Spooky for Us, Dangerous for Them: Halloween Decorations and Calgary’s Wildlife

Halloween is a beloved time in Calgary. Our neighbourhoods fill with spooky decorations, jack-o’-lanterns, and eerie lights. But while these decorations are a treat for us, they can unintentionally trick our local wildlife. Calgary’s birds, squirrels, skunks, hares, deer, bats, and even insects often share our yards and streets. Unfortunately, some common Halloween décor items pose serious hazards to these animals, leading to injuries or even fatalities. Before you deck out your home with synthetic cobwebs and strobe lights, it’s important to understand the hidden dangers to wildlife and how we can celebrate the spooky season safely and responsibly.

Stretchy fake spider webs may look spooky, but they can trap and injure birds, bats, and other wildlife, especially when draped on trees or bushes.

The Web of Woe

Stretchy synthetic spider webs are a Halloween staple, but they act more like traps than décor. The fine fibres are nearly invisible to wildlife at night and can cling tightly to feathers, fur, and delicate wing membranes. Birds landing on a bush can find themselves pinned, bats can snag their wings during evening flights, and squirrels or chipmunks may entangle toes or tails while foraging. Once caught, animals often panic and struggle, which tightens the webbing and can cause injury or exhaustion. These webs can also blow into nearby trees or parks where they continue to pose a hazard long after the holiday ends.

Wildlife-friendly alternatives:

• Skip wispy or net-like materials outdoors, such as stretchy webbing, cheesecloth, fishing line, tinsel, or mesh. They snag easily and shed strands.

• Move the web look indoors with spider silhouettes or web graphics behind glass on doors and windows.

• Use big window clings for a bold, safe effect. Window clings, especially on the outside of windows, have the added bonus of preventing window strikes for birds and bats!

• If you insist on an outdoor web, make it thick, high-contrast cord fixed flat to a wall or door, keep it away from plants and open space, check it daily, and take it down promptly after Halloween.

• If you spot an ensnared animal, make sure to call a wildlife rehabilitation expert who can untangle it safely. 

Glowing ghosts and colourful lights set the mood, but bright displays can disturb the darkness that Calgary’s wildlife needs at night.

Lights, Frights, and Nightlife

Halloween nights sparkle with glowing pumpkins, orange string lights, and eerie uplighting. It is festive for humans but confusing for animals that rely on darkness to hunt, hide, or navigate. Migrating birds use starlight to guide their journeys; bright or misdirected yard lights can disorient them and lead to collisions. Nocturnal mammals like bats, skunks, and hares may change their movement patterns to avoid pools of light, which can interfere with feeding. Even insects, a vital food source for birds and bats, are drawn to lights and can become exhausted or die in large numbers.

Wildlife-friendly alternatives:

• Choose steady, low-intensity lighting instead of strobe or flashing effects.

• Aim outdoor lights toward your house rather than up into the sky or out toward trees

• Set a curfew: turn lights and sound effects off once trick-or-treating ends to give wildlife back their darkness.

Giant spiders, skeletons and other motion-triggered props might thrill visitors but can jolt wildlife into panic.

The Jump-Scare Snare

Motion-activated props that leap, hiss, or scream are Halloween showstoppers, but they can cause real chaos for wildlife. Sudden noises or moving decorations can trigger a flight response in deer, hares, or skunks passing through yards. A startled animal may bolt into traffic, crash into fences, or spray in self-defence. Frequent exposure to unexpected shocks can also raise stress levels in nocturnal species and alter their natural routes through neighbourhoods.

Wildlife-friendly alternatives:

• Opt for static decorations or ambient soundtracks that play at a low, steady volume instead of loud bursts.

• Place moving props close to your door rather than near hedges, trees, or paths where animals travel.

• Turn off motion sensors or moving parts after the evening’s festivities so nocturnal visitors can pass through in peace.

Ravens may be iconic Halloween birds, but their love of shiny objects means glittery plastics and candy wrappers can be deadly temptations.

The Curse of Plastic

From tiny glittery spiders to foam gravestones and faux bones, many Halloween decorations shed small plastic pieces. Those fragments blow across lawns and into parks where they look like food to birds and mammals. Ingested plastics can block digestion and injure internal tissues. Even foil candy wrappers and twist ties are a choking hazard, and loose ribbons or hanging tinsel can entangle wildlife. The smaller and shinier the piece, the bigger the temptation.

Wildlife-friendly alternatives:

• Choose durable décor that does not shed or break into small parts.

• Avoid scatter items such as confetti, tinsel, or loose plastic insects that can blow away.

• After Halloween, sweep your yard and sidewalk for small pieces, wrappers, and broken stakes before wildlife finds them.

• Store decorations in sealed bins so rodents or birds do not chew or carry them off.

After Halloween, porches can turn into a smorgasbord of rotten pumpkins that draw wildlife in for a risky feast.

Pumpkin Problems

Pumpkins are the heart of Halloween, but to wildlife, they are an irresistible late-season buffet. Halloween arrives when natural food supplies are thinning, when species are trying to build fat reserves or are already struggling to find enough calories. A fresh or rotting pumpkin on a porch can smell like a lifesaver to a hungry rabbit, deer, or skunk. That free meal can draw animals right up to doorways and roads, leading to messy encounters, vehicle collisions, or animals becoming accustomed to people and pets. In parts of Alberta, this temptation can also attract larger and potentially dangerous animals such as black bears, who are feeding heavily before hibernation. A carved jack-o’-lantern may seem harmless, but in lean times it signals easy calories, and a reason for wildlife to venture deeper into neighbourhoods.

Wildlife-friendly alternatives:

• Display carved pumpkins, but bring them indoors at night or place them where wildlife cannot easily reach them.

• Use decorative faux pumpkins for outdoor displays if you live near green spaces or known bear corridors.

• After Halloween, compost your pumpkins promptly or put them in your green bin rather than tossing them into natural areas.

A Spirit of Stewardship

A few simple choices can turn spooky fun into safe fun for Calgary’s wild neighbours. Taking decorations down promptly after Halloween prevents stray webs, cords, or plastic bits from drifting into yards and parks. Choosing natural décor such as corn stalks, straw bales, dried seed heads, and seasonal planters creates a striking autumn look that biodegrades safely and does not entangle or poison animals. Composting pumpkins and cleaning up litter the next morning keeps food smells and hazards out of the paths of wildlife.

These steps are small, but they add up when an entire city makes them. By decorating with care, cleaning up quickly, and picking wildlife-friendly alternatives, Calgary homeowners show that spooky season and compassion can go hand in hand. After all, Halloween is a human holiday, but our neighbourhood belongs to wild residents too.

For assistance with injured and orphaned wildlife, please contact the Calgary Wildlife Rehabilitation Society at 403-214-1312.

Support a Patient

This porch is a perfect example of wildlife-friendly Halloween decorating. Corn stalks, straw bales and potted flowers give a festive autumn feel without any loose strands, synthetic webs or hanging cords that could trap or injure wildlife. All of the décor is solid, natural and reusable, creating a beautiful seasonal display that is safe for birds, mammals and other animals moving through the yard. If using real pumpkins, just make sure to bring them inside nightly!