Eliminate garden pests the natural way... and benefit from better birdsong too!
Posted by Lydia Unwin on
Every pest has its natural predator, usually birds, but also insects and mammals. Every bird needs a place to nest and in creating good habitat you can reduce garden pests without the need for harsh pesticides, just the right habitat:
Caterpillars → great tit → plant a pedunculate oak
A single brood of great tits consumes thousands of caterpillars. The oak feeds them.
Grasshoppers and ground insects → robin → fix a nest box at woodland edge
It hunts from low perches, watching for any movement at ground level.
Vine weevil grubs and earthworms → blackbird → plant an elder
Elder draws blackbirds to the garden from early spring. It probes the lawn systematically for grubs and larvae.
Bark-boring beetle larvae → great spotted woodpecker → leave a standing dead tree
A dead standing tree is both a nest site and a larder throughout the year.
Aphids and slugs → wren → leave a log pile near the vegetable plot
It nests in dense vegetation and works methodically through stems, leaf litter, and crevices.
Midges, mosquitoes, and flying insects → barn swallow → create a shallow muddy pond margin
It takes hundreds of insects each day on the wing.
Aphids and bark insects → nuthatch → put up a large nest box
It works down trunks head-first, probing every crack and crevice in the bark.
Caterpillar nests and invertebrates in foliage → song thrush → plant a mixed berry hedgerow
It inspects branches and foliage carefully, taking what other birds miss. A priority conservation species in decline.
One habitat addition. One season of natural pest patrol.
If you like this view of the garden ecosystem and how you can take small steps to encourage songbirds into your gardens then you will enjoy John Miller's new book, One Day a Thousand Songs. The book provides practical advice on what you can do to encourage songbirds - successful breeding pairs - into your gardens. What to leave rough and wild and what to plant to create a haven for wildlife, especially insects.
John's book is available via your local bookshop, or online from Merlin Unwin Books or Amazon. Paperback (£12)
https://merlinunwin.co.uk/collections/new-books/products/one-day-a-thousand-songs?variant=55466865131896
