Bats, while feared by most people, are also afraid of sounds, noises, and a variety of other things. This is a tool that can be used by people if they’ve got a bat infestation in their homes or yards. To do this, you first need to know what exactly bats are afraid of.
Bats, while seemingly terrifying creatures, are incredibly easily frightened. Bats are scared of a number of sounds, noises, as well as other things like light. They also have been known to be terrified of specific animals. These fears of theirs can be used to drive them away if you’re worried about an infestation.
First, let’s look at what, in particular, bats are scared of.
What Scares Bats
We will be dividing these fears into categories so they are easier to sort and identify. Let’s get into it!
Wind Chimes
Bats are notoriously sensitive to sound. This is because, having lost most of their sense of sight, they rely heavily on their other senses to navigate through the world. Therefore, if you place a loud instrument like wind chimes in their flight path, they will most likely avoid it. The unsettling noise of wind chimes will scare them away from the area you’re trying to protect.
It is better for the safety of your homes to place these wind chimes as close to their flight paths as possible in order to deter them.
Bat Repellent Systems
This is most likely a no-brainer for most of us. Nonetheless, it still deserves a mention. The noise that these systems emit are created particularly for the purpose of fending bats away from your property. They will most likely be scared and avoid that area altogether in the future.
These also come in handy when you are looking to specifically drive bats away. This is because bats always fly around during the night. This way, you’ll be able to rest as well as keep bats away from your property.
Strong Scents
Bats cannot stand strong odors. This means that using strong scents will make it easier to avoid bat infestations. Smells like menthol, cloves, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and mothballs are all scents that deter bats.
Peppermint specifically is an odor that bats cannot stand. Your best bet is to look for concentrated peppermint oils as these are ready-made and will last longer. This way, you’ll be able to save on costs and also keep bats away from your property.
Bright Lights
Much like their sense of smell, bats are also extremely sensitive to bright lights. This is because bright lights put bats in direct view of predators. This compromise of safety will actively put them in harm’s way so they will do all they can to avoid them. Installing flood lights, mirrors, and even aluminum foil is your best bet when it comes to scaring them away efficiently.
Owls
Owls are a bat’s natural enemy. They prey on bats for sustenance which is why bats are terrified of them and avoid them at all costs. The direct threat of an owl near their resting spots is a problem enough for them to avoid coming near them.
Humans
Needless to say, this one is expected. Human beings tend to move around and cause ruckus which disturbs a bat’s routine and comfort. This means they will do everything they can to avoid humans unless they’ve been provoked by one.
Now that we’ve established what bats are scared of, they don’t seem as terrifying to us. It’s important to consider why we as humans, creatures that bats are terrified of, are scared of them. There can be many reasons for this. Let’s explore.
Why are Humans Afraid of Bats?
Human beings have been terrified of bats for generations. It almost comes naturally to us to fear the bird of the night. It’s important to question where this, almost innate, fear comes from.
One of the biggest reasons people are terrified of bats is because of the misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding them. We often tend to assign the role of an evil spirit to bats as this comes from tales of folklore spanning generations.
This folklore came about when people saw bats soaring through the skies after dark. Since they were unable to see them properly – their eyes not having adjusted to the lack of light – they chalked them up to be evil spirits hunting prey after hours.
There is also a phobia termed chiroptophobia which has been used to describe the irrational fear of bats. This fear of bats may come from past trauma having been experienced by the individual perhaps, in their childhood. This fear would drive them to avoid bats at all costs.
Finally, one of the biggest reasons for there being fear surrounding bats is the media. Understandably, most stories that make the news surrounding bats are negative ones. By being fed constant negative information about an animal, any human would develop a long lasting or general fear surrounding it.
The sensationalism and constant spread of misinformation has been one of the major reasons most people are now afraid of bats and view them in a negative light.
Conclusion
There is a lot that a bat might be afraid of. From wind chimes, strong scents, and incredibly bright lights to owls and humans, all of these things terrify these birds of the night. While it doesn’t rationally make sense to be afraid of an animal that is terrified of you, a lot of people have intensely negative responses to bats.
A massive contribution to this fear is the misinformation spread about this animal through the media. This, along with folklore, has played a huge role in causing mass hysteria surrounding the animals.
