21. Make Your Garden Nature-Friendly
Due to loss of habitat, many wild animals are finding it hard to survive and their numbers are depleting. As well as being more careful with habitats, you can help by making your garden into a wildlife sanctuary.
Feeding The Birds
Particularly in the winter, food for the animals is always appreciated! Suitable food is breadcrumbs (moistened if the bread is very dry), stale cakes or biscuits, cooked rice and pasta, potatoes, cheese and fruit such as apples and pears. Most larger garden visitors such as hedgehogs, badgers and foxes can be fed on tinned dog food and water.
Cats
To ensure animals can eat in your garden in peace, it’s good to prevent cats from coming in. If you’re feeding birds, keeping food high where cats can’t reach will help and there are many cat deterrants on the market.
If you own a cat and want to prevent them catching wildlife, try putting a collar with a bell on it on them and keep them in from around 6pm – 8am as this is when a lot of wildlife is out.
Animal Friendly Plants
The most animal friendly plants are those that are native to Britain. Lavender, rosemary and buddleias are brilliant for bees, moths and butterflies. Hedges and bushes are also a brilliant way to provide habitats for many birds and mammals.
22. Take Part In A Local Wildlife Group
You don’t have to give all your free time if you want to help out with a wildlife charity and the time that you do give, can be invaluable. From putting up bird and bat boxes to planting trees, it all makes a huge difference, particularly given the amount of habitat that is being destroyed daily. Our local wildlife are finding fewer and fewer places to live. Thankfully, the Wildlife Trust is not only buying land for wildlife, but also constantly working on projects to ensure adequate types of habitat are available for all local species. The Wildlife Trust has branches throughout the UK and by requesting to volunteer with your local branch, you can get out there and make a massive difference whenever you can find the time. Log onto www.wildlifetrusts.org for more information.
23. Feed Wild Animals
Visit your local lake, wood or other natural habitat and spread some food around for the animals. Nuts, fruits and seeds will all be very welcome on a regular basis. Food sources are harder to come by as land for animals be-comes more and more scarce.
Much as anyone wants to do their best not to harm the environment or the animals living in it, many of us also don’t want to share our house with ants, mice or houseflys! However, you can deter or remove these animals in many ways without having to kill them. Here’s some tips:
Ants dislike the herbs pennyroyal, lavender, garlic and a liquid preparation of ferns. Try liberal applications of these (the more concentrated the better) on a regular basis. Or, you can use a line of chalk! Ants won’t cross over it!
Aphids & White Fly are discouraged from nesting by dew and breezes. Try to recreate these conditions by regular spritzing of plants with water or, for infestations, 1 litre water, 1/2 tsp dish detergent and 1/4 cup vinegar.
Flies and mosquitoes hate the smell of citronella. Try burning citronella oil or basil oil near open windows to prevent flies from entering.
Mice dislike garlic, elderberry liquid or Crown Imperial (Fritillaria). You can also try humane traps although these need to be checked regularly. There are various devices that use ultrasonic sound to deter mice, rats, ants, spiders, moles; one model covers all. Harmless to birds, cats, dogs and people, although might not be suitable for homes with gerbils, hamsters or other rodents. Can be suitable for home, farm, office & warehouse use. Available from mail order companies such as www.izola.co.uk or DIY Pest Control Suppliers (www.diypcs.co.uk).
Rats dislike Cat Nip (Nepeta cataria). Many good retailers also sell humane traps.
Slugs & Snails can be deterred using The Flower fortress - a round potholder that is an “effective slug and snail barrier” for outdoor pot plants. Or you could try Slug it Out - a protective recycled plastic ring that sits around seed-lings or plants, its sloping sides and over-lapping lip keep slugs at bay. Available from The Natural Collection (www.naturalcollection.com).
Spiders - A spray made with chestnut and clove scents deters spiders. - If you don’t like catching them, The Natural Collection has a ‘Spider & Bug Buster’ - a battery-operated suction device that allows you to gently vacuum up spiders, wasps, and other crawling and hovering insects, and release them outside without harming them. Check out www.naturalcollection.com for more information.
Wasps - Some people have harnessed the help of a local beekeeper to move the nest to a safer site. However, you can remove the nest yourself around April when it is no bigger than a tennis ball. Place a clear polythene bag over the nest (with the queen inside) and gently remove it. You can then super glue it in a safe dry place (e.g. old shed, dry old hollow tree, etc). Generally speaking they are useful garden insects and come the Autumn they are likely to abandon the nest.
"Ignore the environment. It'll go away." - Anon
Not only is litter dirty and unsightly, it can also cause a lot of problems for wildlife:
Plastic six pack holders can get trapped around birds’ necks and suffocate them. Cut slits in all holes including the really small ones to ensure animals don’t get trapped.
Plastic bags can float into the sea where they are mistaken as jellyfish by turtles, and eaten. These then fill up the stomachs of the turtles so that they feel full constantly and end up dying of starvation.
Animals can get trapped in cans and bottles and again, sadly, starve to death as they can never escape again. Broken cans and tins can cut animals. Crush cans so animals can’t get trapped. Screw lids back on empty jars before dis-posing of them and clean out any tasty morsels that might attract animals that can then become trapped. Cut open one side of plastic cartons or other plastic packages so that animals have a way out if they ever enter them.
Ensure sharp and dangerous items such as razors, knives and glass are kept in an empty jar so animals going through bins looking for tasty morsels, won’t hurt themselves.
Always make sure you clean up antifreeze if you spill it, it tastes sweet so animals often lick it but it’s toxic.
Not only can you make a difference by not littering, but also by cleaning up litter as and when you see it. Better still, go out on a litter hunt when you have the free time and clean up your neighbourhood!