Wildlife – Maryland Grows

New Year, New Habits on the Horizon

January 16, 2025Maryland GrowsLeave a comment

I’ve been thinking a lot about habits lately—a whole lot. Changes in just one or two simple habits can radically transform our personal lives, society, and how we relate to the natural world, hopefully for the better but sometimes for the worse. How many of us have made a resolution or started a new habit already this year involving nature, gardening, or land stewardship? Are you sticking with it or just getting around to thinking about starting it? I am here to say: “If it matters, don’t give up!” It can take time and practice through repetition to establish or change a habit, according to an accumulating body of fascinating research around the human psychology of habits. A little bit of knowledge about how habits work can go a long way toward establishing and maintaining new habits.

The habit loop

Habits are a big part of what powers us through the day without having to think through the details of each and every step in a routine action. From wake up routines to commuting patterns, we carry out a series of regular actions based on established and regularly repeated cues, routines, and rewards. This is known as the “habit loop,” as vividly described by Charles Duhigg in his best-selling book, The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business.

Duhigg describes how habits, deeply encoded in one of the most evolutionarily ancient parts of our brains, the basal ganglia, relieve us of some of our daily cognitive load so that the more advanced parts of our brain can be devoted to higher order activities like reasoning, innovation, and decision-making. Habits can become ingrained fairly quickly if the chemical neurotransmitter reward in our brains is great enough, if the cues and rewards are strongly linked, or when routines are simplified and reinforced through regular repetition and behavior reinforcement.

A square illustration of the habit loop showing a human eye on the left, representing the cue. Above the eye is an arrow that makes a right turn at the top of the illustration and connects with a scrub brush representing the routine of cleaning the birdbath. An arrow flows from the brush and turns downward to a pair of binoculars, a bluebird, and a red heart symbol and exclamation point representing the reward of seeing a bluebird. An arrow continues downward and curves left to form the bottom of the illustration, connecting back to the human eye.

Caption: An example of the habit loop illustrating part of my winter bluebird care routine. I spot a messy bird bath after a day of heavy use (visual cue), spring into action to scrub the basin and refill with clean water (routine), then enjoy the thrill of spotting a bluebird taking a drink of fresh, clean water the next morning (reward). My craving to see bluebirds in winter helps to power me through this frequent winter routine on freezing cold days. I suspect some endorphins are released in my brain every time I witness the scene of a bluebird drinking fresh water outside my window on a freezing cold winter day. Graphic: S. Small-Lorenz

Cue-routine-reward. Cue-routine-reward. A habit cycle powered by an incessant craving for a drop of neurotransmitter joy. Habits can become so routinely mechanized that they are difficult, yet not impossible, to change. It is entirely possible, though, to modify habits just through tweaking routines. It is also possible to create new habits through repetition, with clearly identified cues and rewards. To instill a new habit, it can help to establish the cue, the reward, and a simple sequence of action steps in between.

Black plastic trash bag in the gutter with leaves spilling out of it

These habits also reflect missed opportunities to create better soil with higher soil organic matter that absorbs more stormwater where it falls, which would result in a more flood and drought-resilient watershed because soil with higher organic matter absorbs and retains more moisture. This, in turn, creates a foundation for a flourishing landscape that supports a wide array of biodiversity.

Keystone habits: Small actions that lead to big results

Then there are habits known as “keystone habits.” Like the architectural feature that supports an arch or keystone species that sustain an ecosystem, keystone habits are those habits that have the power to make big change throughout a system, by means of small actions. Small action = big change. It sounds so simple and gratifying, right? But is it realistic?

Duhigg gives examples of successful organizations and individuals who have identified and implemented keystone habits to achieve positive change and desired outcomes. These include daily habits drilled by Michael Phelps that helped him to break a world swimming record in an Olympic race, even while his goggles failed him, and former Alcoa CEO Paul O’Neill’s singular, unprecedented obsession with workplace safety that dramatically transformed its corporate culture and overall productivity, despite initial deep doubts and laments of indignant shareholders. Think about a life-altering habit that you have adopted, changed, or left behind. How hard was it but how much did it transform your life to eventually change that habit? Research has shown that cues and rewards of the habit loop can be difficult to rewire, but that it is also entirely possible to alter the routine between the cue and reward to achieve a more desired outcome.

My primary driving question these days is: “How do we change habits to improve habitat?”

