Bats will not magically appear if you put a bat box in your garden, like any other creature they require the right environment. The main factors for encouraging bats into your garden are

Attracting Bats

• Food

Bats feed off insects, Having a garden pond is an excellent source of varied insects for bats to feed on. Varied plant life is also going to go down well with bats because of the variety of insects that are found on different plants.

• Area

Small bats enjoy large open grassy areas and larger bats are known to hunt over water. Having a combination of open grass space and a good size pond is going to increase your chances of seeing a variety of bat in your garden.

• Be Aware

Bats do like to nest in tree’s and are known to nest in the roof of homes. Bats are protected by law, so please take care when encouraging bats into an area belonging to you.

Placing your bat box

• Height

The higher the better is the way to go, the ideal height is over 2m from the ground

• Area

Keep the bat box under shelter but make sure there is a clear opening for the bats to find the box

• Attachment

Attach the box securely but do not damage any tree’s to achieve a secure bat box. Please use a strap to attach bat boxes to trees

• Let them be

If you think you have attracted bats into your garden, please do not try and handle the bats or bat box. It is an offence to disturb, handle or kill a bat

Bat Boxes from ELS

• This oak/larch double chambered box provides habitat for many bats
• This natural and attractive Bat Box will fit into any garden, woodland or house wall site

you can contact us over any of our bird boxes and eco friendly products on 0151-334-8655 or email us info@ecolandscapesupplies.co.uk

Many of us know that recycling home waste is important and the introduction of more guidelines from the government is encouraging the home owner
to try and recycle as much of their waste as possible. Wheelie bins have been introduced for garden waste and allot of information has been handed out and published to make people aware of what can be recycled and how. It is all well and good having the information pushed in front of your face but making recycling a habit can be difficult, in the same way that getting to the gym regularly or cooking healthy meals might be a difficult habit to develop. An affordable and simple way to force the habit of recycling is to have sectioned recycling bin in your home, this will remind you to think about the waste your about to throw away and place the waste in its appropriate section. This could be a section for paper, plastics or another common household waste

Recycling in the Garden with a Compost Bin

Having a compost bin is a great way of recycling waste and reusing it in the garden. A third of the average household bin can be composted.

This includes:

fruit and vegetable peelings
teabags
cardboard and newspaper
your garden waste

Our compost machines have been designed to optimise the composting process, providing a well insulated environment with good ventilation. This ensures the rapid composting of domestic kitchen and garden waste.

Getting the best spot for your pond

The location of your garden pond will affect the amount of wildlife the pond attracts and sustains. Wildlife might not be the priority for your garden pond; you could be after a stunning pond for the front of your garden to be admired by your neighbours and to provide a relaxing view from your home. Unless you have a long front garden which see’s little activity, it is unlikely that the pond would attract much wildlife because of the lack of seclusion and safety it provides.

The ideal location for a garden pond brimming with wildlife is the bottom of the garden, away from the lawn which might see activity from children and the regular lawn mowing. A peaceful hideaway for your pond will keep the wildlife happy; this does not mean that it needs to be out of sight. The pond will need sunlight for the plant life it supports, so don’t hide it away under large trees.

Size & Style

As mentioned with the location of the pond, the style and size also affects the possibility of life in your pond. A natural curving and sloping pond will allow access for wildlife.

A pond should be dug around 60cm (2ft) deep to be able to inhabit plants and fish. Shallow water could evaporate during large spells of warm weather; it also increases the chance of freezing in the winter.

Garden Pond Liner

Getting more pond liner than you need is always the way to go, you can always use the spare pond liner for other projects.

Measure the length, width and maximum depth of your pond.

Twice depth plus width; twice depth plus length = the minimum size to buy.

ELS supply a great choice of garden pond liners and geotextiles

Safety

Please be sensible with the development of your home garden ponds, if you have small children it might be better to buy a water feature such as a fountain. Even shallow water can be a hazard for small children. Once your children are of a suitable age, a pond can be a fascinating addition to the garden and a brilliant way to get them interested in wildlife conservation.

A healthy garden with a variety of plants will attract birds into your garden, there are ways you can enhance the amount of birds in your garden and persuade some to make it their home.

A bird feeder will encourage birds to regularly visit your garden for a source of food. If you have some bird nests in place it is likely that some birds will make it their home. Birds use nests to shelter themselves from the bad weather during the winter and for safely bringing their new born into the world.

Placing your bird box

Firstly you might be wondering when to get started and put that bird box in your garden. A great time to do this is outside the breeding season between August and February.

Where you choose to sit your bird box is important because it may not get any use from birds or place the birds that choose to use it in danger. The bird house needs to be sheltered from the wind and rain so it does not suffer damage. It also requires shade so the bird box does not get too hot, this can cause the chicks to overheat and die.

Do not place the bird box too close to the ground, raising your bird box 1.5m to 5m above ground for safety from predators is not only important for safety but birds are not likely to swoop low looking for a home. In nature birds will nest in trees so having a nesting box at a higher level will increase the chances of a bird locating it and it feeling like a natural home for the bird.

Please don’t go hacking into your garden tree’s to fit your bird nesting box, preserve your tree’s health and use a strap to secure your bird box to the tree. However having a natural environment for the bird is beneficial, birds like to come out of their box and having branches around for them to perch on will help them settle in their home. Small birds do not need huge braches surrounding them, small branches that cant support larger birds weight are a good safety feature for the small bird.

Birds do not require their nests furnishing! They are capable of collecting the things they need for nesting and its best you leave them to it. Also if you don’t want birds nesting around your home, place the bird nest box away from your home and in a quiet area of the garden.

Our FSC timber forest bird nest box