Bats

Bats may have been thought of as blood-sucking flying rodents in the past but their reputation is starting to change.

While it’s true that there are some species of bats in South America that drink blood they feed on cattle, not people. Bats are also more closely related to primates than rodents. Unlike rodents, bats give birth only once a year and can live to be over 30!

So why encourage bats in your neighborhood? Because they’re insectivores!

Bats have a big appetite for small bugs and love to eat mosquitos – up to 1,000 in only an hour!

If you’ve been struggling with pests in your garden and you don’t want to use pesticides then adding a bat house is a great way to naturally keep down the bugs.

In 2020 the Nature Conservancy released an article stating that bat populations in the US are declining. Bats are an important part of the food web and play a vital role as pollinators as well as experts in pest control.

Interested in building a bat house to help support bats in your area? Then check out the National Wildlife Federation for an instructional guide.

Snakes

Think all snakes are slimy and venomous? Think again! While some snakes are dangerous to people not all snakes are (and none of them are slimy).

In North America there are 150 different species of snakes, of those only about 30 are venomous. That means roughly 90% of North America’s snakes are harmless to people. In fact their are four states with no venomous snakes at all!
(Hawaii, Maine, Rhode Island, and Alaska – if you were curious).

So what benefits do snakes provide for the garden?

Snakes help to keep down rodent populations as well as eating slugs, grasshoppers, and other small garden pests. Some snakes even help with the spreading of seeds!

While it can be scary to come across a snake in your yard once you learn which ones to avoid you can gain confidence and maybe even a spooky new friend.

For information about what snakes to avoid in your area check out this (venomous) snake-by-state list.

Spiders

Spiderwebs may be an icon of Halloween but these guys aren’t nearly as haunting as their homes suggest!

You’re probably familiar with black widows and brown recluses but did you know they’re the only two spiders in North America that pose a danger to humans? With over 3,000 species of spiders in the US, only 2% can cause any kind of medical distress in people.

Spiders are a great benefit to your garden in hunting down pesky pests and keeping insect populations in control.

As long as you are familiar with what spiders to watch out for there’s no reason to panic the next time you come across one of these creepy critters in your yard.

Instead skip the pesticides, leave out your leaves, and set aside some yard waste (away from the house) where the spiders can huddle through the winter.

Toads

Commonly associated with witches, goblins, and ghouls around Halloween these guys are a hoppy addition to your yard – and no they won’t give you warts.

Toads can eat thousands of insects over the course of a summer. Toads have the jump on spiders in terms of size and can eat not only smaller bugs like mosquitos but also beetles, slugs, and snails.

As amphibians toads are extra sensitive to chemical irritants and don’t react well to pesticides or some chemical fertilizers. If you have toads in your yard it’s a good indication that you’ve got a healthy environment.

Not seeing toads in your yard? Try attracting some by planting natives, avoiding chemical use, and making sure they have a nice hidey-hole to make their home. If you’re feeling extra adventurous you could even add a small water feature or a pond!

For more information about what makes a good toad house check out this article from the National Wildlife Federation about How to Dote on Toads

What do you think?

That wraps up my list of spooky garden friends that we like to see! How about you – what creepy critters do you have in the garden that have become unlikely friends?

Comment below and let me know!

Want to hear about some bugs you don’t want to see in the garden? Head over to our post 5 Bugs You Don’t Want to See in Your Garden