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Home , Common shrew, Dormouse, Field vole, Hedgehog, Wood mouse

Natural England works for people, places and nature to conserve and enhance biodiversity, landscapes and wildlife in rural, urban, coastal and marine areas. We conserve and enhance the natural environment for its intrinsic value, the wellbeing and enjoyment of people, and the economic in your garden prosperity it brings. www.naturalengland.org.uk

© Natural England 2007

ISBN 978-1-84754-010-2

Catalogue code NE24

Written by The Society and Mammals Trust UK

Designed by RR Donnelley

Front cover image: The should be welcome in every garden. Dave and Brian Bevan www.naturalengland.org.uk Mammals in your garden Mammals and the law Of the mammals likely to visit gardens, , the dormouse and all species of bat have full legal protection. This means they may not be caught, Far more people are now gardening , , and bats. disturbed or killed without a licence with wildlife in mind, and mammal However, and are often and that their roosting and breeding

visitors are often seen as a real bonus. present and several other species can places may not be interfered with. The pygmy is only about 6 cm long and also make an appearance. Some The burrows of water voles are also weighs less than 4 g. Derek Middleton/Avico Ltd Almost all gardens, including those in gardens, even in urban areas, are fully protected, as are the the heart of any city, will receive at visited by badgers and deer; and themselves when they are inside least occasional visits from some weasels and – together with the them. Contact Natural England for mammals. The closer you live to places rather less welcome rabbits, moles and more details (see Contacts, page 29). where mammals are often found – – may also be seen. woodland, a park, a railway line or piece of rough ground – the greater the This leaflet will help you find out more likelihood of a variety of mammal about the mammals coming to your visitors. But wherever you are, and garden. It offers some tips about whatever the size of your garden, with making your garden more appealing for a little work and patience you should mammals and suggests what you can be rewarded with sightings of at least do to deter undesirable visitors, or at some of our native mammals. least to control the damage they Bank . Dave and Brian Bevan sometimes cause. Most species of British mammal are nocturnal or crepuscular (active at dusk and dawn) and many visitors, especially the smaller ones, will go unseen. However, they will often leave signs are among the many creatures eaten by the that they have been present, such as . Dave and Brian Bevan the remains of their prey, marks in the ground, or droppings. Is it a ?

In 1998/9, a survey of mammals in the The small mammals that you are most garden was carried out by The Mammal likely to find in your garden fall into Society and the People’s Trust for three broad categories: shrews, voles Endangered Species. This showed that and mice. Shrews are classified as the most common garden visitors that (together with hedgehogs and moles) while voles and mice are people were aware of were mice, grey The hedgehog – one of the most common Short-tailed field vole at entrance hole to nest. visitors to our gardens. Dave and Brian Bevan . Dave and Brian Bevan

2 3 mice may also move into a house, especially in the autumn. All three species eat seeds by preference and thus have a liking for cereals, often spoiling food as a result.

You can catch mice in a humane trap – these are available from many pet shops – but ensure you check it regularly. Release captured animals a couple of kilometres away or they will return. However, mice ‘dumped’ in the countryside like this will probably

die fairly quickly so it may be kinder The rare water vole. Paul Keene/Avico Ltd to use an old-fashioned snap trap. An alternative is an ultrasonic deterrent True mice, either brown (such as wood to keep mice out of the house mice and yellow-necked mice) or grey altogether. However, these devices (the ), have pointed noses, are rather expensive and their long hairless tails and large ears and The house mouse is quick to track down any food spillages! Dave and Brian Bevan efficiency is not fully proven. . The tiny animals with long pointed areas. Bank voles are far more likely to noses often left dead by are be seen in your garden, but short-tailed shrews. These eat invertebrates such as field voles will turn up in rural areas. , , woodlice and . The reddish-furred bank voles eat Shrews taste unpleasant to many herbage and but will also take predators and often remain uneaten – . Short-tailed field voles are although are undeterred! generally tawny in colour and mostly eat grass. Both the common shrew and the smaller pygmy shrew like dense Water voles are occasional garden vegetation through which they make visitors in some areas but are rarely ‘runways’. Their nests are made of found far from canals or streams. Sadly, woven grass. To stay alive, both species these voles are now far less common need to keep feeding virtually all the everywhere, the decline in their time, with only brief periods of rest. numbers being mainly due to habitat loss and predation by American mink. Mouse-sized mammals with blunt noses and short tails are voles. They Not all mice found indoors are house tend to be more active in the daytime mice. In more open suburbs and rural and prefer long grass and unkempt areas, wood mice and yellow-necked The yellow-necked mouse closely resembles the wood mouse but is larger. Dave and Brian Bevan

