Create a natural oasis for you, your plants and even the critters this Summer, by incorporating a variety of Bird, Bat and Bug homes into your landscape!
Bird Houses:
When it comes to choosing the right birdhouse for your backyard, it’s important to consider a few factors based on the birds you are trying to attract:
Choose a birdhouse with an opening lid/base: Once bird-breeding season is over (usually around mid-August) it is suggested you remove old nesting materials and scrub the house in preparation for its next occupants.
Colour: Natural, more camouflaged colours such as gray, brown and green are excellent choices.
Floor & Entry Hole size: When trying to decide the type of bird you are hoping to attract to your yard, you will want to take into consideration the size of the bird, so that he will not only fit in the hole of it’s new home but also have some wiggle room for nesting.
Bat Boxes:
Although they have a pretty fearsome reputation, if you love to garden or spend a lot of time outside, bats are quite beneficial. Known to eat insects, bats can gobble up over 1,000 mosquitoes per hour, natures’ version of pest control!
However, in recent years, due to habitat destruction and disease, bat populations have been decreasing- you can help to offset this decline by incorporating a bat house into your backyard, a place for them to roost and raise their babies.
Not to mention, their bat droppings, otherwise known as guano, act as a nutrient-dense fertilizer, making that garden of yours thrive like never before!
When mounting your bat house, ensure it is at least 10 feet above the ground, the higher the better. Choose a sunny location on the East or South facing side of your house, receiving ideally 6-8 hours of direct sunlight.
Insect Hotels:
Establish a naturally symbiotic relationship in your garden this Summer, by adding an Insect hotel! You offer a free stay, and in return when its time for them to check out, they’ll take care of the pollination and pests!
Choose from a variety of wooden homes and hotels for all of your flying insect friends – providing them with a safe habitat for resting, nesting, and laying eggs. Crafted to mimic the holes and crevices that the insects are naturally drawn to on their usual adventures, you can choose to attract one specific type of insect or select a lodge that can house bees, butterflies and ladybugs:
Bee House: Created to attract mason bees, who typically lay their eggs in holes in trees drilled by beetles and woodpeckers, these bees make the perfect pollinators for flowers and fruit trees. Ideally placed in a sunny location against a flat surface and located in an
Butterfly House: should be placed in a sunny location in the garden away from prevailing winds- mounted on a pole or tree about 4 feet off the ground, inside the house, place a
Lady Bug House: Attracting and retaining ladybugs in your garden will help to eliminate pests such as aphids, mites and scale. Attracted to a wide variety of pollen plants and insects, by providing them with a cozy shelter- you’re likely to have ladybugs assisting with keeping your plants happy and healthy.
Once you have chosen the insect habitat that is right for your garden, be sure to hang it 5-7 feet high on a wall or fence that receives morning sunlight and is close to native plants and flowers.
Nature has a way of providing a legion of beneficial creatures that both pollinate our crops, and prey on pests! We love that attracting critters can remove the need to turn to chemicals, and instead establishes a balanced garden that nurtures the beneficial creatures which in turn takes care of the less desirable ones.
