year because so many baby bats are being born.

“Right now we normally don't operate and touch the bats,” Scheffield said. “But seeing this has rabies we came in and made this exception.”

For Scheffield and Minikel, it's on to the next job.

“We have another bat inspection in Benton Harbor, Michigan today and the rest of the day is squirrels and woodchucks and skunks,” Scheffield said. “So a little variety today.”

If you see a bat in your house, you should never, ever touch it with your bare hands. If you think a bat has been in contact with your pets or kids, try to catch it in a bucket or bowl and slide a piece of cardboard underneath. Then take it to Animal Control and they can test to see if it has rabies.

If you have come into contact with a bat that might have rabies, you should go to the emergency room right away. There is a series of rabies shots you can get to protect yourself from the problems that come with the disease. They can be expensive, and not all insurance companies cover it. But the alternative is much worse.

For more information on Awesome Critter Gitters, call 269-429-9821 or 1-800-934-7454, or go to www.critter.biz.