Gardening

How to Look After Wildlife in Your Winter Garden

Published on November 11, 2022

It’s important that you look after wildlife in your winter garden. Small animals and even fish often die during the colder months. So try these small acts of kindness to keep them safe and sound.

Table of Contents

Let Your Garden Grow Out

You can leave wild parts of your garden alone. This is called “Rewilding.” You can leave piles of leaves or brushwood, which animals can use to hide, sleep, and hibernate. You can get tree removal services to take care of anything big. But if you wait until early spring to clean up your garden border lines and shrubs, insects will have a place to stay all winter. In turn, these are food for predators, mammals, and birds that like to feast on them further up the food chain.

Provide Food for Birds

Further to food, it may be hard for birds to find natural foods during the winter. During this cold season, they eat things like berries, bugs, seeds, worms, and fruit. So, putting out any extra food you can will help. You can give them different kinds of seeds and nuts. Yet you can also provide leftovers like fresh fruit and even cheese. Garden birds also like dried worms and larvae, which you can buy at good garden centers and feed stores.

Wildlife in Your Winter Garden Includes Fish

You need to stay eco-conscious about all parts of your garden. You could help fish and other aquatic animals by making a hole in the ice. Most people don’t know that harmful gasses can build up in the water of a frozen pond. This could kill whatever aquatic creatures are living underneath. Drilling small holes in the ice covering helps release the gas. But never forcefully break the ice or pour boiling water over. This could hurt or kill anything living under.

Offer Good Food

You can keep critters coming to your garden throughout the winter months by leaving out a small amount of suitable food. For example, squirrels don’t really hibernate. Instead, they store food during the fall to eat when there isn’t enough. Give them nuts and apples, among other fruits. But try not to leave out a lot of food so that your guests don’t get used to getting food from you. And don’t put out wildlife food if it will make animals cross a busy main road.

Ensure there is Fresh Water

When the temperature drops below zero, it can be hard for wildlife to find clean, fresh water to drink. Most of their water sources may be frozen. You can help, though, if you leave some out for them. Each night, it’s best to give them fresh water in a small dish. Please don’t put anything in the water to keep it from freezing, and change it every day to keep it fresh. Animals can get very sick from dirty or still water, and it can spread dangerous bacteria between them.

Summary

You can easily look after the wildlife in your winter garden. You can let your garden grow out to make safe homes, prevent your pond from freezing to help fish and provide fresh water.

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Emma Gomez

Content Strategist at Plumber Marketing Company

A mother and lover of all things practical. My blog covers about motherhood by exploring all areas of life. Our tips and tricks help large community to do more in less time so they can spend time enjoying happy, healthy families.