One of the best parts of having a garden, beyond trying your hand at growing fun things to eat, is some of the amazing wildlife you can attract. While birds, bees, and butterflies are some of the easiest to draw to your yard, there is also the chance you can attract something larger like deer.

No matter what creature you want to see fluttering around your garden beds, read on as we discuss some of the best gardening tips for attracting wildlife to your yard. 

How to Attract Wildlife to Your Garden

1. Plant Attracting Plants

There are several plants that are known to attract wildlife. For bees, any sort of flowering plant will do. For birds and butterflies, you need to be a bit more specific, especially if you want to spot an elusive hummingbird. 

Regardless of your wildlife aspirations, you should get a book on the topic, so you can read up on the best plants to attract the wildlife you desire to see. We recommend this title, which offers a general overview of the topic. 

2. Install Feeders

If your garden is already full, it can be hard to include additional plants that you have just discovered attract wildlife. An alternative is installing feeders for the wildlife you wish to see. 

• If you want to see deer, check out this deer feeder. 

• For larger, seed-fed birds, try this bird feeder. 

• For nectar-fed birds, like hummingbirds, you will need a nectar feeder. 

• Bees and butterflies can be attracted with these flower feeders.

Although we are huge fans of feeding birds and wildlife, we also need to mention that installing a feeder can attract pests as well. Sometimes wasps like nectar feeders, and you will inevitably have squirrels in your bird and deer feeders. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, just ensure you are prepared in advance. 

If you want to attract birds without the additional pests, consider installing a bird bath instead. Just be sure to empty the bird bath regularly if you live in an area with a lot of mosquitos. 

3. Allow Your Yard to Be a Little Messy

This may sound counterproductive, but pristine yards often scare wildlife away. Not only do birds rely on loose sticks and leaves to construct their nests, but many insects rely on them for laying their eggs as well.

While we aren’t suggesting you leave your yard in a total disarray, definitely don’t feel the need to collect every small stick that falls from a tree. You could also leave a small pile of sticks and debris in one corner to help support their nest building. 

**There is a fine line between enough debris to attract wildlife and too much will attract rats and other unwanted critters in your yard. In general, we recommend no more than 1 square foot of debris in your yard at any given time. 

4. Keep Your Lawn Small

While lawns can be a nice place for children to play and look great on the cover of a magazine, lawns are actually an ecological desert, and it is sad that they’ve become so prominent in modern homes. 

Not only do lawns support/attract very little wildlife, they also require massive amounts of water to keep them alive–especially in areas where grass is not native. If you can, consider replacing your grass with a native species of grass, or even just reducing your grass space by adding lots of native bushes and grasses around the edges of your lawn. 

5. Don’t Use Pesticides

While pesticides can keep your grass weed-free, they can also cause irreversible damage to wildlife. Pesticides left on grass can kill grazing deer, and repel bees from your garden. Although it is a lot more work, we recommend regular weeding by hand (or using a weeding tool) to keep weeds away, allowing you to keep your garden pesticide-free. 

We would also like to point out that pesticides are bad for human health, so using them even around vegetable gardens is not advised. 

Also, check out our article on the best gardening tools for seniors. 

6. Size Doesn’t Matter

If you are reading this, worried because you only have a small patio of outdoor space, don’t worry. When it comes to wildlife, they don’t care how large your garden is–they just want to be near their favorite plants!

Those with only a balcony can consider hanging flowers that are specifically known to attract birds. While the bird bath might not be an option, there is still likely ample room for a feeder. The good news is, with a balcony, you have to worry far less about the non-flying pests like squirrels and raccoons! 

7. Keep an Eye on Pet Activity

If you have a cat or dog, they may be scaring away the wildlife just because their scent is in the yard. Birds will often choose not to land in areas that smell like cats, while deer may avoid lands that smell like dogs. While it is still possible to cater to the needs of both, restricting your dog or cat to certain areas of your yard (or preventing them from entering the garden area) can go a long way toward inviting more local critters into your backyard. 

Also ensure you take the time to clean up after your pets if they are using the yard as their toilet. Not only will this keep their scent at bay, but it will deter unwanted pests from your yard as well. 

Overall, we recommend doing all of these things on this list to attract wildlife to your garden. Just know that your location will also play a part on the visitors you see. For example, if you live in New York City you won’t have deer coming to your patio no matter what you do. But, that aside, no matter where you live it is highly likely you can get some beautiful birds and butterflies to visit your outdoor area with the right plants, services, and the promise of security.