Bats! Creepy Halloween Symbol or...
Posted on October 29, 2020
Why are bats such prevalent symbols of Halloween? We mean, aside from the fact that they are kind of weird-looking, beady-eyed, rodent-like creatures with wings that flap around in the dark. OK, maybe we answered our own question there. But, despite their rather creepy appearance, they also have a really cool navigation system, and they eat a LOT of insects, like mosquitoes! Soooo… how bad could they be, really?
Answer: bats are not at all nefarious, in spite of their association with Halloween and all things scary. In fact, they are quite altruistic, even often sharing food with each other. Can't say that about Fido, can you? Let's dispel some other myths:
Despite our off-the-cuff description above, bats are not actually rodents. They are in their own order of mammals, called Chiroptera, meaning "hand wing"... a bat's wing structure is in fact very similar to your hand.
Bats do not attack people, nor do bats get tangled up in your hair. Bats are afraid of people, and consider us predators. They certainly don't want to get close enough to you to get in your hair.
Bats are not blind. All bats can see, and some larger varieties see three times better than humans. This, in combination with their use of echolocation, which is a sort of natural sonar they use to navigate, makes them sensory superstars.
And, keep in mind that bats are instrumental to many ecosystems. They help pollinate plants, reseed deforested land and control insect populations. In fact, one insect-eating bat consumes 2,000-6,000 insects- that's equal to their body weight in food- each night. That's a lot!! Here are some tips for attracting bats to your yard, including instructions for building a bat house. Try it and let the bats help get rid of mosquitoes and other pests in your yard the natural way!
