Make Your Yard Friendlier For the Little Critters
You’re surrounded by fascinating creatures. Get to know them. Make their lives a little easier.
Let’s face it. Many of us are glued to screens all day. We click “like” on photos of cute animals and share viral videos of animals doing unlikely things, but it is rare for most of us to become familiar with the little lives unfolding in our bushes, yards, and trees. I can tell you that it is very rewarding to get to know the critters that share “your” space. (Honestly, as far as I’m concerned, it’s them sharing their space with us, since they were here first, but that’s a soapbox for another article.)
My articles, including this one, typically use reptiles and amphibians as examples, as they are my passion and specialty. However, it shouldn’t be too difficult for you to apply this advice just as easily to other critters. I should also make clear that this article is meant to encourage you to foster habitat for native wildlife- invasive species should not be encouraged to remain or multiply.
Conserving charismatic animals like elephants and whales is undoubtedly worthwhile, but a passionate appreciation of nature often begins with those animals we feel a personal connection to. As such, becoming more familiar with the critters in your backyard just might be the best first step to appreciating your ecosystem. Each organism in your yard has a unique role, and “tuning in” to them will reveal fascinating life-and-death dramas unfolding around you each day.
Get to know the toad that lives under your porch or the skink that lives under the flagstones.
None of them want to harm you, your pets, or your children. As you learn their ways, you will begin to appreciate an increasing variety of complex interactions going on all around you that you will hopefully want to protect and conserve. An intimate knowledge of nature comes from “little things” such as these, and it is all happening right outside your door!
Making Your Yard More Critter-friendly
Bird lovers have been making their yard friendlier for birds for quite some time, with bird feeders, birdhouses, perches, and more. It is time more of us extend that courtesy to other animals, as well.
Humans have been changing the face of the world for a long time. Animals survive by being adaptable. Change is constant in the wild and animals that cannot adapt to changing environments typically perish. Unfortunately, humans are changing the environment much faster than many species are able to cope with. Fortunately, some species have been able to take our interference more or less in stride and even find ways to take advantage of the new opportunities created by altered habitats.
Animals rarely miss opportunities that we create for them, such as toads hanging out under artificial lights. Unfortunately, they are often also affected by the pitfalls we put before them, such as getting tangled in plastic netting, poisoned by pesticides, or stuck on glue traps. Let us be continually mindful of the effects — good and bad — of what we do and leave outdoors.
Of course, making our yards eco-friendly is no substitute for preserving wild habitats. These tips are just examples of some small things we can do to help animals who have been adversely affected by human expansion. See if you can think of even more ways to help your backyard critters. Retaining some biodiversity is better than none!
Here are some ways you can do your part to help the reptiles, amphibians, and other little critters in your community.
Leave as many natural areas as you can. This is one of the best and easiest things you can do. Plus, this tip actually saves you work. Honestly, our penchant for wiping out native plants and growing only (often nonnative) species of grass is an ecological disaster and contributes massively to pollution levels in the environment.
Of course, many of us live in areas where an HOA or municipality would fine you for having a yard that is too overgrown, but we should push the envelope as much as we can. Native wildlife is adapted to live with native plants. The more of these we can provide, the more shelter, food, and shade they will have. Wildlife must have habitat to survive and thrive.
Similar to the advice to let native plants grow, you can leave debris around as cover and housing for critters. This can be as simple as some boards or tin placed around (if you are out in the country or don’t have uptight neighbors), or it can be rocks or other items made to look like an attractive landscaping feature. Everything needs a place to live and hide, so the more options you provide will surely equate to more biodiversity on your property.
Setting out a little water in a shaded area can really help the little critters. Just make sure it is not old, stagnant water getting scummy and full of mosquito larvae. Amphibians like treefrogs and toads particularly need little oases like these. Make sure whatever you use is easy to get into and out of- you don’t want the critters to drown because they got stuck!
You can even take this a step further with a breeding tank for frogs. At L.E.A.R.N., we have a few horse troughs in key locations and the frogs love it. We have so many toads and treefrogs now that it is never hard to spot or hear them.
Most farm and garden stores have durable, affordable plastic troughs available. These are deep enough to allow tadpoles to develop and thermoregulate.
The water will grow some algae while the tadpoles develop, but that is okay. Many species will use algae and mosquito larvae as food while they grow.
When breeding season is over, just rinse them out and flip them over until next year.
