How to Attract Wild Animals to Your Yard

You don’t need a large yard to observe wild creatures, just one where they can live safely. The wonderful thing is that they are everywhere. Since they are having a harder time finding safe places to live around human dwellings, if you give them a quiet, protected space with grass and shrubs to hide and live in, you will have animals that won't go in your neighbor's open yards.

It doesn't work well in barren areas or where there is constant noise like a radio or children playing. And a golf course lawn won't attract little animals either; they need brush to hide in and greenery to eat. And if you have domestic pets like an outdoor dog, that can deter visits from just about anything wild. An outdoor cat will prey on anything small it can get near, including baby rabbits.

The best and most important addition to a yard that will attract animals? – yes, it’s a fence. But I’m not talking about attracting moose or deer or coyotes. Unless you live near large tracts of woodland, you probably won’t see many of those anyway. But depending on the habitat you create, you can attract bunnies (OK, rabbits), chipmunks, flying squirrels (nocturnal) red squirrels, possums, raccoons, and lots of beautiful birds.

You can fence in a section of your yard if it has at least two quiet sides - possibly bordering on woods or a waterway. Make sure it’s an area where your windows give you a clear view from your office, kitchen, or a room where you spend much of your time.  Even if you live near a noisy industrial area or a highway, once little wild critters recognize they are safe within the boundaries of your little green haven, they will come there to hide,  have young, and to let you see them and maybe take their pictures. They don’t get tame, but they may get habituated
or used to your normal household sounds and not disappear with every small noise. Pictures taken through windows in the right light can turn out wonderfully.

The fencing that works best is something you can see through, like wire cattle fencing, with small 4 x 6 inch rectangular openings, strong wooden posts, and one or more gates. You can put up a 4-5’ rail section fence in front of the house, to keep your house attractive and then attach wire fencing along the inside, but use 5-6’ high fencing on the sides and back. Especially if you live near a wild area, this will allow small animals to visit but prevent deer and other large animals from entering your yard and dropping deer ticks. This is a reason many people give up
on allowing ungulates around their homes. They mow their lawns almost flat and have few bushes, so there is nothing to eat and nowhere to hide. That’s about all you have to do to discourage animals – they’re not stupid.

Step 1

Once you have a fenced-in yard, plant a flowering hedge along the inside front portion. Forsythia is a good choice because it grows very fast, gets thick and bushy the first year, and looks wonderful in the spring with a profusion of tiny yellow flowers. Flowering shrubs can attract both birds and small animals.

Step 2

Plan out the area you want to remain clear for, say, a barbecue area or for lawn furniture to sit outside. Keep that area well mowed and trimmed.

Step 3

The side and rear fences become like walls in a room where you place furniture, only in this case, flowering bushes or stands of tall wild flowers. Remember, the wire fencing allows you to see through to the road, scenery, neighbors’ yards, even other areas of your own property if you didn’t fence everything in. If you want to see medium sized animals like rabbits and possums, you may want to cut the fence wire near the ground every few sections to join two
open squares (one above the other), creating an entrance for small animals looking to escape predators like foxes. If you create a pleasant habitat, you may be surprised what you see.

Step 4

Tall colorful flowers around the inside perimeter like stands of Tiger and Day Lilies, Iris, Cornflowers (Echinacea), Brown-eyed Susans, clumps of tall Hydrangea, Honeysuckle or Lilac shrubs, form a lovely colorful backdrop for the next row of medium height flowers and decorative plants. Depending on your region, choose perennials like Peonies, Azaleas, Daffodils, and wild flowers like Buttercups, wild ferns, Hosta, and Celandine.

Step 5

Lastly, inside the medium height plants, a low carpet of Impatiens, Pansies, Johnny-jump-ups, Marigolds, or green ground cover like Myrtle, Sedum, or Periwinkle. All of this gives a wild look that little animals love, while surrounding you with flowers where something will be blooming year round.  If they are shaded, among those flowers you will eventually see other plants growing up, like wild Ferns, Wild Lettuce stalks, wild Roses, and Goldenrod. Leave
everything alone to grow, except the Goldenrod if anyone has allergies.

Step 6

If you don’t plan to play badminton, you can also design clumps of colorful flowers right in the middle of a mowed lawn. Purple Coneflowers and White Phlox are about the same 3’ height and look beautiful when planted together.

TIPS

Creating periodic access to your interior area along the fence lines where you would expect animals to approach (from a wooded area as opposed to from a highway), if your yard is quiet and unthreatening, it will be more than a shrub and flower garden you will love to hide in yourself, it will become a sanctuary for wildlife you will love to observe.

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