Animal and Insect habitats

Keep your pest problems to a minimum by installing a bug box into your garden.

By encouraging ladybirds into your garden you can be sure to reduce to number of pesky aphids which feed on your plants. A natural predator of greenfly and blackfly, the ladybird will be a welcome addition and help keep pests infestations under control.

Throughout the winter months ladybirds will find shelter in places protected from the elements. Bark, logs and rocks provide the perfect environment for ladybirds to hibernate until they emerge in the spring. To encourage ladybirds to spend the winter months in your garden install a ladybird tower or bug box. Ensure the ladybird tower or box you choose to use is free from preservatives as this can harm the bugs which choose to nest in them. Come summer, you can be sure you will be rewarded by seeing a reduction in pest numbers.

Another friend to the Keen Gardener is the hedgehog. Renown for eating pesky slugs, snail and worms, they can further reduce the number of pests which damage your plants. If you are aware of visiting hedgehogs to your garden you might want to provide them with some shelter such as a hedgehog house. At Keen Gardener we also provide the original oak hedgehog house. Constructed from durable timber/oak it provides welcome protection and insolation.