Wildlife-Friendly Yards

 

How can I make my yard wildlife friendly?

Hold back from feeding wildlife. We do not suggest attracting wildlife with food into your yard as it can be difficult to only attract certain animals. For example, if you feed birds you may attract squirrels and rats which may attract predators such as bobcats, coyotes and snakes. Animals also don’t recognize the differences between you and your neighbor. If you are attracting predators and your neighbors are afraid of these animals and call animal control for removal, you may be hurting wildlife more than you are helping.

Take Action

Rookie Changes

1. Do not feed wildlife – it can quickly get out of control and attract animals you may not want
2. Keep cats indoors – they kill and eat wild birds, small mammals and lizards
3. Do not use anticoagulant rodenticide poisons for rodent control, pesticides or other poisons – can be damaging to native wildlife and poison animals beyond your intended target animal.

Rock Star Changes – make the above changes plus the additional ones below

1. Use fencing that is easy for wildlife to move through
2. Landscape yard with drought tolerant native plants
3. Use native plants to encourage birds, butterflies and insects to visit your yard
4. Reduce night time lighting which can be intrusive to nocturnal wildlife

Volunteer

Volunteer with restoration projects and local citizen science projects:

National Park Service
Audubon
iNaturalist
eBird
Reptiles and Amphibians of Southern California (RASCals)
Roadrunners of California

Links

Keep Me Wild
The Humane Society
San Fernando Valley Audubon Society