As I review the many sustainable practices promoted through our Bay-Wise Living Landscapes Program, I am searching for those potential keystone habits that we should emphasize in 2025 that represent small actions for big changes. Small behavior changes across the landscape that, when added up, could have an outsized, beneficial impact on our watersheds and their ecosystems.

My 2025 keystone habit for Maryland

If I could foster one keystone habit change across Maryland in 2025 it would be this: “Recycle yard debris on-site.” This one habit actually captures a number of low-cost but beneficial practices, such as leaving leaf litter where it falls, leaf mulching, grass-cycling, and creating wildlife brush-piles from yard prunings. So, technically, we’re talking about habits within a habit.

The photo shows fallen tree leaves partially covering a lawn area.

The photo shows a log exposed under a layer of snow.

Caption: Leaf litter (L) and a log under a layer of snow (R). Firefly larvae take shelter in leaf litter and logs throughout the winter. Yard “debris” has high habitat value, providing overwintering habitat for many beneficial insects and wildlife species. Photos: S. Small-Lorenz.

Managing our yard “debris” like leaves, grass, clippings, branches, stumps, snags, and prunings in ways that acknowledge their ecological value can improve soil and water, laying the groundwork for more climate-resilient landscapes and communities. Leaving leaves where they fall nourishes soil and vegetation, retains soil moisture, creates a substrate for native plants to establish, and provides an insulating ground layer of habitat for a wide array of species.

Leaf mulching and composting on-site are other sustainable options for managing leaf litter. Grass-cycling by leaving grass clippings on the lawn instead of bagging it up and sending it off-site provides a free, natural fertilizer with a much lower carbon footprint than trucking it off or applying manufactured fertilizer. Arranging downed limbs and pruned branches into brush piles provides shelter for songbirds and small mammals on extended snowy days like we’ve had this month and throughout the year and returns carbon and nutrients to the soil. (The main exception to this habit is to remove and properly dispose of invasive non-native plant materials, especially those that reproduce vegetatively or have gone to seed, to avoid spreading them.)

Photo of a small brush pile in deep snow, surrounded by animal tracks. — Caption: Brush pile in deep snow, surrounded by animal tracks.
Photo: S. Small-Lorenz

How does habit change take root in the community?

However, pleading with people or even providing scientific evidence is not likely to make these habit changes take hold on a large enough scale to make a measurable impact across an entire watershed. Study upon study has shown that people are more likely to respond to a combination of seeing their neighbors do it and financial incentives over any amount of urging, pleading, pledging, or piles of scientific evidence (Bergquist et al. 2023). Could this be because neighbor cues and financial rewards better tap into this primal habit loop of cue-routine-reward? There is evidence that the answer to this question is “yes.”

Friction, cues, and incentives

In a fascinating review, Mazar et al. (2021) identified three successful strategies for motivating environmental behavior change through policy, and I believe these strategies are applicable to individuals and organizations as well. First is the strategic use of friction. Identify where friction can be reduced or increased to motivate habit change. Make it easy to implement the desired behavior (reduce friction) or a little more challenging to do it the old way (add friction). They cite a number of environmental behavior change studies, including one that made it easier to recycle by reducing steps to the recycling bin or a little more expensive to use disposable bags through token bag fees. This is a matter of simplifying the routine in the cue-routine-reward habit loop to lead to the desired behavior or complicating it to deter less desired behavior.

A bright blue male Eastern Bluebird points his bill upwards as he drinks clear water from a bird bath during a heavy winter snow. An inkberry holly next to the bird bath holds several inches of snow on its foliage.

“Re-setting the default” is a related strategy. A variety of studies have shown that setting the desired behavior as the default results in more rapid and widespread adoption of the more environmentally friendly option. For example, placing vegetarian meals at the top of a menu or adjusting office thermostat default settings resulted in significantly higher uptake of the desired pro-environment behaviors. In a different but related example, if I see salad at the start of a buffet meal, I will undoubtedly fill my plate with a bed of greens. If I encounter the dessert table first, you’d better believe I’m starting with the cheesecake!

Second is implementing clear cues to action – for example, studies showed that improving signage on cafeteria recycling bins using clear visual symbols right at the disposal site resulted in positive environmental behavior changes. I see this as directly tapping into the cue part of the cue-routine-reward habit loop.