4 5 animals are found mainly in the south, be surprisingly noisy when feeding and the south-west and the west midlands even more so when courting! The with isolated populations elsewhere, young – generally four or five in a litter especially where they have been re- – are born in a nest of grass, leaves and introduced. They may turn up in garden moss. hedges and are sometimes attracted Hedgehogs can move quite quickly, at into gardens to feed on nuts and seeds up to 40 metres a minute (just under from bird feeders. Dormice have been two miles per hour) when the need known to hibernate in pampas grass arises, making use of their surprisingly and even garden sheds! long legs. This is not fast enough, ’s portrayal of the however, to allow them to escape from dormouse in Alice’s Adventures in their major predators, foxes and Wonderland was fairly apt. Dormice badgers. Foxes mainly kill young have a long period, lasting hedgehogs in their nests whereas from October to April, and, even in their badgers take adults. This may be active season, sleep extremely deeply upsetting but it is, after all, part of the during the daytime in a state known as natural cycle and there is no real torpor. They eat a variety of foods, reason to interfere with it. You can, concentrating on flowers in the spring, however, provide hedgehogs with - The harvest mouse was first described by the famous eighteenth century naturalist, Gilbert White. invertebrates in the early summer and and -proof nesting sites made Dave and Brian Bevan fruit and nuts later in the year. More rarely seen is the tiny, red-brown harvest mouse which occasionally Hedgehogs turns up in rural gardens. Its tail is its The hedgehog is our only spiny most distinctive feature as it can be mammal species, the spines being used as a fifth limb to hold on to grass modified hairs. Gardens with a lot of or small twigs. As is the case with some cover offer them ideal homes and their monkeys, this prehensile tail enables finger-sized black droppings, harvest mice to move rapidly through containing glistening beetle parts, may vegetation. Harvest mice make round often be seen scattered on the lawn. nests suspended in clumps of grass at Hedgehogs are very useful animals to about knee height. have around as they consume large quantities of snails and slugs. They will Hazel dormice also take a variety of other foods A furry tail and golden coat distinguish including insects, fruit, worms and the tiny from true even birds’ . mice. More like a small than a The hours immediately before midnight mouse, the dormouse has large ears Hazel dormice may take advantage of bird baths see most hedgehog activity. They can Gardeners with weapons: another danger to and prominent eyes. These attractive and feeders. Betty McKay hedgehogs. Dave and Brian Bevan 6 7 with bricks or stout timber and with a using strimmers, disturb the target they are more likely to be seen in the long entrance tunnel. For further areas with your feet beforehand to garden than other rodents. In contrast information, contact the People’s Trust ensure that any hedgehogs sheltering to the brown , the black rat or ship for Endangered Species. (See Contacts, in the long grass or shrubby edges rat is now a rarity, almost exclusively page 29). wake up and move out of harm’s way. confined to a few ports. This is extremely important as Hedgehog-friendly gardeners will leave carelessly-used strimmers can inflict Putting out bird food can attract rats. at least some autumn leaves in quiet hideous, often fatal, wounds on This problem can be avoided by using corners where the animals may forage, hedgehogs. specialist, hopper-type, hanging shelter or even hibernate. Besides feeders or a bird table that keeps the ponds and bonfires (see pages 22 – 23) Rats food out of their reach. If you feed the main dangers to hedgehogs in birds on the ground, try to gauge the gardens come from netting and Brown rats have large eyes and ears and amount that they will take in a day and strimmers. All these hazards can be long scaly tails. They dig or gnaw holes restrict your offerings to that quantity. greatly reduced by taking a few basic and leave hard, black, cylindrical precautions. Hedgehogs can easily droppings. They are often attracted to If you find rats living in your compost become trapped in garden netting so food that has fallen from bird tables or heap, keep them out with fine chicken peg down edges tightly and remove it been thrown on to compost heaps and, mesh and a strong lid. Remove when it is no longer needed. When since they emerge during the daytime, potential hiding places such as old buckets and flower pots. If rats become a problem, contact the pest control department of your local authority. The three species of pipistrelle in Britain are distinguishable by their calls but only by experts Bats using specialised equipment. Dave and Brian Bevan Growing warmth from the sun wakes pipistrelles and the brown long-eared bats from hibernation in March or bat. Bats normally remain hidden April. In many gardens, they can then during the day and their small, black be seen at dusk – and occasionally droppings in your roof space often even in daytime – right through to provide the only evidence of their October or even later. Their diet presence. Mice droppings are hard but consists entirely of insects which they those of bats consist of skeletons detect by echo-location, usually in and crumble to dust if rubbed between flight. The sound waves issued through finger and thumb. All bat species and their mouths or noses help them to their roosts are protected by law navigate, as well as to find food. because they are so vulnerable. British Britain has 17 species of bat. Many of bats are quite harmless to humans and these have been recorded in gardens should not be disturbed. If you are and several species may roost in doing work on your roof and find bats, Brown rats appreciate any food left overnight on bird tables. Dave and Brian Bevan houses, the most likely being contact your nearest Natural England

