From Bela to backyards, bats take flight

Bats. If we think of them at all, it’s usually at this time of year. As summer fades and Halloween portends the onset of winter, our thoughts turn to spooky images. And while they have been worshipped as saviors in Valencia, celebrated in opera—”der Fledermaus or The Flying Mouse in German”—immortalized in film—seen “Dracula”?—and featured as the Bacardi logo, for most people the topic elicits a bland “they come out at night and eat bugs” response, if there’s a response at all.

Part of our seasonal décor, bats are often depicted as agents of evil. Yet, according to naturalists, we are more of a threat to bats than they are to us. So, what’s the story here?

To find out, we asked Michael S. Fishman, certified principal wildlife biologist, wetland scientist and regulatory specialist at Edgewood Environmental Consulting, for some answers.

“In my years of studying and working with bats, I’ve learned so much about them,” he said.

“Bats are sadly misunderstood, mostly because of myths generated by Hallowe’en marketing, vampire movies, and the fact that they inhabit dark places.  People tend to fear what they don’t understand, or know well, and bats fall victim to that.

Bats native to the United States are almost entirely insectivorous, responsible for controlling many insects that affect crops and people. They eat mosquitos. And they consume a wide variety of beetles, flies and moths that can damage crops and spread disease for people.

Their contributions to our economy often go unnoticed by the general public.  Both cotton and corn crops depend upon bats’ insect control for production, a value estimated to be about $23 billion annually. Their natural activities and pest control help reduce reliance on many chemical pesticides, including those that are petroleum based and harmful to the environment.

Outside the United States, bats also help in the production of agave, from which tequila is made, avocados and figs, as well as approximately 70 other crops that rely on them for pollination and seed dispersal.

As a contrast to our culture, which supports mythologies that villainize bats as agents of darkness and evil, Chinese culture reveres them. In China, they are considered signs of prosperity. The Chinese symbol WuFu includes five bats, each symbolic of one of life’s blessings: long life; good health; wealth; virtue; and a peaceful death.

Bats are interesting in their own right and that many beliefs about them are not accurate. They are not blind, as many believe, but see about as well as we do. They have a highly developed echolocation, basically a flashlight for bats, to help them navigate and locate insects in the dark.  And, contrary to myth, they don’t fly into people’s hair. They may fly close to your head because they are attracted to heat and carbon dioxide, both of which are given off by our heads. And, there are more than 1500 species of bats in the world, surpassed only by rodents as more numerous among mammals. This is fortunate because their presence confers wide-ranging benefits to humans and the environment wherever they occur.

The single most important thing people can do to support bat populations is to learn about them.  Our environment is fragile. Many species are interdependent and directly affected by any changes to their habitat. With better understanding of their benefit to us, we can stop persecuting them.

Instead, we can help them thrive by protecting forested habitats where bats live, especially standing dead trees, called snags, where bats roost during summer months. 

Erecting bat houses can benefit a few species, but by far what is most needed is conservation of natural bat habitat.”

Fishman’s efforts to help an endangered local bat species also appeared in a May 10, 2025 article in Newsday: “Long Island’s newest endangered species include northern long-eared bat, Atlantic sturgeon, rufa red knot.”