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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 4 Feb 2019 12:16pm - Edited by: KinAlberta
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Have you got any neat ideas to share to help or hinder wildlife around your cabin / cottage?
It’s a long winter so I’m dreaming fun little projects to use up scrap, repurpose things or just challenge my creativity.
- For instance, lately it’s been down to nearly -30 C and I was thinking about some sort of passive solar bird roost / shelter that I could build next summer to maybe reduce bird mortality during cold snaps. (Maybe slap something together using some boards and/or scrap plywood, a curved tin reflector, some foam insulation a few 4x4 posts...) or maybe just mounting a passive solar heater ledge under the eaves of a shed.
- Another thing a neighbour helped with (actually he did near everything) was installing a beaver dam levelling device. So far it’s worked great and saved our bridge from further ice damage. So now I’m wondering about other designs for when this one fails.
- an industrial sized wasp trap
- a big bathouse (maybe something up on 4 or more 4x4 posts). Seems that the tiny ones would be almost as much work as a supersized one. But raising a big heavy bat box up way off the ground would be a challenge.
Other ideas?
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KelVarnsen
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# Posted: 4 Feb 2019 01:24pm - Edited by: KelVarnsen
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I don't know if you consider deer flies "wildlife", but I'm going to try and hinder them this spring by building a trap. I've read about a number of designs but haven't tried it yet. This is the design I'm going to try: How to Make a Biting Fly Trap
Here is a link for other projects ideas:
Woodworking for Wildlife
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creeky
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# Posted: 4 Feb 2019 04:14pm
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Those deer fly traps work btw. I've used them. Anything that is inverted with a clear top seems to trap them. Whether they make enough of a difference? I was never able to break that one down.
Double sided tape on the back of your hat can also help with deer flies.
I had the best luck with keeping nesting sites available for fly catchers tho. Meant knocking robin nests out of the barn.
Mine like to be under the eaves. Enclosed on three sides. They will not come back to a nest once the babes have fledged. So if you want to encourage a second batch you need to clean the area.
Feed birds high fat foods. Suet for instance. Helps them weather the cold.
Anybody planning on bees this year?
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Whiskey Jack
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# Posted: 4 Feb 2019 06:52pm
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We have a bat house that will be going up in the spring. I've also been looking at designs for nesting boxes for certain critters I want around. I'm planning on flying squirrel, saw whet owl, great grey owl, and maybe wood duck boxes.
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rockies
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# Posted: 4 Feb 2019 07:07pm
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Why not put up a hummingbird feeder?
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neb
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# Posted: 5 Feb 2019 07:47pm - Edited by: neb
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Here are a few bird houses I made from some scrape material I had. They have a tin with plenty of air flow for the variety of birds that use them. I have 4 or 5 put up all round the ranch.
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toyota_mdt_tech
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# Posted: 5 Feb 2019 11:34pm
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Bat houses, bird houses and a few the squirrels gnawed out the opening and now squirrel houses.
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old243
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# Posted: 6 Feb 2019 11:53am
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I build bird houses. Just the standard blue bird house plan , available online. It will serve a lot of different birds, depends on the hole size you use. They are easy to make. Have a lot around my place. Also make a good cheap gift, people appreciate them.
Creeky, I have had bees for a couple of years now, in our latest thaw they appeared to be still ok. Still too cold to disturb them. very interesting. I still have whole lot to learn. old243
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KelVarnsen
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# Posted: 8 Jul 2019 09:14am
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I threw together a few bat boxes this weekend with some scrap wood that I had. I can't wait to head up to the cabin in a week or so and get them installed. The mosquitoes have been so bad this year due to being excessively rainy. I hope to get a colony of bats soon to put a dent in the bug population.
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