Third is psychologically informed incentives that steer people toward desired environmental habits or away from detrimental habits. It turns out that people really like and value free things. Small fees, like the bag fee, have resulted in major societal behavior shifts by imposing a very small cost on the behavior of accepting a disposable bag. My local natural foods store takes it a step further by offering a wooden nickel token for each reusable bag a customer deploys, to donate to their choice of three local charities. There’s a double reward to accelerate that cue-routine-reward habit loop. Save the bag fee and donate it on the spot to a charity making a positive impact in the community.

Savor the intangible rewards

Rewards don’t always have to be financial, although small financial rewards or rebates have been shown to motivate environmental behavior change on a societal level. Rewards may come in the form of cost and time-savings or they may be as intangible as the smell of rich organic soil that you and your tree co-created, the endorphins released during the exercise of planting a common witch hazel shrub, the pleasure of seeing an Eastern Bluebird take a drink of fresh water from your clean, heated bird bath on a freezing winter day, or the joy of sighting that first firefly flicker of June.

Photo shows leaf litter, prunings, and standing woodland sunflower stems in the winter during a January snowfall event.

Photo shows leaf litter and songbird tracks in a light layer of snow.

Captions: Top: leaf litter, prunings, and standing woodland sunflower stems in the winter during a January snowfall event. Bottom: litter and songbird tracks in a light layer of snow. Photos: S. Small-Lorenz

If we can get comfortable with a slightly rougher and wilder aesthetic in our residential landscapes, the biodiversity and climate-resilience benefits could be immense. These new habits lend themselves to creativity – you can be as messy, manicured, or artistic as you would like with them yet still enjoy the benefits of rich soil, sustained soil moisture, pollinators, songbirds, hawks, and owls in your yard or park.

If you have resolved to become a better steward of nature this year, or even if you are just now thinking about trying your hand at some aspect of ecological landscaping, try putting your new knowledge of the habit loop to the test. If you’re looking for a place to start, join me in recycling your yard waste on-site in 2025. It may take a while to adjust and get the hang of this way of doing things, but once you get in the habit loop by identifying your cues, routines, and rewards, I predict that the workload becomes lighter, the cost savings will add up, and the many intangible rewards of being a better watershed steward right where you live will be noticeable and energizing.

References

Berguist, M. M. Thiel, M.H. Goldberg, S. van der Linden. 2023. Field interventions for climate change mitigation behaviors: A second-order meta-analysis. PNAS 120(13).

Duhigg, C. 2023. The Power of Habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. Penguin Random House. New York.

Mazar, A., G. Tomaino, Z. Carmon, W. Wood. 2021. Habits to save our habitat: Using the psychology of habits to promote sustainability. Behavioral Science & Policy, 7(2). Pp. 75-89.

By Stacy Small-Lorenz, Ph.D., Residential Landscape Ecology Specialist, University of Maryland Extension. Read more posts by Stacy.

Leave the Leaves, All While Not Making Your Neighbors Mad

November 13, 2024Maryland Grows4 Comments

With the fall season we are starting to see a lot of articles talking about the massive ecological and soil quality benefits of leaving leaves, stems, and sticks in our green spaces. As a biologist, I understand why doing so is indeed the right thing to do, but I often face pushback on this topic from people I mention this to through my Extension work or just in my neighborhood. There are of course many barriers to adopting such practices that I have heard people mention, but one that comes up often is the one that involves social or peer pressure. In other words, how to adopt this without making your neighbors mad? In today’s blog, I want to give some pointers to avoid conflict with (and maybe even convince) neighbors who may be less convinced than you on these practices.

Some fall practices that we know are good for biodiversity and your soil

I do not want to talk yet again in depth about these practices (you can read more about it in these other articles if you want to know more):

But I want to just quickly state some of them, so you know what I am referring to throughout this article. I feel that there are three major types of practices that can be adopted for protecting pollinators and other insects during the winter: leaving the fallen leaves on the ground, not pruning certain pithy stems to the ground until the Spring, and making branches and stick piles in sections of your green spaces.

For all these practices, common sense should be used when deciding whether to adopt them or not (e.g., if you are in a fire-prone area, perhaps making huge wood piles is not a good idea), remembering that these are indeed all practices that have been shown to improve biodiversity in our green spaces.

