Lets meet some the neighbours....

Snails and slugs are thought to have been around for 500 million years - pretty impressive! But they are hardly treated with kindness in most gardens, despite being an important inhabitant on our planet. There are many humane and compassionate ways to deter these fascinating and misunderstood creatures if they are eating the plants in 'your' garden - just please don't call them a pest!  And do remember, 'if something (or rather, someone!) is not eating your plants, then your garden is not part of  the ecosystem.' Click here for more reasons to love snails and slugs

There are a staggering 4,200 different species of beetles in the UK! There has been a steady decline of many of these creatures, perhaps most famously the iconic stag beetle. Once we start to let our gardens do what they want to do, creating more natural habitats, then we will undoubtedly see a resurgence of them Click here for more information about these incredible and diverse animals. How about creating an area to attract more beetles to your garden? How many different kinds will you see?

There are around 650 different species of spider in the UK, with sizes ranging from the tiny 1 millimetre leg span of the little money spider, to a whopping 12cm leg span of the cardinal spider! Not all spiders spin webs, many catching their prey using other techniques. Click here for more interesting facts about spiders.

Rats are beautiful, sentient & intelligent creatures who play a vital part in a thriving ecosystem. They have been shown to display great empathy and are very sociable and playful. Yet, some people lay down poisons and/or traps to deter them from their gardens, which are both cruel and indiscriminate. These methods are deadly to both wildlife and companion animals.

Here are some fun and interesting facts about these fascinating creatures. If rats have come to visit and you would like to deter them, there are many humane ways of doing this including making sure no food sources are attracting them or using sonar devices that emit a sound undetectable to humans but that scare the rats away. Certain smells can deter rats as well, but please always bear in mind that we share our space. Rats have a shrinking habitat, they have a hard existence with a plethora of predators, and their main problem lies with their reputation! It can't be easy being hated simply for being born a rat! Click this link for further advice.

Foxes are an iconic figure in the British countryside, but they haven't had it easy, being the target of hunting and the farmers' shotgun for 100's of years. Thankfully, as society has evolved, so has our compassion and the vast majority of the population now sees this kind of senseless killing as the utter abhorrence it is. Foxes live in both urban and rural settings, mainly due to the encroachment of their habitat by human populations, but they have been shown to be very resilient and adaptable and are now a common sight in our towns. Foxes have a diverse diet, eating small mammals, invertebrates, amphibians, as well as fruits, berries, nuts and seeds. Foxes have strong familial bonds and live in social groups. The love shown between them is exemplified in a story about a young fox being caught in a snare. It was thought the cub was trapped for at least 2 weeks and only survived until rescue by the RSPCA because his mother brought him food. Chris Packham is a famous advocate for foxes an has been running a campaign called #foxoftheday  Click here for more facts about these creatures.

There are 2 species of squirrel in the UK - the red and the grey. Over the years, the grey squirrel has come under vicious attack from groups claiming to have conservation as a primary objective. 'Culls' - a euphemistic term for large scale slaughter, are being implemented across the country, ostensibly to 'save' the red squirrel from their grey cousin. Shockingly, these mass killings often advertise for assistance from the general public, with methods used including shooting, poisoning and even stamping. The truth is, the red squirrel has suffered tremendously from loss of habitat, human persecution and disease way before grey squirrels even arrived, with numbers dropping to near-extinction levels in 1800's. Despite the fact human activity has done way more harm than any other factor, the go to solution seems to be killing - something that our species is far too good at. The real way to help nature and restore balance, is to respect, re-wild and recognise that every life is sacred. Squirrels are clever, inquisitive, trusting little beings and have been known to solve incredibly complex puzzles to access food. Click here for more great facts about these clever little beings.

Badgers are a familiar and well loved face in the British countryside, but they have been under attack in recent years from draconian and counterintuitive 

Hedgehogs

Blue tits

Pigeons 

Wrens

Robins

Butterflies

Moths

Corvids

Newts

Bees

Flies

Ants

Frogs & toads

Dragonflies

Birds of prey

Voles

Moles

Woodpeckers

Snakes

Deer

Bats

Wasps & hornets

Seagulls

Mice

Shews

Slow worm

Jays and Magpies

Blackbirds

Worms