How To Attract Wildlife To Your Backyard

As I sit here by the fire, looking at the dreary weather outside, my mind is wondering off to warmer weather and my beautiful garden, filled with delicious veggies, beautiful flowers and lots of bees and butterflies. I’m already making plans for next season’s garden, and I can’t help but wonder what could I do better than this year.

I want my backyard to be alive with birds, butterflies, bees and many other beneficial wildlife. Do you know how to attract wildlife to your backyard? I’m not a specialist by any means, but here are some of my ideas for attracting wildlife to my backyard.

Gardening for Birds, Butterflies, and Bees: Everything you need to Know to Create a wildlife Habitat in your Backyard How To Attract Wildlife To Your Backyard

You might be asking yourself: why should I try to attract wild life into my backyard? Good question. Here are just a few reasons:

• bees, butterflies and other insects will pollinate your garden and help it product better
• a wildlife garden will attract predators that will help you care for your garden naturally
• keep a healthy garden without chemical pesticides
• wildlife is always amazing to watch

1. Plant trees, hedges and shrubs

Planting a variety of trees and shrubs in many different sizes and types will provide food for birds, bees, and other wildlife that are beneficial for your garden. Providing nesting sites for many different types of animals is good for the ecology of your garden.

2. Keep deadwood around your yard

Dying trees or parts of a dying tree have a big use to gardeners. They are habitats for organisms that keep your garden ecosystem healthy.

Fungi, mosses, and insects will attract birds to them who will eat them.

They are also habitats for snakes and other animals, so locate them strategically. Don’t worry: garden snakes are good because they eat rats and small mammals that will eat the food from your garden.

3. Add one or more water-features

Backyard water features will provide drinking water for birds and insects, as well as a place for birds to cool off. This will keep them around the garden longer. Frogs will also be attracted if you keep your water feature active.

Adding a backyard waterfall is pleasant to the eye too 😉

Remember to save rain water. Invest in a couple good rain collection barrels, and you’ll hardly ever have to worry about depleting your water supply for your wildlife garden.

Amazon has some beautiful options for catching water.

Rain Wizard Rain Barrel Urn, 50 gallon, Light GraniteCollapsible Rain Barrel Water Storage – 50 GallonWhiskey Rain Barrel – Includes Planter, Rain Water Diverter, Outlet Hose

4. Let grass grow taller in an area of the garden

Longer grasses growing in your backyard  lawn will provide cover for small animals, reptiles, and caterpillars.

Leave some of your grass uncut throughout the year, alternating the areas every couple of years to avoid the grass from becoming too coarse. This will create plenty of places for these animals to be where they help, not harm your garden.

5. Plant variety

Diversify your plants from year to year, and try using mostly plants that are native to your zone. The best place to get your plants is form your local garden center: they will have the best plants for your area.

Of course, if you don’t have a garden center close by, try Home Depot, Lowe’s, or your local Walmart: they’ll all have plants for your garden.

6. Encourage wildflowers

Package of 30,000 Seeds, Perennial Wildflower Mixture (100% Pure Live Seed) Non-GMO Seeds by Seed NeedsDavid’s Garden Seeds Wildflower Butterfly Hummingbird Mix SS3062 (Multi) 500 Non-GMO, Open Pollinated SeedsWildflower Seeds Butterfly and Humming Bird Mix – Large 1 Ounce Packet 7,500+ Seeds – 23 Open Pollinated  SpeciesBulk Package of 30,000 Seeds, Texas/Oklahoma Wildflower Mixture (100% Pure Live Seed) Non-GMO Seeds by Seed Needs …

Wildflowers are beautiful and they can be very valuable to improve the ecology of your garden. They also provide food for insects and butterflies which can encourage pollination of your plants.

Stinging nettles are especially helpful for providing a breeding area for butterflies.

7. Install bird houses and nesting boxes

If you’d like more birds in your garden, you can put up nesting boxes on walls, in fences and in trees facing the right way to provide shelter for birds.

Put them up at least six to seven feet off the ground to keep them protected. Be sure to clean these boxes each year when the birds have left the boxes to cut down on parasites.

Butterfly and Flowers Decorative Hand-Painted Bird HouseWoodlink Wooden Bluebird House – Model BB1Gardirect Retro Painted Bird House, Wooden Bird Nesting Box

I hope you got some inspiration how to naturally attract just the right wildlife to your garden. This will help you protect against disease and pests naturally without chemicals and fuel-based pesticides. It will also give you many hours of free entertainment 😉

Learning how to attract wildlife to your backyard is important, but also a lot of fun. Try new things and improve your knowledge every year.

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