Go into any garden centre, and for that matter many National Trust and Wildlife shops, and you will see a mass of stuff for the garden to attract wildlife to our gardens.
So you may be interested to know that consumer group Which has done a year long trial into shop bought wildlife shelters.
Which tested six different homes in 10 gardens with an expert monitoring and inspecting the sites regularly over a year until August 2010. Not a single butterfly was seen to use a £14.99 Butterfly haven, no lacewing was seen to use a £22.95 Lacewing chamber, not a single bee was seen using a Bumble Bee Nester costing £26.99 and a single ladybird was seen entering a Ladybird Hotel costing £9.99.
The expert deemed a £99 hedgehog shelter as "expensive and unnecessary".
The trial found a home-made solitary bee nest costing "next to nothing" proved more successful than the shop-bought version.
Which recommends building a log pile for Hogs and insects, and that wildlife prefers untidy piles of leaves and plant debris, nectar-rich flowers, nettles and weeds in a corner of the garden.
So the well manicured garden is not wildlife friendly? Quelle Surprise.
2 comments:
oh but I would love to have a Ladybug Hotel. Im sure they would come to mine and they would be very happy. We could have a lounge with a dance floor with little flies playing the saxaphone and keyboard and the bass. and I would serve little martinis.
Oh my, the Ladybug Hotel that Anonymous is suggesting sounds divine! I shall send all my ladybugs to that garden for their winter vacation.
Post a Comment