8 9 office for advice (see Contacts, page 29). For more information, refer to the Natural England booklet, Focus on bats.

Moles

These interesting creatures spend virtually all their lives underground. Although they rarely live permanently in gardens without large lawns or orchards, they can be found in gardens on the edge of built-up areas where the enriched soil offers visiting moles a New molehills are often dug by young animals plentiful source of , their establishing territory. Dave and Brian Bevan main food. This is particularly true of gardens near or woodland, when it is damp and easy to dig. Why especially in the summer when the not use the soil for potting plants? young are searching for new territories. Leaving moles undisturbed means that they are less likely to dig new tunnels. A digs its tunnels mainly to create Moles can actually benefit the garden a giant underground trap for by eating harmful insect larvae like invertebrates. The familiar molehills leatherjackets and helping to drain and appear when they dig new tunnels to aerate heavy soils. extend their ‘trap’ or search for moles of the opposite sex. You can kill moles using traps but the use of strychnine is now illegal.

Ultrasonic deterrents do not scare moles away and neither does the noise made by the wind blowing over the top of a bottle sunk into a mole tunnel – a commonly cited homespun deterrent! The live-trapping and removal of moles is also unlikely to be effective as other moles will probably move into the empty tunnels and may even extend them.

It is better to live with the problem and remove molehills as they appear, Moles use their hugely powerful front legs like

Ready-made bat boxes may encourage brown long-eared bats to your garden. Frank Greenaway brown long-eared bats to your garden. Frank Ready-made bat boxes may encourage generally in the autumn and winter shovels. Dave and Brian Bevan

10 11 Stoats and weasels

These predators are probably more frequent visitors to gardens, especially in rural areas, than most people suppose. Often they come in search of prey like voles, moles, rats or mice but they may also take fish or from ponds. They can be active in daytime but are rarely seen, preferring generally to stay in the cover of long grass or thick hedges.

