Attracting wildlife to property (except for bees)

[arakboss]

I have a decent variety of wildlife that visits my vacation property but would like to attract more. Providing water during the summer is popular with almost all the animals, including hornets and yellow jackets. Because of that I have waited until late summer to set up the auto fill watering dish. That seems to have helped with the yellow jackets nesting at my property but they and the hornets still come to visit in large numbers when the water is put out.

I also have bats that come and stay under my cabin's corrugated roof panels every year. I like having the bats around but would like to provide alternative housing when they come to visit.


Attracting an owl to live or feed near cabin and eat mice at night would be great too.


Any suggestions on how I can address some of these issues would be appreciated.



A deer that visited this past weekend the rest of the group was on bordering property. Found another (bottom deer pic) around the same time back in forest behind my property.









One of the Gray Jay's that require constant feeding when I visit.

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[Alexx1401]

For hornets they make traps for them. There is also designs for making them home made.
For bats the sell bat houses to attract them for people who want them for insect control. Looking at how they are made looks like they would be fairly simple to just make your own.
For Owls same thing. They make bird houses that are designed to make a comfy home for Owls. Those I have never actually seen used but makes sense. No bird is going to try to set up camp in one that would allow an Owl in since the Owl would dine on them. These too look like they would be very simple to make your own version of. We have one, its probably a pair who live here. It is fun to watch him hunting at dusk. Hard to get a snap of him with the phone but here is Barney. Sitting on one of his favorite perches. Post that has one of the exterior camera's. Makes a great spot for him as he can sit there with a 360 view of the dinner menu.
The Deer are of course VERY easy to feed if you wish too.

 

[Certaindeaf]

If you get an emdem goose you'll attract racoons.

 

[arakboss]

If you get an emdem goose you'll attract racoons.

Raccoons are one animal I haven't seen around my property, yet. I did see a dead one, on the hwy about 5 miles from my place so they could be around and staying out of site.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Maybe a salt/mineral lick?

 

[arakboss]

I picked up a few ideas from this video, including how I can finish up my fence without buying more woven wire fencing rolls. The dead hedge and cordwood fence should do the trick and will be essentially free as far as materials go. As a bonus it may provide some animal habitat.

 

[arakboss]

I buried an open top 55gal plastic drum up by the cabin and it ended up creating a bad situation with bald faced hornets and yellow jackets taking it over. It is still in the ground and filled with some seriously skank water. I covered it with plastic while until I pull it out or come up with solution to keep the bees out.

I did have some frogs use it before the water went bad. I would like to revive it, if I can keep most of the bees out.
I think a heavy screened top built over it, would keep bees out but I would need to provide access that the frogs could use to get in the barrel. The access would have to be something the bees wouldn't easily use. Any ideas?


Here is a pic, I posted previously, of the barrel back when frogs were using it. The top 6 inches or so of the barrel is above the ground level.

 

[arakboss]

 

[Andy54Hawken]

We have apple trees and crabapple trees in our yard...the deer love 'em....
I never have to pick up fallen apples...and I pick most of the rest of them for the deer.

There is also a spring that runs through the yard...so water and food....with lots of trees for cover.....lots critters visit.

We do have owls....fun to hear and watch.
However ...."Friend" Owl....loves the rabbits , mice and such that roam our yard...
Ravens , Crows and Jays don't like Owls so much either...epic dogfights occur at times.

We just watch...and don't interfere with the wildlife that comes to visit...and have trained our dog to leave the critters alone...as well as not to bark at 'em.
Seems to work.

With that said....
While wildlife is easy to attract to your yard....you don't get to pick and choose who comes to visit....
Hawks , eagles , raccoons , coyotes...skunks...bears...will also be wanting to drop on by.
Andy

 

[Certaindeaf]

One thing I learned from my old geology/ biology professor in college (he was also an avid birder) was to instead of felling unwanted trees, top them such that the tree dies but then provides ideal wildlife habitat with its standing trunk.
Given time, the trunk becomes essentially a coral reef of life.

 

[Alexx1401]

I buried an open top 55gal plastic drum up by the cabin and it ended up creating a bad situation with bald faced hornets and yellow jackets taking it over. It is still in the ground and filled with some seriously skank water. I covered it with plastic while until I pull it out or come up with solution to keep the bees out.

I did have some frogs use it before the water went bad. I would like to revive it, if I can keep most of the bees out.
I think a heavy screened top built over it, would keep bees out but I would need to provide access that the frogs could use to get in the barrel. The access would have to be something the bees wouldn't easily use. Any ideas?


