Build Them Homes
Help Them To Help Us
Another great idea to get us more connected with nature and at the same time improve our mental health. Gather any bits of wood and sticks you can find when your out and about. Now you can build a bug hotel for your garden. If you have any tubes of wood like bamboo then you can build part of your bug hotel or a separate one for bees as some species use the tubes to lay their eggs in for the young to emerge the following spring and summer. You could also build a bat box and put it high on the side of your house. You could also have a go at building a nest box, just check what size hole you need on the front so it is suitable for the birds you have in your area. You can buy these ready made but it is fun to have a go at your own.
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People have a fear of bats but I think they are marvelous and WE NEED THEM - they pollinate too. They pollinate saguaros, cocoa imagine no chocolate), bananas, mangoes, eucalyptus, agave and guavas (these last two give you tequilla!) Bat pollination is called chiropterophily and they are the only true flying mammal in the world. Not to mention how they keep our bugs in check, a pipistrelle bat (tiny bat) can eat 3,000 insects a night! They are in fact more closely related to humans than mice are. Bats only have 1 baby a year and they can live up to 30 years old.
To encourage them to your garden plant night scented flowers, pond, the more wild your garden is the better, bat box, as little artificial lights as possible, linear feautures and keep those cats indoors!!!
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A great source of information is:
