Hummingbirds will return to the same feeder year after
year; hopefully that’s a feeder in your yard. So be sure to put a feeder
in roughly the same location every year (you can add others elsewhere, of
course).
Sometimes, giving your “feeder appeal” a little boost will help. Hang
a colorful flower basket nearby! Fill it with vibrant red, orange and
yellows. For the north Texas area, we recommend lantana or verbena. Or you could
fasten about a foot of brightly-colored ribbon to the feeder itself. Some feeders even have a hook for hanging a
basket underneath. Once hummingbirds find your feeder -- they
are hooked for years to come!
LADYBUGS AND SO ON… Just one domestic
ladybug will eat as many as 50 aphids a day (aphids are small green bugs that
can kill plants in a few days, and reproduce like crazy). Sometimes called
lady-beetles, these beneficial insects control most bug problems (The Asian
ladybug can sometimes be a nuisance, though).
Also beneficial, the larvae of the green lacewing devour thrips, spider
mites, and whiteflies. We’ve used beneficial nematodes at home for years to
control fleas in the dogs’ area. Put beneficial insects out at sunset so they can
hide, and before hungry birds can get them.
Owen Yost, in
addition to blogging, is a Landscape Architect emeritus from here, who‘s
worked in north Texas for over 30 years.
He is a member of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA),
International Society of Landscape Architects, the National BirdFeeding
Society, National Wildlife Federation and the Audubon Society. He was honored
with a Lifetime Achievement award by the Native Plant Society of Texas. His
design office is at northwestern68@yahoo.com