Fallen tree leaves have been spread about fours inches deep in a wide circle around the base of a very large tree in a backyard. Stones are used to create the circular perimeter and contain the leaves. — Piling the leaves around trees is a good way to retain them in the green space, all while giving an impression of “tidiness” to the yard. Photo: D. Mizejewski.

How to avoid “leaving the leaves” look messy?

So, you want to participate in the ”leave the leaves” action, but you still want to make clear that somebody is actually taking care of it. What to do?

If you have the option to ignore others’ opinions, you can just leave the leaves where they fell and go on with your life. 😊 That said, this may or not apply to most people.
You can pick certain areas of your green space to leave the leaves, but rake other areas. Perhaps you want to have the areas that are less exposed to people’s eyes be those selected for leaving the leaves. This will show that your leaving the leaves is purposeful and not just a lack of care.
If you have trees on your space, you can also decide to pile up the leaves around trees. This will provide shelter to insects and other small critters, provide mulch for the tree, and sign active care of your space.
A problem I sometimes hear about is leaves blowing over to another person’s yard or space. To avoid this, you can use plants to line/fence your green space. These plantings will have the positive effects of both allowing your leaves to stay on the ground, while minimizing “spill overs”.
Explain what you are doing. You can tell your neighbors about what is going on, and even put a sign up to clarify what is happening (if you want to go “fancy”, the Xerces Society has a neat one).
A thing NOT to do if you would like to retain arthropod diversity but also make the leaves look “tidier”, is mow them over. This has been shown to kill the insects that were preparing to overwinter in them. ☹

A "Pollinator Habitat" sign is visible in this part of the landscape where fallen tree leaves are spread about four inches deep in a garden bed. The sign explains that the leaves help overwintering pollinators survive the winter. — Displaying a sign that explains that some activities in our green spaces are creating pollinator habitat can go a long way. Photo: C. Corner.

How to leave the stems without issues

Another practice shown to support stem-nesting insects (including several bees) is not trimming pithy stems all the way down during the fall.

If you have the option to ignore others’ opinions, you can just leave the stems and go on with your life. 😊 That said, this may or not apply to most people.
As for the leaves, you can select sections of your space where you decide to implement this. An extension of this idea is that perhaps you can reconsider where your plantings are, so you have the pithy plants (e.g., brambles) in areas that you know are not going to be looked at all the time.
You can also decide to trim the plants down to some extent (about 2-3 ft from the ground) but not completely. This will show that you are taking care of the plants, but that you actively decided not to trim them all the way down.
Letting people know what is going on is always a good thing. You can add a little sign to tell people about what you’re doing and why, and/or you can talk to your neighbors to let them know.

2 foot to 3 foot lengths of tree branches and sticks are piled together in an out-of-the way spot in the yard to provide habitat for insects and other small critters. The pile is surrounded and held up four medium-size sticks stuck in the ground vertically at the corners of the pile. — Make your wood and stick piles look “organized” by defining spaces in your yard that you allocate to creating those biodiversity habitats. Photo: Natural History Museum.

Making a pile of sticks and wood without scaring people

Making stick piles is a very good practice to retain biodiversity in green spaces. That said, people can feel like a pile can look untidy, and even some cities may have some regulations about what type of pile may be OK versus not.

If you have the option to ignore others’ opinions, you can just make a pile and go on with your life. 😊 That said, this may or not apply to most people.
You can restrict the pile clearly to a specific area of your space, and make clear that you have actively decided to make one and are taking care of it. This is to sign that this is not just some brush you left around after you trimmed some plants, but actually a specific green space feature you are trying to build.
You can make it look cute. Check out this other blog, A Brilliant Fall Banquet, where some ideas are given.
Information, information, information. Let people know what this is and why you are doing it. And also, if there are some afraid of snakes or fires, make sure that the area you live is not known for its high fire or venomous snake danger (you can inform yourself about these topics online or ask an Extension agent; e.g., Venomous Snakes of Maryland.

By Anahí Espíndola, Associate Professor, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park. See more posts by Anahí.

Anahí also writes an Extension Blog in Spanish! Check it out here, extensionesp.umd.edu, and please share and spread the word to your Spanish-speaking friends and colleagues in Maryland. ¡Bienvenidos a Extensión en Español!

