These tips will help you create a festive outdoor space for Halloween while keeping animals safe.
Jason Donnelly
Decorating yards with pumpkins, lights, and seasonal displays is a beloved fall tradition.
Here are five tips for decorating your yard this fall to make it both safe and welcoming for wildlife.
Credit:Jason Donnelly
Their strong, synthetic strands can trap birds, bats, small mammals, bees, and butterflies.
Fake spider webs are especially dangerous in the fall because its when manybird species migrate.
Birds that land in bushes or trees decorated with fake webs may find themselves ensnared.
Credit:John Granen
To avoid these perils, skipfake spiderwebs when decorating outdoors.
However, if theyre covered in chemicals, pumpkins can harm these creatures.
Whilepainted pumpkinsmay look stunning, the paint can be toxic to wildlife.
This fall, stick to using untreated pumpkins foroutdoor displays.
If you want to paint your pumpkins, keep them indoors and away from hungry critters.
Avoid Plastic Decorations
Plastic decorations are appealing because they are often fun-looking, lightweight, and inexpensive.
However, most are also hollow, which can lead to trapped animals.
To prevent this, avoid placing plastic decorations with narrow openings outside.
Stick to solid decorations since they are much safer for wildlife.
Bright lights from your yard can throw them off course orcause them to collide with buildings.
John Granen
5.
These elements can easily be found in your backyard, local garden centers, or farmers markets.
