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Mammals in your Garden

Published in a June issue of Organic Gardening Magazine

Are the mammals in your garden a pest or a delight?  You may be overrun with urban foxes, or perhaps you only see the occasional bat?  Whether you enjoy the mammals that visit your garden, or would prefer to keep them out, there is no doubt that wherever you live there will be mice, voles and shrews, hedgehogs and squirrels, maybe even deer or badgers visiting you.  We are less familiar with the mammals than other sorts of wildlife that live in or visit our gardens, because mammals are secretive and mainly nocturnal, making them much harder to see than birds or insects.  It is important to consider though, that large proportions of the populations of our native mammals now live our gardens which are becoming increasingly significant habitats for them.

Many people regard all mammals as a problem, and certainly some are, although in general those that cause the biggest headaches are the non-native species that have been introduced to our shores.  The grey squirrel and the rabbit are perhaps the most destructive, although muntjac deer, again not a native mammal, can cause huge amounts of damage to vegetation and trees.  Grey squirrels destroy bird feeders and they may also kill trees, but for some people the daily visit from the local squirrel is something to look forward to.  Sometimes we have to accept that we must share our gardens with creatures we would prefer not to have around!  On a more positive note, there are many mammals that we can encourage and appreciate, as they are an important part of the natural food chain in our gardens.  Some, such as hedgehogs, bats and shrews, provide excellent natural pest control and others are simply delightful to watch as they go about their business.

Wood mouse eating black sunflower seeds

Bank vole

Where the smaller mammals are concerned, we are more likely to see the effects of their visits to our gardens rather than the mammals themselves.  Chewed nuts, hoards of berries or a network of small holes or runs in long grass, signify a healthy population of voles or wood mice.  Of the smaller creatures the common shrew is the most welcome as it is an invertebrate feeder, eating beetles, earthworms, caterpillars and slugs.  A shrew may eat a slug a day, making it a very useful mammal to actively encourage.  Shrews are relatively easy to distinguish from mice or voles as they have very long pointed noses and no obvious ears.  Mice on the other hand have large ears, pointed faces and very long tails.  The wood mouse (or long-tailed field mouse) is common in gardens and often leaves a hoard of hazel nuts or rose hips in a favourite place – under a log pile, in the compost heap, or even in a low bird nest box or roosting pocket. 

If you have bats around your garden you are most likely to see them in the early summer on warm evenings.  All British bats are in decline and protected, so you are privileged indeed if they use your house or nearby buildings as a roost. Bats feed on small flying insects and the pipistrelle, the commonest garden visitor may consume up to 300 insects a night, including mosquitoes and midges.  In spite of their tiny size, a pipistrelle may reach 10 years of age, so the same bat may be visiting your garden for food for many years.

Of the medium sized mammals the hedgehog is most likely to be encountered, although moles come a close second.  Hedgehogs are welcomed by everyone, devouring garden pests on their nightly rounds and leaving behind their shiny, cylindrical droppings full of beetles’ wings.  As with all mammals, a pesticide free garden is crucial.  Hedgehogs especially suffer from the effects of slug pellets and insecticides, which deprive them of their usual food as well as possibly affecting them directly.  Again long grass will benefit your local hedgehog population, as will a log pile or dense hedge with the autumn’s leaves left undisturbed beneath.  This will provide a potential hibernation place in which to sit out the winter weather.

Foxes and badgers may be welcome in your garden, although some gardeners prefer to watch them in the countryside, as both may be destructive.  These species however are increasing found in gardens where food may be plentiful.  Many wildlife watchers will put out food for these larger mammals to encourage them into their gardens, and watching them can be a pleasant pastime.   However all the larger mammals, especially deer, bring problems with them, and however attractive you find them you may prefer not to actively feed them.

It is relatively easy to become familiar with the birds or butterflies you may have around in your garden.   Getting to know your local mammals needs a little more skill and dedicated wildlife watching but is worth the extra effort.  And as tolerant gardeners we should congratulate ourselves on the contribution that our gardens are making to the continued survival of a group of animals under great pressure in our countryside.

Mammal watching in your garden

For smaller mammals try setting up a mammal feeding table near a window.  Kitchen scraps, peanuts or mixed grain bird food placed on the table at dusk may attract wood mice or voles which quickly get used to an outside light.  Small mammals may also be seen taking the spilt bird food that accumulates beneath a bird table or feeder, even during daylight hours.

Hedgehogs have regular, nightly foraging routes.  You can encourage your local hedgehog to linger in your garden by supplying tinned cat or dog food, or a custom made ‘hedgehog mix’ supplied by many mail order bird food companies.  Foxes and badgers will come for variety of food scraps (badgers are especially fond of peanuts).  All these mammals appreciate a supply of fresh drinking water.

Dealing with mammal problems

Rabbits and deer can only really be effectively dealt with by secure fencing.  Both are extremely destructive in the garden, although you may be prepared to sacrifice plants for the pleasure of watching them.  Individual plants can be protected with fencing or tree guards.  Reynardine, a liquid smelling strongly of foxes, is effective at deterring these mammals in the short term.  Lion dung is also said to work!

Moles can undermine plants, lawns and paths, causing minor subsidence.  Sonic mole scarers will effectively deter them from a small garden, but over a larger area you may want to discourage them with small rags soaked with Reynardine placed in the runs.

Badgers can damage lawns by digging for earthworms which they consume in large quantities.  Not watering your lawn in dry weather will prevent the worms coming to the surface and the badgers will be less inclined to search for them.

Foxes are a problem where livestock such as chickens or rabbits are concerned.  The only effective deterrent is strong fencing, dug well into the ground around the runs and coups, a netting roof over runs, and extreme vigilance. 

If rats are a problem in your garden avoid open compost heaps and mammal feeding.  Squirrel proof feeders should keep the grey squirrel at bay unless he is especially intelligent!