Thinking of winter in the height of summer

frog house(credit: Jitney 58)

It’s July and the height of summer. As I look out the window and see the rain pouring down (this is Wales after all) my thoughts turn to the coming autumn and winter. This is a good time to start looking at providing overwintering sites for wildlife in the garden.

It may seem a little early but we need to remember that the wildlife need to have time to discover that new home you have provided and then they need to prepare it for the winter months. Putting out those habitats now will also give the places a chance to lose that new homes smell that can cause the wildlife to shun it.

Leave it too long and you may have to wait for another year before the home is used. Today there are just so many different type of wildlife habitat that you can put out in your garden. From the obvious bird boxes through to insect houses and frog habitats there has never been such a big choice of styles.

There’s so many different types of bird boxes that it deserves a seperate post at some time in the future, this one is concerned about looking at other types of wildlife habitat we can bring into the garden. Obviously there are lots of things you can do for free to help wildlife in the winter by the way you manage your gardens but this post is about habitats you can buy on the market.

Insects in the garden.

I love insects, look close and they are full of interesting features, intricate colours and patterns. What’s more most of them are really beneficial for our gardens so what are the sorts of habitats we can be introducing into our garden.

Lacewing chambers.

Lacewing houses are growing in popularity. You can not guarantee that only lacewings will overwinter in them, in fact you will get a good range of insects making use of the home. Spiders, beetles and ladybirds may all make use of the habitat. You need to fill the box behind the slats with straw to provide warmth for the insects and there’s also special pheromone mixtures you can buy to add to the straw that acts as an attractant for lacewings.

The lacewing chamber is best sited about 5 or 6 foot off the ground with the slatted opening facing away from the prevailing winds to protect the overwintering insects from the worst of the weather. The houses need to go up pretty soon as the lacewings start to hibernated from September. The biggest thing to watch out for is your source of the straw or filling. make sure it comes from a good source and has not been treated or contaminated with insecticides or other sprays. Why not grow your own straw and have a small patch of wild grasses in your garden that you can harvest – it will be great for wildlife year round.

Ladybird houses.

Ladybird houses can also attract a wide range of insects and not just the ladybirds themselves. Ladybird houses are best attached to a wall close to flowerbeds and protected from prevailing winds. Just like lacewings when you use a ladybird house you can buy attractants to help get your bug chamber inhabited.

Ladybird houses because of the way that they are styled with upwards facing holes can sometimes attract small solitary and masonry bees. Ladybirds do tend to overwinter in groups so you will have a ready army to tackle those aphids in the spring.

Bee houses.

Our bees are under attack and need as much help as possible. Bee boxes are ideal to help the solitary bees and masonry bees survive the winter. They are non-swarming and very docile so attracting bees into your garden to overwinter is not going to put pets or children at increased risk of being stung.

The best place to put bee houses is in a position that is sheltered from the prevailing winds but can still catch some morning sunshine. Ideal heights would be between 1 foot and 4 foot off the ground. They can be attached to walls, garden shed or fences etc. Bees like to plug up gaps in the holes that they make us of so look at providing a little bit of mud or damp soil for them to use.

If you want to attract insects into your garden there’s lots of multifunctional insect houses and hotels on the market that are well worth investing in if you don’t want to make your own.

Bumble bees.

The other major insect that needs our help at the moment is the bumble bee. There are a number of bumble bee houses on the market at the moment both wooded and ceramic. Generally you place these on the ground for the bumble bee to hibernate in. There seems to be a mixed attitude as to whether they are useful or not. It seems that the best way to attract bumble bees into a man made bee home is to use an old mouse nest as the bedding. This is because bumble will often use old mice holes and nests as it’s natural habitat and it may be that they are attracted to the scent. But the jury is still out on this one.

Reptiles and amphibians.

If you are lucky and live in an area that has frogs, toads and newts then there are a number of special ‘frogitats’ etc on the market that you can buy to give your frogs and toads a better chance of surviving the winter. They range from traditional wooded habitats through to ceramic or slate ones.

Toad houses and frog house obviously need to be placed near a water source though not necessarily a full blown pond. If you buy one make sure that the bottom is open as toads like to burrow down in soil. So place it on soil not the patio. A good place to put a toad or frog house in within a few hops of a light source light a door light. Toads like to live on insects and lights attract insects at night when toads are feeding most. You might even look at investing in a solar powered patio light that can be staked into the ground to attract insects.

Mammals in the garden.

There are lots of species of mammals that are likely to come in to the garden over the winter looking for a home. However many of them are not species that we would automatically want to specifically attract to stay and live. The two obvious types of mammals that we can help and will reap benefits from are the hedgehog and the bats.

You have a good choice of buying homes for both these garden mammals. Both of these type of mammals are also under a lot of pressure at the moment so any extra help you can give them in the garden will be most welcome.

Hedgehogs.

Providing a home for a hedgehog is only part of the help you can provide. Hedgehogs need space to roam and hunt. Their territories can cover a number of different gardens and they need to be able to get into and out of gardens. Make sure that you leave a gap or two under gates and fences or make a small hole so that a hedgehog can squeeze through and go on it’s nocturnal hunts.

In the run up to hibernation or in the early spring you could look at providing some supplementary food – there’s special hedgehog food on the market now – to help them put on weight and don’t forget to make sure there’s some thing for them to drink.

One thing to remember is that hedgehogs like a bit of peace and quiet when they hibernate because they are easily disturbed. Try and place the hedgehog house in a part of the garden you are not likely to be spending a lot of time in over the winter months.

Bats.

If you have the opportunity to help bats survive the winter then you can help some of our most endangered species. The best way to help bats overwinter ins to contact your local bat group for advice. This is because there are a number of different bat box systems on the market for different uses.

Most of the bat boxes you will find for sale to the public are really aimed at the summer use and will not provide adequate protection against the cold during bad winters. Outdoor winter boxes need to be made from thick wood with insulation. The thinner made boxes are really for use indoors – for example in a garage or outhouse.

Most local bat groups will be happy to provide you with more specific advice about helping you local species to overwinter.

It may still be July and the height of summer but with a little advance planning a preparation you can help our gardens become a warm and inviting sanctuary for our wildlife this winter.