Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat: Fall Cleanup, Bird Feeding and Fleas
SO WHAT DO THESE three topics have in common? It’s time to start cleaning up the excess in the yard, raking leaves and giving the grass that last cut of the season, and time to put out the winter feeders as the migrants settle into your area. By taking care of a few extra details with the first two, you can manage the third, fleas, much more easily through the dormant season and into next year. Don’t be fooled after that first frosty morning when all fleas seem to be gone—there may be no more adult fleas, but there are plenty of eggs tucked all over your yard just waiting for spring.
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Where Do Fleas Come From?
Fleas begin in the great outdoors, even in the nicest yard, and don’t think that simply because you don’t let your pet outside, or it’s only outside for a short while, that fleas won’t find them. Fleas are tiny and can hop amazing distances to get to a warm body for their blood meal, they can ride in on your own body though they don’t generally feed on humans, and encountering another animal that has fleas either on a walk outdoors or even at the veterinarian’s office can infest your pet without it ever setting a paw in the back yard.
In the fall, I use my mower to shred all the leaves on my lawn, but let them fall elsewhere, and I pretty much leave all the plants standing in the garden for the birds to feed on and insects to nest on until spring. I rake and ruffle but leave the mulch and debris under shrubs and in protected spots because wildlife will use this throughout the winter for cover.
Rather than republish the entire article each spring, I link to the main post on this subject. The article includes detailed information, links to resources, and one-page guide sheet you can download to your computer or phone. Click here to read Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat: Fall Cleanup, Bird Feeding and Fleas.
Read other articles in “Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat” and also in about “Living Green With Pets” and in the category of “Health and Safety”
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Tortoishell cats can be camouflaged against many backgrounds with all their irregular speckles and dots. This photo of Cookie taken in the spring of 2010 truly shows her ability to blend into her background as her orange and tan blend with last year’s leaves and her green eyes blend with the spring’s new growth. I could not love her more.
Click here to read more and purchase this photo or card, and browse my website for felines, wildlife, flowers, butterflies and more.
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All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
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Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
Yes, Patty O’Malley blends into the yard easily, but surprisingly, our little black cat Sweetie disappears easily too! It’s amazing.
Cookie enjoyed giving my heart a little workout by disappearing then later reappearing purring and happy. And hey, this information will come in handy for your guys as you develop your backyard habitat too.