By Lachlan Forsyth
Backyard gardeners are being encouraged to think about biodiversity when out and about this spring.
Far from drenching gardens with pesticides and ripping out unwanted plants, experts say letting nature take its natural course could actually help.
Even the most average backyard hides a huge array of life. But far from being unwanted pests, these critters improve pollination, aid pest control and add interest to bland backyards.
“It is always nice sitting, reading, and you look across and there is a wolf spider carrying 30 to 50 babies on its back, or you can see a crab spider catch an insect on a flower,” says Canterbury Museum biologist Dr Simon Pollard.
“The more native bush or plants you have the more likely you are to encourage more species there,” says Lincoln University ecologist Mike Bowie.
Mr Bowie has helped produce a simple DIY guide for how to transform a manicured garden into a teeming haven of interconnected wildlife.
“We’ve got bio control agents that are invertebrates, we’ve even got cleaners – native slugs – that clean up the black sooty moulds on leaves so that the plans can photosynthesise properly,” he says.
Other ways to encourage biodiversity are easy-to-make shelters for the likes of lizards, and everyone’s favourite creepy crawly, the weta.
They say it is time for gardeners to give the critters a break.
“You’re basically just killing them because you don’t want to have to look at them,” says Dr Pollard.
“I mean, you don’t do that with cats or dogs.”
And there is nothing to fear from our many-legged friends.
“They just carry on with their lives and eat what they eat, and don’t really worry us too much at all,” says Dr Pollard.
Of course, it will mean your back garden is just that little bit closer to nature.
3 News
For a copy of the booklet on how to encourage biodiversity in the back garden, click here