I would do it more because I would love to have ladybirds in the area rather than for the aphids. But this year has been horrendus for the aphids. Many of the gardens around me are deserts/concrete, front and back. There just isn't enough biomass to support certain creatures. I'm doing my best.
@Fire yes I agree - this makes it really hard and you can't make these decisions in isolation, without reference to your immediate vicinity. I feel the same re: trying to encourage hedgehogs into our garden when our bloomin neighbours use the blue slug pellets.
Yes, all our gardens are fenced in by me. I have made holes in my fences but with little hope of hedgehogs. It's just the style of garden we have, because they are small and privacy is highly prized - by me as much as anyone. There are other gardens not far off that have more porous boundaries and they have hogs. So perhaps it's horsey hogs for courses. We do v well with other things - frogs, toads, newts, black caps, clouds of sparrow, starlings, wide array or moths and spiders.
@Fire I'm happy to post you a vole or five.. or a few of the feral rabbits a neighbor several renters ago left behind. The rabbits have been breeding with each other or the native population, because I spotted a few babies hiding under my pumpkin vines this week. Neither of which haven't caused much damage.. just sort of go about their business around my yard with only a nibble here or there. Although the voles have constructed quite a warren near my pear tree (talking 6'x4' patch riddled with holes) as well as a range of tunnels through all my raised beds. The rabbits enjoy lounging around in the grass until my boys get within touching distance before they lazily hop just fast enough to keep out of reach. Really good wildlife to have.. and I'm happy to send them your way. 😁 Maybe what you can do is offer your garden as an animal sanctuary for a few guinea pigs or rabbits abandoned by their owners? Almost wildlife?
This year my two cistus rock rose bushes were heaving with ladybird larvae. Noticed after flowering when I wanted to prune them but I couldn’t so left then. Maybe I should have collected them all up and distributed them around the garden 🤔. Hopefully they come back, nasturtiums black aphids eeww, and sunflowers.
I have noticed the ladybird population has increased naturally, but are having a hard time keeping up. Luckily there are far more hoverflies too, so they are getting help. Everyone seems to ignore hoverflies, another gardeners friend.😁
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Maybe what you can do is offer your garden as an animal sanctuary for a few guinea pigs or rabbits abandoned by their owners? Almost wildlife?