Both stoats and weasels are small, long and lithe. Each species has a gingery- brown coat and a cream or white belly. The larger , which takes many rabbits – especially young ones – has a This is a characteristic stance of the weasel, very distinctive black tail tip. Both probably enabling it to put its acute The red squirrel is now a great rarity in England. Paul Keene/Avico Ltd species climb well and stoats to best use. Dave and Brian Bevan sometimes scale creeping plants like up residence and even breed there, Squirrels ivy to raid birds’ nests in the roof leaving behind long, curly droppings build nests (dreys) which resemble spaces of houses. They may then take full of their victims’ fur or feathers. In most of England, the only squirrel large, domed birds’ nests but with the you are likely to see will be the grey leaves still on the twigs. squirrel, introduced from North Squirrels may enter houses by climbing America in the nineteenth century. creepers or adjacent trees, gaining These animals are extremely agile, access to lofts where tiles or bricks are using their long fluffy tails to assist missing. Lofts provide warm, safe balance. Some are tinged with ginger, places to give birth, but – once installed leading people to confuse them with – squirrels can do considerable our native red squirrels, which are rich damage, chewing wiring, wood and chestnut in colour and, in winter, have even pipes. Live trapping them is not an distinctive red tufts of fur on the tops option. It is unlawful to release a grey of their ears. Grey squirrels also spend squirrel into the wild and any much of their time on the ground, captured has, therefore, to be whereas the native reds generally humanely killed. Excluding them remain in trees. Red squirrels in altogether is preferable. England are now largely confined to a few northern areas and, in the south, to Squirrels tend to be active in mid- the Isle of Wight and a couple of morning and mid-afternoon so this is Stoats are generally longer than weasels and may be twice their weight. Derek Middleton/Avico Ltd islands in Poole Harbour. Both species the time to block all their entry points

12 13 Badgers and foxes

Badgers are unmistakable, with their white faces and broad black stripes running through their ears and eyes and down to their noses. Although each is black and white, their body fur appears grey or even brown. They have short powerful legs and large, five- clawed feet.

Evidence of the presence of badgers includes small pits called ‘snuffle holes’ produced when they dig for earthworms and other invertebrates. Occasionally, they may dig a small sett under your shed. Badgers are less active in winter but, unlike some mammals, do not hibernate. Cubs are usually born in late January or February but stay Fox on hen house in search of an easy meal. underground for about two months. Dave and Brian Bevan

Foxes are now a common sight in many The agility of grey squirrels means they can get virtually anywhere. Dave and Brian Bevan gardens, perhaps more so in urban areas. They are highly intelligent and with balls of chicken wire. Wait until all birds’ eggs. Their liking for seeds has extraordinarily adaptable animals, the squirrels have gone out and stuff led them to become adept at raiding eating whatever is available, animal or wire balls tightly into the holes. Ensure bird tables, even overcoming physical vegetable. Whereas badgers are very that all the squirrels have left and that obstacles. Why not provide your rarely seen before dusk, foxes are bold there are no nests containing young in squirrels with their own feeding station enough to turn up at any time, the roof-space. You will not want to and make it a real puzzle so they have although they are generally nocturnal. shut their mother out and trap them to work out how to reach it? This way Cubs are born in March and remain in inside to starve. If there are young, wait you can keep them off your bird the den (called an ‘earth’) for almost a until they are old enough to go out with feeders while admiring their ingenuity. month before emerging for exercise their mother before sealing the There are now several genuinely and play. entrances. Grey squirrels have two squirrel-proof bird feeders on the litters a year, which means they will Both badgers and foxes come to market. Alternatively you can mix have dependent young for much of the gardens in search of prey items such as squirrel deterrents with bird food. One spring and summer. earthworms (the badger’s main food), is made with peppers which repel beetles and cranefly larvae. Their Grey squirrels eat a wide range of food, squirrels but not birds. Badgers are present in every English county and are found in the parks of outer London. droppings are distinctive. Fox ‘scats’ including bulbs, insects, fungi, fruit and Hugh Clark/Avico Ltd often have a ‘tail’ at one end and are 14 15 Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) can issue licences for measures that will exclude them from their setts and prevent them from returning. Contact Natural England for details (see Contacts, page 29).