Fear of Insects: Understanding Our Fears to Help Conservation

October 7, 2024October 4, 2024Maryland GrowsLeave a comment

Over the years, I have been involved in several initiatives that aim to summarize and translate our knowledge of insects, biodiversity, and some of the ecological services they provide, so that it can be understood by policymakers and the general public to inform decision-making and help ourselves and the living planet. The overwhelming take-home of these works is that insects (and biodiversity in general) are declining at a very fast speed, with very negative consequences on our ability to survive in a less diverse future world. When taking on these knowledge translation activities, however, there is one topic that keeps coming back: people are scared of insects (and wildlife, generally)! Then, how to promote the protection of something we’re scared of and disgusted by? In this blog post, I decided to embark on a mission: to help us understand our fears and recognize how they may be affecting our ability to protect the natural world, and what we can do to turn the wave on this to the benefit of all. Keep reading; I promise I will not shame or judge anybody 😉.

a beautiful collection of colorful beetles on display — Insects (only beetles shown in this picture) are the most diverse and abundant group of animals and play central roles in maintaining ecosystems. Photo: “Insects Unlocked” Project, University of Texas at Austin

The biodiversity crisis – a real problem with real consequences

There is now massive evidence that biodiversity is being lost. This is true for many groups of organisms, but here I want to focus on one in particular: insects. Why? Insects are the most diverse and abundant group of animals and, as such, they are deeply embedded in the running of the natural world. This diversity and abundance turn insects into sorts of ecosystem architects and janitors. They pollinate, feed on other organisms, degrade organic material and make nutrients available for others to consume, disperse seeds, and much more! Beyond the importance of all this to all organisms, these functions, in particular, are central to allowing us to produce food, maintain soil quality and balance, sustain rich ecosystems, and naturally control pests. Promoting insect protection, however, often faces a big challenge: low traction and low engagement, given the fear of insects.

Fear of insects – an encounter between humans and our natural world

Fear and disgust of insects is a very widespread feeling, especially in developed countries and urbanized societies. Although it is understood that the presence of fear or disgust usually develops as a protection system against potential dangers (and there are a few insects that we need to be wary of!), the extent to which fear of insects is present goes beyond what would be needed to properly protect us from a potential danger… And this is starting to have an impact on our ability (and willingness) to protect this important part of biodiversity. How does this work?

People have been studying fear of insects for a while and their findings are really interesting (you can read some neat reviews on this in Current Opinion in Insect Science and Science of the Total Environment). For example, researchers think that this extreme fear of insects may have evolved as a sort of “smoke alarm” (a loud but very non-specific type of alarm). In fact, there is reason to have respect for some insects, since some of them can lead to painful and potentially fatal bites/stings or can carry diseases. The presence of fear against those insects thus makes sense, because they lead to protecting our health. However, there is a balance to be found between responding to a real danger (e.g., hitting a hornet’s nest) or to an inexistent one (e.g., encountering a moth). Because the cost of responding to an inexistent danger is not super high in this case (like for a “smoke alarm”), then an extreme response to any insect can simply appear and spread through human populations. In this case, the only way to “tune” such an extreme response is to learn how to recognize harmful from non-harmful insects, something that many programs (including this blog! 😊) try to do.

Going back to biodiversity conservation, it is illuminating and empowering to realize that the simple action of learning can lead to increased conservation actions… learning when there is reason to stay away from insects or not leads to an appreciation of their huge diversity and more engagement in their protection. Some ways to do this involve using formal learning methods like courses, books, or guides, but also some more interactive ones, such as citizen science projects like iNaturalist or group-specific projects (e.g., the fireflies atlas).

a monarch butterfly — Rearing insects at home (like this monarch butterfly) can be a fun and learning-rich experience through which our appreciation for insects can grow and our fear decrease. Photo: Tim and Selena Middleton (CC)

Another way this fear develops is through social learning. As humans, we can learn through both direct experiences and social interactions. In fact, studies have shown that a large part of this establishment of fear or disgust in humans is learned through interpersonal interactions and not innate. For example, people have discovered that before age 5, most kids are not repelled by most insects or arthropods, and that the level of fear and disgust kids show is correlated with the fear their caretakers have of them. We see this a lot in our work. The Insect Zoo of our Department at the University of Maryland (UMD) is a very popular attraction at outreach events such as UMD’s open house event, Maryland Day. When participating in this event, we see time and time again how kids are not afraid of petting insects or other arthropods, while their parents are grunting and screaming in the background at the simple sight of one. Dealing with this learned fear is a bit trickier because it requires caretakers to become more aware of how they can imprint fear in kids. However, seeking to better understand and recognize insects and their potential (or not) of harm can help break this cycle. Rearing with kids insects like butterflies can be a great positive experience for all, and can happen in pretty much any house. Engaging in learning activities with kids, such as through insect summer camps (UMD has a super-fun Bug Camp!), is another way to restrict the establishment of this type of fear.