Here is a pic, I posted previously, of the barrel back when frogs were using it. The top 6 inches or so of the barrel is above the ground level.


View attachment 1744334

What was the barrel for? Something like that is also going to attract Mosquitoes to breed in

 

[Alexx1401]

One thing I learned from my old geology/ biology professor in college (he was also an avid birder) was to instead of felling unwanted trees, top them such that the tree dies but then provides ideal wildlife habitat with its standing trunk.
Given time, the trunk becomes essentially a coral reef of life.

Never thought of that but makes perfect sense. As soon as the wood dies many critters would go to work making homes in it. Going to see if I can get them to do that where I live. Next time a tree needs to come down ask them to just take most of it and leave the main trunk.

 

[Alexx1401]

We have apple trees and crabapple trees in our yard...the deer love 'em....
I never have to pick up fallen apples...and I pick most of the rest of them for the deer.

There is also a spring that runs through the yard...so water and food....with lots of trees for cover.....lots critters visit.

We do have owls....fun to hear and watch.
However ...."Friend" Owl....loves the rabbits , mice and such that roam our yard...
Ravens , Crows and Jays don't like Owls so much either...epic dogfights occur at times.

We just watch...and don't interfere with the wildlife that comes to visit...and have trained our dog to leave the critters alone...as well as not to bark at 'em.
Seems to work.

With that said....
While wildlife is easy to attract to your yard....you don't get to pick and choose who comes to visit....
Hawks , eagles , raccoons , coyotes...skunks...bears...will also be wanting to drop on by.
Andy

I take a hands off approach to most of the critters here and let nature work. I feed wild rabbits so the wild dogs that roam through have an easy meal. So far its worked to keep them from showing interest in the chickens and trying to dig under their fence. The Owl seem to know not to come around in during light since crows will attack. Smaller Coopers or Sharp Shined hawks come to feed and Crows will hassle them a little. Bald Eagle comes by now and then and Crows go full attack mode. Its amazing to watch them. Have almost had to shoot the Raccoons but not yet. HUGE mated pair that have a couple times started to show too much interest in the chickens. Not sure where their offspring end up. Once a year I see several little ones roaming with the adults and after a while they are gone. So maybe something is killing them off. So far been able to shoo them off and since there is unlimited food they don't push it. All the predators are welcome as long as they don't try to eat my dogs or chickens. The well fattened rabbits, squirrels, and birds are always on the menu.

 

[arakboss]

Maybe a salt/mineral lick?

I am definitely putting this on my shopping list and will get one or more put down there next year. I have read many accounts of rabbit hunters with property seeding the land with salt licks and seeing large increases in rabbit population. It should attract other animals as well.

 

[arakboss]

Working two jobs has severely curtailed my trips to the property, I think I only got three, maybe four trips in this year. This is my list of things to do over the next couple of years that might serve to attract some more wildlife to the property.

1. Finish fencing off back half of property lines with natural materials.

2. Build stone stack habitat in spot that gets the most year round sun. This may attract more lizards, snakes, etc to the that area for sunning purposes.

3. Build log tower to mount experimental bat housing and house water barrel for autofill watering dish. Currently the barrel just sits on some 4x4s and water dish is on the ground.

4. install salt licks throughout property and plant some deer forage crops

5. Make screened lid for frog barrel, clean out frog barrel and add some type of solar powered bubbler or fountain to keep water aerated.

6. I am going to put out a few homemade auto-fill feed stations for the cuter rodents (ground squirrels and chipmunks). My wife really enjoys watching these guys, even thought they dig burrows under my cabin.

Every year I whack down the grass over the entire property (usually twice each year). Next year I am going to try only whacking down the grass in the areas where I walk or drive the car and the immediate vicinity of the cabin. There is one area near a large decaying cord wood pile, that I have always left the intact as the deer bed down in that area. They seem to enjoy laying in the tall grass for whatever reason.

 

[arakboss]

 

[arakboss]

save.

Rainbow Triumph Tulips Landscape 500/cr

Rainbow Triumph Tulips Landscape 500/cr

www.tulipworld.com

 

[arakboss]

 

[arakboss]

Do deer eat corn, yes they do.

This project will be added to my list.

 

[Tlock]

Maybe a salt/mineral lick?

I've found that pond salt works the best for deer and elk. Put it somewhere you don't care if the ground gets messed up, over time they will did a hole. I do 50# a spring for each sight