It’s almost Halloween, the spookiest holiday of them all. Have you ever wondered why certain animals have come to symbolize this holiday?
Why don’t more kids go as bug characters, like snails and slugs, for Halloween? Why do bats have to be the scary symbols of this season? Are vampire bats real?
It is easy to make a connection between bats and Halloween. You know that bats are nocturnal creatures that feed on blood. Well, not quite.
Only three species, known as vampire bats, feed almost exclusively on blood. The remaining 1,300 species consume various other foods, including insects and nectar.
I hope this piece will convince you that the lovely bat is a misunderstood species, deserving far more respect and acknowledgment for its crucial role in our environment than it currently receives. And if they invade your property, you will seek to use a professional bat control service to transfer the bats humanely as possible.
Are Vampire Bats Real
Everybody knows the drill: plastic fangs that glow in the dark, fake blood that stains your face for days after trick-or-treating, and the ubiquitous plastic bat that dangles from your shoulder. The bat is a fascinating creature that is often misunderstood. However, it is unclear WHY the common bat has become synonymous with vampires.
Most people don’t know much about them, but don’t worry: this article will fix that. Perhaps by the end of this article, you’ll be hankering after a bat as a household pet.
Which came first: vampires or bats? Bats have been a vital part of our ecosystem for over fifty million years. On the other hand, Vampires have been a part of the equation since Ancient Greece and not in their modern sense until the early 1500s. However, the origins of the link between vampires and bats are pretty elementary.
The ‘Desmodus Rotundus,’ later dubbed the ‘Vampire Bat,’ was first discovered in Central and South America by European explorers in the late 15th and 16th Centuries. Vampire bats got their name because, like the legendary creature so beloved by early modern Europeans, they feast on blood.
In written accounts, numerous European explorers encountered the Vampire bats and recounted their often-bloody encounters with them. Of course, many of these accounts will be extremely exaggerated, as was the norm in literature back then.
Frightening Bat That Feeds On Blood
The term “Vampire Bat” did not enter common usage until 1810, when the name was officially adopted. Assuming that Bram Stoker’s Dracula played some significant role in the naming of the vampire bat, most people would be somewhat surprised to learn that it didn’t.
The publication of Dracula in 1897 is often cited as the origin of the stereotype linking bats and vampires. It’s safe to assume that the association between bats and vampires will persist for a long time, thanks to the novel and subsequent media’s enduring popularity.
Do you know without bats, we wouldn’t be able to make tequila because they are the primary pollinator of the agave plant?
Further, they play a crucial role because of the enormous number of insects they consume. Insects are a staple in bats’ diet, so they serve as a natural form of pest control. The Pipistrelle (what a cute name, right?), Britain’s most common bat, can consume as many as 3,000 insects in a single night.
Other Common Bat Myths
Myth: Bats Are Blind
Other myths constantly perpetuated need to be debunked, and you probably hear them all the time without even realizing it. The expression “blind as a bat” doesn’t apply. You can’t blindly assume that bats are unable to see.
They have perfect vision. However, at night and when hunting, they rely on sonar (like whales do) to find their way. Echolocation is a highly ingenious form of sonar.
Bats make high-pitched sounds, echoing off of structures like trees and homes, and then reflect the bat. The bat can learn important details about the object’s dimensions, surface, and motion from the sound wave’s reverberation. That, right there, is a superpower.
Myth: Bats In The House Bring Bad Luck
BUSTED! Bats are probably seen as omens of doom because of a vampire myth. The only places you’ll find vampires are in fiction, and the only way a bat can bring you bad luck is if it lands on your head. Still, having one in the house is not a good idea due to the risk of disease transmission.
However, a little brown bat can devour a thousand mosquito-sized insects per hour, making their presence in your yard very beneficial.
Myth: Bats Drink Human Blood
While vampire bats have been occasionally known to bite humans, livestock is where their true appetite lies. When these bats bite cattle, they only draw a minimal quantity of blood due to their small size (2 ounces). Scientists study bats’ saliva to create a drug known as draculin for treating stroke because it has unique anti-blood-clotting characteristics.
Myth: Bats Have Rabies
Also, false. Although bats may transmit rabies, fewer than one percent of bats have the virus. However, it’s always advisable to avoid caution when dealing with wild animals. Please don’t pet or handle any wild animals.
Bats Are More Than Simply Halloween Mascots
Bats such as vampire bats are more than just a Halloween symbol. They play a crucial role in global ecosystems. Protecting bees has been advocated for their incredible value to our daily lives; you should extend the same sentiment to bats.
Bats like to roost in dark places such as caves, forests, and beneath bridges, but they have been known to find refuge in unexpected places, including homes, businesses, and even churches. Although bats are good for the environment and rarely harm humans unless provoked, you still don’t want them roosting in your attic. Bats in the workplace may be more than just an annoyance; they can also damage buildings and spread diseases via their droppings.
Therefore, it is crucial to employ a bat control service in Omaha to transfer the bats as soon (and humanely) as possible if you detect bats in your building or commercial facility.
Bat extermination requires a lot of work and preparation. Bats in the house may be quite a shock to any homeowner. For instance, no readily available product can be an effective bat repellant.
Excluding the colony is the correct method of bat control, which entails sealing off all potential secondary entry points on the home and safely removing all of the vampire bats. It’s not easy and needs to be executed precisely. At CP Bat Mitigation, we’ll get rid of vampire bats from your house or facility safely and humanely. Contact us; we have staff standing by around the clock to answer your calls. Our team of professionals will analyze your situation and provide a solution.