a women holds a spider in front of a boy at the insect petting zoo — Petting zoos and other exhibits that feature insects and other arthropods can be a great way to engage kids and adults in healthy and safe interactions with organisms they may fear. Photo: UMD Department of Entomology.

Finally, there is another way this fear may appear. We said above that this sort of fear is more common in urbanized societies. It is thought that a part of the fear may come from a lack of exposure to biodiversity. Under urbanization, there is indeed a removal of contact with natural environments, with people becoming less and less exposed to wildlife. When insects are seen (often in the house), the other two types of fears may pop up and join forces to, on the one hand, trigger repulsion or fear and, on the other, increase avoidance of natural spaces that could contain “bugs.” The good news is that even in cases when there are few natural spaces available close to home, there are indeed many ways people can be exposed and establish positive experiences with insects. Visiting exhibits where insects are featured is one of these ways. You can learn about many other ways in this cool article: Teaching About Insects in a World Afraid of Bugs.

What’s digging holes in the lawn?

October 26, 2022October 26, 2022Maryland Grows4 Comments

With the transition into the Fall season, I often find myself feeling a mixture of emotions; relief, that another growing season is coming to an end; sadness, that it went too fast; and excitement for what the next year will bring! I am sure that our animal friends also sense the need to prepare for the changing seasons and as such, over the last few days, I’ve been seeing some damage happening in my yard from an uninvited guest!

holes and torn up grass in a lawn- skunk damage — Holes were dug in the lawn recently. Photo: A. Bodkins

Can you guess what caused this digging of the grass? This occurred in two different areas of my lawn over the course of a week. I also noticed the exact same digging at my parents’ house in this same time period.

Well, if you guessed a skunk, you are correct! An Eastern Striped Skunk to be exact, which you can learn more about by visiting the Maryland Department of Natural Resources website. These native critters are fairly small with a lot of fluff and a long tail. Their most characteristic marking is their black body with a white stripe down the middle. They are also known for their smell!

striped skunk lookin up from a lawn — Striped Skunk Photo: © Jen Brumfield, some rights reserved

holes dug in a lawn by a skunk — Holes in the lawn from a skunk digging and searching for food. Photo: A. Bodkins

As you can probably tell from the photos, my yard is not something that I manage too closely, with a mixture of grass types and broadleaf plants, so I am not upset that the skunk was foraging for protein sources. I am hopeful that he/she is enjoying some insects, and hopefully consuming some pest larvae like Japanese beetle grubs and slugs.

We often discuss the benefits of creating a landscape that is rich in biodiversity and habitat for all creatures. So what do we do when we find ourselves inviting a stinky guest to dine on insects and other soil-dwelling critters? Well, for me and my family, we will use this as a teachable moment with our children and be sure that we are not leaving anything outside that would be attractive to our new friends. Things like pumpkins for fall decorating, pet foods (or livestock feed), bird seed/feeders, trash cans, or compost scraps can be unintended foods for skunks, which are in the weasel family. At this point, we do not need to take action as my husband has only seen our guest once and it was early in the morning, which is the normal time that he should be foraging. The skunk sighting was also what helped confirm my suspicion of what was digging in the lawn.

Remember that the skunk’s main form of defense is to “spray” a very foul-smelling liquid (butyl mercaptan) from special scent glands. Once they release their “perfume” it leaves them vulnerable with no tools for defense for a few days so that is the last thing that they want to do. They will give you a warning sign of stamping or kneading the ground. If you spy a skunk doing a handstand, you best be on the retreat though, as that is the position they use for releasing their spray!

Mole or vole tunnels may appear to look similar to this damage, as it’s hard to tell from the photo, but this damage was not raised as you see with mole and vole tunnels. Remember, moles eat insects only, but voles will eat plants.

