One of the most common holiday symbols that comes to mind when you think about Halloween is bats. They fly in your hair, have rabies, and suck your blood, turning into vampires at the crack of dawn, right? Maybe. Find out the facts about Halloween bats, and whether they are tricks or treats at your house.
Bats are useful for insect control and plant fertilization. Most bats in North America eat insects. One bat can devour 600 to 1,000 insects per hour! They help keep the population of pest species under control. For example, they eat worms and beetles that destroy corn and other agricultural crops. They also eat pesky gnats, mosquitoes, and flies.
Most bats in Australia, Asia, and Africa live in rainforests and eat fruits or drink nectar from flowers. They are essential for pollinating our food items, such as agave, banana, cashew, and mango.
They also play an important role by dispersing seeds. When they eat fruits, the seeds pass through their bodies and are deposited elsewhere in the area, causing new trees and plants to grow. In fact, some plant seeds cannot germinate without going through a bat’s digestive system first!
Vampire bats are what people think about when they think of Halloween. There are only 3 species of vampire bats in the world. They live in Mexico, Central America, and South America.
Vampire bats do indeed drink blood as their food source. However, they do not normally attack Terminix Acquires Insight Pest Solutions humans. They tend to drink from animals such as cows, pigs, chickens, and goats.
Contrary to popular belief, most bats do not carry rabies. In fact, over the last 50 years, less than 40 people have gotten rabies from wild bats. Fewer than 1% of wild bats test positive for the disease.
Despite being such important contributors to our environment, bats still are disliked or feared by many people. More than half are threatened or endangered.
People kill bats for food, or because they believe they are evil or scary. Their habitat Houseplant Sticky Stakes is also disappearing because of overpopulation by humans, and the pollution we cause.
You can help bats by spreading the facts about them, rather than the myths, or putting up a bat house. They’ll keep your yard and garden free from pesky insects and pollinate your crops. They won’t fly in your hair, bother your pets, or interfere with birds. Those are all other myths.
Contact the Organization for Bat Conservation to find out more information about bat houses, or to adopt a bat.
So have bats at your Halloween party this year, but hold them in a place of honor. They deserve our appreciation, not our hatred.
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