4 Tips On How To Care For Your Garden Wildlife During A Heatwave

According to the experts...

By Katie Avis-Riordan, Country Living

When the UK is lucky enough to enjoy a heatwave, it’s always cause for celebration. It means blue skies, gorgeous sunshine and a chance to enjoy the great outdoors.

But high temperatures and scorching sunlight can be damaging to your garden and its wildlife.

That’s why the gardening experts at Wyevale Garden Centres have revealed their top advice on how to care for the wellbeing of wildlife during a heatwave.

[post_ads]According to the Wyevale Garden Centres 2018 Garden Trends Report, which surveyed over 15,000 British garden lovers, 82% of us want to attract more wildlife into our gardens and 37% believe that wildlife is the most appealing garden feature. So it's key we keep our garden wildlife thriving.

David Mitchell, buying manager for horticulture at Wyevale Garden Centres, said: “All wildlife needs water and the best way to ensure your garden stays wild through a hot summer is to provide water for birds, stop plants from going thirsty, and keep ponds topped up with clean water – ideally with harvested rainwater.”

Here are Wyevale Garden Centres’ four guidelines on keeping wildlife healthy this summer.


1

Maintain bird baths

Make sure to keep your bird bath always topped up with fresh, clean water. During hot days this will be much appreciated by the birds in your garden as they can drink and clean themselves whenever they need to.



2

Help the bees

Offer bees somewhere to quench their thirst by putting out shallow dishes of water filled with pebbles. Read our full guide on how to attract honey bees into your garden here.

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3

Use ivy

Ivy is often thought of as a nuisance, but it can prove very useful for wildlife in your garden. The climbing plant can provide food and shelter for bats and birds, and a home for hibernating insects.



4

Create the perfect pond

One of the best ways to ensure garden wildlife is happy and healthy is to create the perfect pond by keeping it topped up with clean water – ideally collected from a water butt. This will ensure there is enough oxygen available for fish and other wildlife.Also remove any weeds, but leave them on the side overnight so any creatures stuck in them can return to your pond.

Try a spot of pond dipping this summer and you’ll find a whole host of wildlife, including water beetles, diving beetles, water fleas, dragonfly nymphs, caddisfly larvae and aquatic snails.


See more at: Country Living