Be a careful detective and look for signs of problems in the landscape, whether that is a pest, plant disease, or mammal. In our instance, we saw skunk scat and then also the actual visitor to confirm what was causing the damage to the lawn. If you need guidance on the management of a nuisance skunk, please check out the University of Maryland Extension website on skunks and never try to capture, pick up, or relocate a skunk without help from a professional.

Happy Autumn!

By Ashley Bodkins, Senior Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Garrett County, Maryland. Read more posts by Ashley.

Bats!: The Garden Thyme Podcast

October 17, 2022October 12, 2022Maryland GrowsLeave a comment

It’s Spooky Season! In this month’s episode, we sit down with Leslie Sturges of the Bat Conservation & Rescue of Virginia to talk about bats. We chat about how much we love bats and why you should also. She tells us all about the types of bat you can find in Maryland (9:53), Whitenose syndrome (17:03), how bats rear their young (23:24), and echolocation (25:50). We also put some of the vampire and other bat myths to rest (40:30).

We also have our:

Native Plant of the Month – American Persimmon (51:15)
Bug of the Month – Twisted winged parasites (45:01)
Garden Tips of the Month (58:25)

The Garden Thyme Podcast is brought to you by the University of Maryland Extension. Hosts are Mikaela Boley- Senior Agent Associate (Talbot County) for Horticulture, Rachel Rhodes- Agent Associate for Horticulture (Queen Anne’s County), and Emily Zobel-Senior Agent Associate for Agriculture (Dorchester County).

Theme Song: By Jason Inc

Q&A: Can you recommend plants that provide food for birds?

October 27, 2021January 12, 2023Maryland GrowsLeave a comment

Cedar Waxwing dining on a Green Hawthorn berry. Photo: Miri Talabac

Q: This summer’s mysterious bird illness has me thinking…I’ve become more interested in birds during the past two years and would like to attract them to my yard with plants. Are there favored recommendations?

A: Bird-attracting landscaping definitely beats out bird feeders as the preferable way to bring these beauties into yards for easier viewing as a safer environment than a communal feeder. (While you’re at it, look into ways to discourage window strikes since plants, like feeders, could increase encounters with glass.)

Plant recommendations are going to be incredibly varied because the diet of birds is so varied, both across species and throughout the year. Site conditions in your garden will narrow down what may be an overwhelming list of choices. Here are some general tips:

Plant as much variety for which you have room.
Plant to provide food for insects and the birds will follow.
When looking at berry or seed production, consider productivity for each season.
Try to focus on native plants only, since birds will deposit their seeds beyond your landscape.

To pick a timely category – late-ripening berries – there are some notably popular species. Highly-ranked contenders for both resident and southbound migrant birds include Viburnums, Dogwoods (trees and shrubs), Spicebush, Virginia Creeper, Eastern Redcedar, Magnolia, Black Tupelo, Hackberry, Sassafras, Bayberry, Sumac, Hollies, and Hawthorn.

Smooth Witherod Viburnum (Viburnum nudum)

Parthenocissus quinquefolia blue berries — Smooth Witherod Viburnum (Viburnum nudum)

Cornell’s All About Birds web library plus local Audubon Societies are good resources for more thorough information on individual species diet, habitat preferences, and plant suggestions for both foraging and nesting.

By Miri Talabac, Horticulturist, University of Maryland Extension Home & Garden Information Center. Miri writes the Garden Q&A for The Baltimore Sun.

Have a plant or insect question? University of Maryland Extension has answers! Send your questions and photos to Ask Extension.

June Maryland Wildlife – The Garden Thyme Podcast

June 16, 2021June 14, 2021Maryland GrowsLeave a comment

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Hello Listener,

In this month episode we are speaking with Kerry Wixted, Education and Outreach Specialist for Maryland DNR about Maryland wildlife. Did you know we have native rattle snake in Maryland? Learn why possum are so useful to have in your garden? What can you do to increase the wildlife value of your garden.

Here is a link to the MDNR Wild Acres website.

We also have our:

Native Plant of the Month (Button Bush) at ~ 26:10
Bug of the Month ( Manson Bee) at ~ 30:50
Garden Tips of the Month at ~ 36:25

We hope you enjoyed this month’s episode and will tune in next month for more garden tips.

If you have any garden-related questions please email us at UMEGardenPodcast@gmail.com or look us up on Facebook.

Theme Song: By Jason Inc