Inviting certain kinds of animals into your yard can be a big plus. The trick is to attract the right kind of beasts without leaving the door open to less useful ones. Whether you want to attract beneficial bugs to your garden, reptiles to your reflecting pond, or birds to your feeder, there’s a way to leave out the welcome mat. Here’s a brief guide on how to attract helpful animals to your yard.
Feathered Friends
Birds are always a big hit in backyard menageries. They fly in and out, looking lovely and serenading us with their songs, or they may even take up residence if you have a number of trees or hang a birdhouse up and away from the ground. Birds also often have the extra benefit of being bug eaters, snapping up and swallowing bugs that can bite and sting or attack your garden. Birds are easy enough to attract with a bird feeder, but the kind of seed you put out decides what birds stop by. Seed mixes are good and so are suet cakes, but if you prefer goldfinches and other small birds, you should put out Nyjer seed. Keep in mind that you will get squirrels and other seed moochers, but not if you set up baffles.
Bug Out!
Keeping a garden is a good reason to learn how to attract helpful animals to your yard, especially certain bugs. Several small critters are welcome additions to your garden because they spread pollen, eat destructive insects, and add beauty. Besides the usual produce, make sure you add flowers to your garden like bee balm and black-eyed Susans. They attract bees that carry pollen from plant to plant. Butterflies and ladybugs are fans of flowers and laying their eggs on the branches of plants like milkweed, among others. When the larvae hatch, they gobble up aphids and other plant-munchers. Spiders, of course, keep down biters and stingers, so don’t chase them off.
Add Water
All life needs water to survive and thrive and putting out water to drink and live in is a good way to attract animals like frogs, lizards, and passing larger creatures that can stop for a drink and move on. However, take care, as standing water can become stagnant and turn into breeding ground, so to speak, for mosquitoes and the like. An artificial pond with running and filtered water is good to keep the water fresh while giving insect eaters like frogs and lizards a place to linger.
Maintain Your Distance
Clearly, the key word in wildlife is wild, and you should never entertain Disney fantasies about walking, talking, and—absolutely not—touching the animals. Be aware of more dangerous local animals like bears, and remove food and other enticements during early spring when they’re awake, hungry, and grouchy. Cover any entry points to your home, including spaces around pipes and window wells. Make sure to do the above and keep records and photos of the new zoo in your backyard!