I have detailed instructions for this simple project in my book, A Primer on Reptiles & Amphibians, or you can watch this video by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
On larger properties, you may be able to dig out an area for a larger pond, but most any yard has space for a smaller store-bought pond. You can purchase one, along with a pump and filter to keep them clean, at home improvement retailers and gardening supply houses. While they do take more maintenance than the other tips in this article, they also can become a beautiful centerpiece of your yard.
Here is a quick video demonstrating an entry-level water feature.
Of course, you can get more involved and create something more naturalistic that can be a centerpiece of your yard.
Make sure that you build your pond in a stable and secure manner so that shifting rocks don’t crush any inhabitants. Also, make sure terrestrial animals have an easy way to climb out, which leads us to our next tip.
Many wildlife casualties are a result of humans designing things in ways that create hazards. We often don’t notice these hazards until it is too late. Once you are looking for them, you begin to see them everywhere. It would be impossible to list all the ways we create dangers to wildlife. All I can hope to do is to encourage you to develop a mindset of awareness. When you do anything outdoors, try to incorporate consideration for how your actions could affect other animals.
A few examples:
· Leaving rat poison outside can result in the unintended deaths of native predators, such as falcons (this is a common tragedy).
· Using glue traps in places accessible to wildlife causes frequent deaths of other animals. The solution to animals getting in places they don’t belong is to secure the structure to prevent entry. Keep your siding in good repair, keep gaps and cracks sealed, install weatherstripping where needed, etc. If, for whatever reason, you feel you must use a glue trap, monitor it closely so that you can dispatch your target and so non-target species can be removed (which can be done with some care and vegetable oil to counteract the glue).
· Leaving buckets and pails upright to collect water during frog breeding seasons may easily attract frogs to lay eggs in these containers. This is fine if you can leave them that way until the tadpoles turn into frogs, but dumping them out too soon just cost that frog their entire clutch of young. Leave containers overturned or look carefully before dumping.
· Dragging heavy items that have been sitting around outside for a long time may result in crush injuries to skinks, toads, or other animals that may be underneath. Take a moment to look before dragging or rolling heavy objects.
· Burning piles of brush or debris can severely injure or kill animals that have taken shelter inside. Some animals are good at escaping flames, others are not. Many animals, like toads, may try to retreat further into the pile and become trapped. The best practice is to burn woodpiles right away, or to start the fire in a new spot and move the items piece by piece over to the fire.
· ALWAYS avoid the use of any plastic netting outdoors. Some people use netting for landscaping purposes, others use it with the intent of keeping animals out of their yard, garden, or pond. If you must use a mesh product (for example, to secure a chicken coop or catio), use rigid steel hardware mesh (preferably a coated product) with the smallest opening possible.
These are just examples. Try to think ahead and prevent wildlife deaths before they happen. Like any other skill, this gets easier with practice!
Wildlife rescuers routinely have to extract animals from painful and life-threatening entanglements.
If you don’t want wildlife in your yard, reduce the food, water, and shelter that are attracting them. Using netting to purposely entangle animals that are responding to these enticements is just lazy and cruel.
Insects are an absolutely integral part of the food web. Ecosystems would collapse very quickly without them. Many scientists are warning the world about the current decline in insect populations, which is very alarming. You may not be able to change the entire world’s use of harmful chemicals, but you can certainly control whether you add to the problem or not.
Put some effort into finding alternate methods of achieving your goals. Food has been growing on the planet for a lot longer than we have been manufacturing poisons- you do not have to use pesticides to have a lawn or garden!
I am a wildlife rehabilitator. I can tell you that I have treated many animals with wounds (sometimes very severe wounds) inflicted from people’s pets. Especially if you have a yard that is inviting to native fauna, keep an eye on your pets while outdoors.
There is only one right answer to whether domestic cats should be roaming free outside. I love cats. I have several and have rescued many more over the years, but they are not in balance with any ecosystem and are exacting an enormous toll on wildlife across the globe. If you have a minute, read my article that goes into more depth on this subject-
Hopefully, this gets you thinking about things you can do to create and improve habitat. Humans are expanding at an exponential rate. Making our spaces more wildlife-friendly is far from the only thing we need to be doing right now, but it is something all of us can begin doing right away to make the world a better place. If you have more questions, reply below or join one of L.E.A.R.N.’s groups on Facebook!
Do you like learning about reptiles, amphibians, and cooperating with nature? Be sure to follow The Natural World here on Medium!
You can also follow our wildlife center on Facebook, join our Snake Identification Group, or download the book that this article came from, A Primer on Reptiles & Amphibians: A Collection of Educational Nature Bulletins, from our website.
The shortlink to share this story is bit.ly/friendlycritters