Deer

Deer are frequent garden visitors in certain parts of the country, tempted in to eat tasty flowers and shrubs. Of the six species now found wild in the UK, the most likely to be seen in gardens are the roe deer and the muntjac.

The roe deer is one of our two native deer species, the other being the much larger red deer. Roe deer are a bright, foxy red in summer and dull grey in Badgers can rapidly create havoc with a rubbish bin! Dave and Brian Bevan winter. Males have short, gnarled, spiky left in prominent places, while badger heavy lids on your dustbins and antlers. You might also see their droppings are rather loose and left in compost bins and block any large Roe buck at rest. Dave and Brian Bevan shallow holes known as dung pits. access points to the garden. Remove items leaning against fences and fill in Mammal droppings may contain the gaps underneath them. Some of the eggs of intestinal parasites. Those of commercially available animal fox cubs especially can contain the repellents may work well and a radio eggs of the roundworm Toxocara canis. tuned to a voice station may also be an In theory, these eggs can be passed to effective deterrent. An extreme children. There is not a single known measure would be an electric fence. instance of this happening but These fences need to have two strands droppings should nevertheless always set 7.5 cm and 20 cm above the ground. be removed from play areas. You can get a fence – and a 12 v battery If you want to discourage foxes and to power it – from agricultural badgers from visiting your garden, suppliers, who will also advise you how avoid using fertilisers containing to erect it. Unearthing the urban fox animal remains, such as fish, blood or has more details (see Further bonemeal. Both species have an acute information, page 29). Where badgers sense of smell and will come in search are causing damage to land or of the source. For the same reason, put property, the Department for Young roe deer. Paul Keene/Avico Ltd

