Talkback: Homes for wildlife - Talkback

05/11/2010 at 16:57

I have a hedgehog house and nesting box and both are being used,I have a single blue tit that roosts in the nest box over night and the hedgehog has been using his house everynight,he hasnt gone into hibernation yet,but will as soon as it gets a bit nippy.

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05/11/2010 at 17:13

i to have 1 of thoses bumblebee nests and i havent got any nesting in it however my dad drilled some holes in a log for me and tied a piece of rope to it,i hung it up and within days i had some kind of bee [leafcutter i think] nesting in all the holes.'brill'.i also had bees nesting in a bird box but were sadly attacked by the silkmoth...[so i was told]. i was told by someone in a garden centre that bug boxes arent worth buying either,and to try and do your own,but the odd thing is i to have a hedgehog house and im pleased to say 2nd year running now my hedgehog is back ..i like to think its the same 1 as last year.he/she is very very fat. kate,, i know its no way cold yet but today i found a dead frog in my pond....as i remember what you wrote about frogs and the severe weather last year. do you think it maybe the leaves???

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05/11/2010 at 17:35

Sarah's pondlife - lovely news about the hedgehog. I wish one would move into the one at my mum's. Sorry to hear about your tree bumblebees. Could it have been wax moth? Re your frog, it's very unlikely that it would have died from winterkill so early. Is it easy to get in and out of the pond? Was it harmed - could it have been attacked by a predator? I don't want to alarm you, but if you find more dead/lethargic frogs they could have a bacterial infection called redleg. This Froglife page could help you identify the cause: http://www.froglife.org/disease/identification.htm Fingers crossed it's just a one-off Kate

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05/11/2010 at 21:46

Kate, you are so right. It is not about what you buy, but how you build a habitat around it. If you grow plants that attract insects the insects will come. We got a bird box with camera from Hayle in Cornwall, but we had to make sure it had some cover. Result. The secret is in what is around it as well as the item itself. Thanks Kate for a great article.

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06/11/2010 at 08:43

I had a large (probably a Buff tail) bumble bee in my kitchen two days ago. I opened the door and it flew off. This was first thing in the morning as though it had spent the night there.

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06/11/2010 at 11:25

hi kate,the pond is easy to get in out out,as mum put lots of stones and things in it,it wasnt attack [mum checked] it didnt have redlegs so maybe a bacteria thing....will clean it all out. thanks for advice.

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06/11/2010 at 19:48

I have a hedgehog home and have 2 hedgehogs that have gone into hibernation now. I love them and hopefully will start a family!:) I am building a bumblebee home now because bees like to hibernate in a plant pot because they hibernate underground

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07/11/2010 at 19:50

I have had a ladybird house for a few years now but they all seem to be indoors!

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08/11/2010 at 11:23

I have two solitary bees nesters-both used within days of hanging them this summer-and a tit nesting box used every year. It seems to be habitat in the surroundings that is most important-easy access to nectar supplies for the bees and caterpillars etc for the tits.I think the houses are a bonus for them once they have secure food supplies.

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16/11/2010 at 16:49

The illustration is of a house more suitable for solitary bees, bumblebees tend to prefer a box with dry stuff like wood shavings/straw inside and the entry underneath or dry nesr the bottom

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23/11/2010 at 17:13

Wht aim to attract bumble bees when you can keep honey bees. You do not have to go for modern intensive beekeeping methods; you can very inexpensively have a Warre Beehive. Such a hive allows "natural beekeeping" in a low-impact, low-cost, chemical-free, sustainable, small-scale, "organic" way. You can build your own Warre Hive or buy one ready-made from companies like Natural Beekeeping.

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24/11/2010 at 12:51

I made a hedgehog house out of a small plastic storage box with a door cut in the front, small air holes in the back, and stuffed with a bag of hay. It is secured by a heavyish piece of wood on top, and is behind a shed on gravel. It has been continually in use for the 3 years of its existance, and I start leaving food out from September until hibernation. Incidentally it has not yet hibernated.

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25/11/2010 at 23:59

I love all these comments they are most interesting. Im trying to get a hedgehog that came into my garden this year and want him back in 2011 so im going to make my own box and hope that he comes back to stay

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19/05/2011 at 15:47

It's worth persevering with bee-boxes and the like. I've had a bee-box in my garden for several years and each year it's well used by leaf-cutter bees. I've got a fuchsia bush just beneath the box which they use to line the bamboo tubes. I never tire of watching them flit to and fro and cutting a circular piece of leaf in seconds, which they then fly back to the box with.The first bee has emerged today, several weeks earlier than normal and I can hear the others still enclosed, munching their way out,so am looking forward to a month of activity around the box. Please rush out and get one in place now, as the bees are active throughout june and will absolutely fascinate you !!

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28/11/2011 at 18:41

on our allotment site i have a neighbour whose birdhouse is a bumblebee house, they colonised it on their own. bumble bees are very particular where they want to nest, for example they don't like full sun or they'd bake in their nest, their exit should befacing east, keep entrance clear etc...this birdhouse isn;t ticking any of there criteria and yet it's populated.....my bug box is fuill of solitary bees and ladybugs, the butterfly house is only a shelter for rainy days and then i'm not there to see it being used ;-)

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