Along with pumpkins and skeletons, bats are one of the most iconic symbols of Halloween. If you've ever wondered why that is, American Bio-Tech Wildlife Services, the leading animal control specialists in New Milford, CT, has some answers for you. Their experienced team has been performing bat control and bat removal services since 1971, so they have an intimate knowledge of the creature's habits, history, and even folklore. Below, they explain why bats are so readily associated with the spooky holiday.

Why Bats Are So Iconic on Halloween

Dark & Nocturnal

As creatures of the night, they rarely come out during daylight hours. Instead, bats hang around dark, gloomy areas like cellars, attics, and caves, which in itself is enough to give them their spooky credibility. However, they are also known to spread disease, and some species feed on the blood of farm animals, leading to some unsettling folklore that heightened the creature's connection to Halloween.

Subject of Folklore

In folklore, these creatures have become associated with vampires in part because of the ghastly impression they made on South American farmers who spotted vampire bats guzzling the blood of sheep and cattle. This connection was solidified when 19th-century author Bram Stoker had his villain, the vampire Count Dracula, transform into a bat after draining his victims' lifeblood. Moreover, in medieval Europe and colonial America, witches were thought to use bat's blood as part of a potion that allowed them to take flight on a broom.

Swarm in the Fall

As animal control experts can attest, bats are notoriously active in the autumn, particularly from late September through October. They leave their nests en masse and consume large quantities of insects during this time, in preparation for their winter hibernation. Taken together—their association with vampires and witches, menacing appearance, and prevalence during the weeks leading up to the holiday—it’s not surprising bats have become one of the primary symbols of Halloween.

If these creatures in your area have moved beyond spooky to problematic, American Bio-Tech Wildlife Services offers humane animal control and bat removal using exclusion methods compliant with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection guidelines. Visit their website to learn more about the animal, or call (860) 355-1231 to schedule an appointment today.