16 17 promptly cleared away – the very encourage mammals into the garden, opposite of what mammals need! make access as easy as possible. Ensure However, with the gardening public’s there are gaps at, or below, ground interest in wildlife developing so level in any fences or hedges. These rapidly, more people now have a don’t have to be large and you can greater understanding of its needs and them with plants and are more tolerant of a degree of shrubs. A badger needs a gap about 20 untidiness. Ideally, you should allow at cm deep and 30 cm wide in order to least one area of your garden to go just squeeze under a fence, and many other a little wild, cutting shrubs and trees species will use the same route. Walls back less frequently. are more difficult but a log pile in a corner, or a trellis, can help mammals If you have a large lawn, you could climb over them; even a gap under a consider letting one part of it grow garden gate may be enough. If it’s your long, only mowing it every couple of wall (or, if not, if your neighbour is years. This may encourage field voles understanding!) try knocking out a into your garden to live in the mat of couple of bricks near ground level to dead stems at the bottom of the grass make it easier for small mammals – and clumps. Undisturbed areas will give The introduced muntjac is now common in much of southern England. Dave and Brian Bevan also – to come and go. cover to shy, elusive mammals and will distinctive droppings, which often look Making gardens more attractive to also offer nest building materials – in Plant foods for mammals like little fat wine bottles with a dimple mammals the form of twigs and leaves – and at one end and a point at the other. quiet corners in which to build them. Many of the trees, plants and shrubs For many years, it was fashionable to Their footprints, called slots, resemble These refuge areas will provide small we grow in our gardens will provide have orderly, manicured gardens with those of sheep but are more pointed. mammals with a base from which they food for mammals throughout the year. deadwood, cuttings and fallen leaves The muntjac is our smallest deer, can venture into neighbouring gardens However, most of the best ones to standing no higher than 42 cm at the and other areas to forage, the animals plant are native species (even if they shoulder – about the height of a returning to your garden to rest, are domesticated varieties) as British labrador. Chestnut in summer and hibernate and even breed. mammals may not have a taste for darker brown in winter, it has two some alien flowers or fruits. Hazel, distinctive black lines running down its Coming and going crab-apple, hawthorn, privet, guelder rose, wayfaring tree and spindle are all forehead. Males have two short, single- Most mammals have fairly large small to medium-size shrubs or trees spiked antlers and very short tusks territories so an individual garden useful to small mammals. Bramble is protruding below the upper lip. might only be part of a larger habitat. excellent, too, though it needs to be Muntjac escaped from the Duke of Boundaries around gardens will not be kept under control as it spreads rapidly. Bedford’s estate at Woburn more than a serious impediment to most Ivy is valuable for its cover, autumn 100 years ago and have since spread to mammals, which can usually get over, flowers and winter berries. All these much of southern England and the under or through them. Deer can jump species will also benefit birds, as well Midlands. They are now turning up in fences and even hedgehogs can climb suburban and even urban areas. Weasels like to hunt in long grass. as insects such as moths and Dave and Brian Bevan walls. However, if you are trying to 18 19 butterflies. In spring, many mammal It has to be said that badgers and species feast on buds and fruit gardens do not always mix well. Once blossoms while in autumn, they gorge lured into a garden by the offer of themselves on ripe berries and fruit raisins, they may start looking around Hazel dormice are fond of all sorts of fruits, including before the hardships of winter. For very for other food. They have no respect for blackberries. small mammals, even brief food strawberry beds nor for raspberry Hugh Clark/Avico Ltd shortages in periods of cold weather patches! They may also tear up your can be fatal. You should aim to have well tended lawn in search of garden fruiting at different times to cockchafer beetles in late summer or help ensure that food is constantly early autumn. What’s more, if they available. In addition, flowering plants smell something tasty in your rubbish such as honeysuckle – and especially bin they can easily knock it over and night-scented blooms such as stocks, scatter the contents about. But for all evening primrose and nicotiana this they are wonderful to watch and, if (tobacco plant) – will attract insects, so fed routinely, can become quite providing food for bats. trusting. They will, though, remain cautious at all times. However, take Artificial feeding care. If there’s a sett on the other side of a busy road from you, then making Feeding can be a good way to attract efforts to attract badgers to your mammals to your garden regularly, garden is eventually almost certain to although it is not without its problems. prove fatal for some of the animals. Artificial feeding will also create many opportunities for you to see visiting Special foods for hedgehogs are now Garden fruits like apples and rose hips provide mammals. Cooked foods and sugary available although they are happy with food for several species of small mammal, things should almost always be including the wood mouse. Paul Keene/Avico Ltd avoided although wood mice have a Dave and Brian Bevan taste for chocolate drops! Some of the simplest foods are best. Peanuts and raisins scattered in the grass will keep foxes and badgers busy for long periods as they sniff them out, and badgers are equally fond of windfall apples. Badgers are more likely to come to gardens during prolonged periods of dry weather, when earthworms are harder to find. Supplementary feeding may be particularly appreciated at this time, especially by those animals with This badger was lured into a garden by peanut cubs to support. butter smeared on the fence! Dave and Brian Bevan 20 21 pond. This protection will enable mammals to reach your pond without having to cross wide open expanses of mown lawn, where they are most vulnerable to predators such as cats.

