I've not made any accurate measurements, but would think that I actually own (according to the property deeds) slightly less than a 1/10 th of an acre which includes the land occupied by the bungalow itself. Whilst that is more than enough grass to cut, when pushing a mower around, it does cause a few issues when attempting to make the most of the local wildlife opportunities. Running a 125w MV moth trap whilst also maintaining a Hedgehog feeding station, in such a limited area, is never going to be without a conflict of interest? No avoiding the simple fact that Hedgehogs will eat moths when the opportunity arises. I do have a wire mesh fence, with a 7ft diameter, surrounding my trap, yet moths which land on the grass outside this barrier are beyond my help unless I happen to be watching the garden when they pitch down.
Moth killers, or not, I can't see a time when I won't encourage these wonderful creatures to visit my garden. |
Since the start of June I know that Elephant (7), Privet (3) and Eyed (1) Hawk-moths have fallen foul of these spiny garden visitors, plus a number of Yellow Underwing sp. and other odd noctuid-type moths. I suppose I could construct an even larger diameter fence, but where do you draw the line? Hedgehogs around the local gardens are a real success story and a constant source of enjoyment for all of us involved in the "Hedgehog Street" monitoring program. That I am also, very much, enjoying the garden moth trapping means that this conflict of interests will remain as I'm not prepared to give up on either aspect of garden wildlife watching.
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