Feed Your Garden Birds To Help With Your Aphid Problems.
The reason that most people have bird feeders in their gardens is because they like to see the different species or they want to help boost bird populations, particularly during the cold weather or during the breeding season.
But now there’s an even better reason to feed birds. A new study by researchers from the University of Reading and published in the journal Basic and Applied Ecology, shows that providing food for birds can reduce the number of aphids found on nearby vegetation.
The study,using food provided by Ernest Charles and feeders provided by Gardman, examined the size and survivor-ship of colonies of pea aphids(greenfly)on broad bean plants in suburban gardens where bird feeders were present or were absent.
In those gardens where bird food was provided, aphid colonies on plants that were accessible to birds were smaller and survived for shorter periods of time than expected when compared with gardens where no bird feeders were present.
This is the first experimental evidence that feeding wild birds in domestic gardens can lead to significant reductions in the abundance and longevity of greenfly populations.
Find out more from:
http://bbsrc.ac.uk/news/food-security/2012/120404-pr-feeding-wild-birds-reduces-pests.aspx.
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