Ensure that your pond has at least one shallow end from which mammals like hedgehogs can easily get in and out. Hedgehogs swim well but may get trapped – and drown – in steep-sided ponds. If your garden already has a Hedgehogs may be adversely affected by pond with steep sides you can create pellets. Dave and Brian Bevan an escape route with a plank of wood. Make a ramp by resting one end on the way, slug pellets may also be linked to bank and putting the other into the the falling numbers of song thrushes. water. Add a few aquatic plants and Controlling weeds and pests is more plant some wetland species on the difficult without chemicals, but pond margins – native species in both alternative methods do exist and are cases. However, try to resist available from garden centres. By Hedgehogs are good swimmers and can easily get This bird feeder is no challenge for a grey choosing these alternatives, you are squirrel. Dave and Brian Bevan out of ponds if the edges are shallow. introducing fish, which will eat Dave and Brian Bevan tadpoles and other pond animals. For acknowledging that wildlife is pet food. Put a dish of food under a detailed information on wildlife ponds, important in your garden. milk crate or something similar to refer to the Natural England keep the local cats away. Milk, publications Ponds and boggy areas: Shelter however, is probably best avoided as havens for wildlife and Amphibians in Many mammals make homes for it may make hedgehogs sick. your garden (see Contacts, page 29). themselves underground or in trees. Remember that hedgehogs in particular Water Garden chemicals are often attracted to the warmth and All mammals need to drink and one of Chemicals can help control unwanted safety of unlit bonfires and compost the best ways of encouraging plant growth and garden pests. heaps so it is essential to check both mammals into your garden is to However, almost all will kill far before disturbing them or setting a create a pond. These are simple to more than their target species and may bonfire alight. A log pile in a quiet spot, construct and enormously beneficial remain toxic in the soil for long with lots of gaps and holes, offers for all wildlife. A pond should not be periods. Hedgehogs eat large numbers hedgehogs and other mammals an sited under trees, as falling leaves will of invertebrates every night, including alternative safe place to shelter. If the clog it up in autumn. Instead, locate it slugs that may have fed on slug pellets. pile is at least 1 m high, about the same next to cover such as a low shrubbery It is believed that the poisons from across and around 1.5 m long, or a rockery. Alternatively, provide these pellets may accumulate in hedgehogs may even choose to cover nearby after you’ve made the Reflecting weasel! Dave and Brian Bevan hedgehogs and harm them. In the same hibernate beneath it. A sheet of 22 23 before dusk – is a good ploy, and it can to deter the animals from high-risk then be kept indoors until well after areas in your garden. They are dawn. This restriction may also help expensive, though, and will only cover your itself as it will then be less a fairly small area. likely to get run over or into fights with other cats. Bells and ultrasonic devices Mammals through the seasons fitted to the collar may also help, Mammals come to your garden although their effectiveness seems to throughout the year. Although many decline over time as cats learn to cope British mammals are far less active in with these devices. If you are not the winter, only hazel dormice, bats and cat owner, then try one of the hedgehogs can be said to hibernate. ultrasonic cat deterrents on the market However, bats may wake in very warm

The domestic cat is the most dangerous garden predator of all. Dave and Brian Bevan

corrugated iron or a large board placed Britain every year! Among mammal on the ground in an undisturbed corner species, mice, voles, shrews and rabbits will often attract small mammals to are the most frequent victims. nest underneath, safe from most However, grey squirrels, bats and – predators. It can be easily covered with surprisingly – weasels and even stoats vegetation to avoid creating an are sometimes taken, as well as unsightly feature: its effectiveness will declining species like water voles and be unaffected by whatever is placed dormice. Whatever its overall effect on over it. the populations of particular species, keeping a cat is rarely compatible with Predators and prey – cats encouraging small mammals into a garden. There are about eight million cats in Britain. Their inclination to hunt – and If you own a cat you should take their skill in doing so – varies hugely responsibility for your pet and not let it from one individual to another but roam freely. Most small mammals are there is no doubting their cumulative killed at night and most birds early in impact. A survey by The Mammal the morning so providing your cat with Society in 1997 concluded that cats kill its main meal late in the afternoon – so no fewer than 250 million creatures in that it gets used to coming home The brown long-eared is one of the most widely distributed species of bat in Britain. Frank Greenaway

24 25 spells and with increasingly mild mammal species. There is not always a winters, hedgehogs are now seen simple answer but you can alleviate foraging later and later in the year. No some problems. Some concerns spring hibernating animal should be disturbed from a desire to protect vulnerable – the process consumes the reserves of animals from predation. While this is energy it needs to see it through the understandable, it has to be recognised cold weather. that the mammals in your garden – cats aside! – are wild and that interfering Problems and concerns with the natural cycle in which some kill while others are killed is generally Even very tolerant gardeners may not helpful. encounter difficulties with some

