Making Homes for Backyard Friends

Whether you want to attract birds, butterflies or bats, you can easily find a way to lure them to your garden. In fact, chances are you’ve already got something they want—whether it’s flowers or bugs. But to really set up residence, wild critters really need a place to live and have babies.

Fortunately, you can help them do this by creating a home for them. Below is a list of some common animals people may wish to attract to their homes and how you can make your casa their casa.

Butterflies: Who doesn’t love a yard full of butterflies? Butterfly houses are not only easy to make, but they are also cool additions to your yard.

Birds: Though there are plenty of bird houses available for purchase, making your own is very simple. A standard diamond-shaped house can be made with pieces of wood you may have on hand already, and a milk jug house is even easier. I’ve always loved the pretty white gourd homes for purple martins, though some find them rather garish in the yard and may prefer the more complicated versions. You can always paint your birdhouse whatever colors you like to go with your garden, or to even blend in with your trees.

Bats: Bat boxes are another very easy craft to make. Another project that requires only a bit of wood—scraps that you may even already have on hand, really—bat boxes are wonderful for providing homes for these often misunderstood creatures. Sure, bats can seem creepy—and a few types are scarier than others—but they are actually very helpful to have around, with one bat eating as many as 1,000 mosquitoes in a single hour as well as helping to pollinate flowers. Besides, have you ever seen a baby bat? Super cute!

Bees: The best way to naturally pollinate your garden is to let bees have free range. If you’d like to provide homes for your friendly neighborhood bees, it’s easy enough to do.

Snakes: Most people don’t want to attract snakes, but if you do—especially if you have helpful snakes in your area that can help control rodents and pests—it’s probably the easiest craft to make in this list!

Turtles: Though turtles in the wild don’t really have “homes” you can create, by having a shallow water source in a shady area, as well as some strategically-placed rocks and dry leaves, you may be able to create an environment that turtles will find irresistible.