Wood mice are amongst several garden mammals with a taste for bulbs. Dave and Brian Bevan mice are amongst several Wood Rabbits will eat almost any garden plant. Stephen Oliver

26 27 Damage to plants by rabbits with chicken mesh available at a Contacts People's Trust for Endangered Species and deer reasonable price. Otherwise a 15 Cloisters House compromise solution, like cultivating Natural England 8 Battersea Park Road Deer are very hard animals to exclude plants less attractive to rabbits and 1 East Parade London, SW8 4BG – and rabbits even more so. The only deer, may be the only option. The Sheffield, S1 2ET Tel. 020 7498 4533 certain method is secure perimeter drawback is that rabbits will eat almost Enquiry Service: 0845 600 3078 www.ptes.org.uk fencing and this comes with a high any plant, and if hungry will take all but [email protected] price tag! Enclosing especially the most strong-smelling or spiny www.naturalengland.org.uk Further information vulnerable garden areas such as material. vegetable plots may be more realistic, The Mammal Society This is one of a range of wildlife gardening booklets published by Gathering information 2B Inworth Street London, SW11 3EP Natural England. For more details, Most garden mammals live their – often Tel: 0207 350 2200 enquiries contact the Natural England Enquiry very brief – lives out of our sight and www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal/ Service on 0845 600 3078 or e-mail . Some high pitched squeaks [email protected] from the undergrowth may suggest the Mammals Trust UK presence of a shrew but such small 15 Cloisters House animals are rarely seen alive out in the 8 Battersea Park Road open. Much the same can be said of London, SW8 4BG mice and voles. Relatively few people Tel: 0207 498 5262 enquiries are capable of identifying mammal www.mtuk.org species and far less is known about small garden mammals than is the case The Bat Conservation Trust with other wildlife such as birds or 2 Cloisters House even the larger invertebrates. Without 8 Battersea Park Road adequate knowledge, successful London, SW8 4BG conservation of our wildlife is made far Tel: 0207 627 2629 more difficult, so it’s vital that we Bat Helpline: 0845 1300 228 gather as much information as www.bats.org.uk possible. Both The Mammal Society and Mammals Trust UK regularly run The Wildlife Trusts surveys asking people all over the UK to The Kiln send in records of mammals they see in Waterside gardens and elsewhere. You don’t have Mather Road to be an expert to do this and there are Newark, NG24 1WT simple and inexpensive guides to help Tel: 01636 677711 you. See Further information, opposite. www.wildlifetrusts.org

Guards for fruit trees are one way of protecting them from rabbits. Dave and Brian Bevan Pygmy shrew on moss. Dave and Brian Bevan 28 29 Natural England also produces Richardson, P. Bats. Whittet. 2001. Gardening with wildlife in mind, an illustrated wildlife reference. Strachan, R. Mammal detective. Originally on CD but now also Whittet. 2002. available online, Gardening with wildlife in mind has detailed Williams, T. & Wilson, A. Unearthing information on 800 plants and animal the urban fox. The Fox Project. 2000. species often found in our gardens, and shows how they are ecologically All of the above are available from linked. See www.plantpress.com The Mammal Society, which also sells a range of books on individual mammal species. Further information, Other titles including free fact sheets on individual mammal species, is also Baker, P. & Harris, S. Urban foxes. available on the websites of The Whittet. 1986. Mammal Society and Mammals Trust UK, see Contacts, page 29. Bullion, S. A key to British land mammals. The Mammal Society/FSC. 1998.

Bullion, S. A guide to British mammal tracks and signs. The Mammal Society/FSC. 2001.

Clark, M. Badgers. Whittet. 1988.

Jones, K. & Walsh, A. A guide to the identification of British bats. The Mammal Society/FSC. 2001.

Morris, P. Dormice. Whittet. 2004.

Morris, P. Hedgehogs. Whittet. 1983.

Morris, P. & Sargent, G. How to find and identify mammals. The Mammal Society. 2003.

Bank vole coming out of hole in tree. Dave and Brian Bevan

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