Solar lights

hilarybooks · December 2023

I am very concerned at Gardeners World promoting solar lights for the garden. While they are environmental in terms of using solar power, they play havoc with wildlife. The natural rhythms of day and night are vital for birds, moths and other invertebrates. As gardeners are being encouraged to fill their gardens with lights, it is having a negative effect on the environment.

debs64 · December 2023

I assume you live in an area with no street lights @hilarybooks? It is never fully dark in the place where I live but wildlife seems to manage.

Obelixx · December 2023

It is totally dark here except when neighbours leave on outside lights. I have 3 hanging solar lights in the polytunnel, just in case I ever need them, but all I've done in the 3 years they've been there is clean their solar panel.

We do a movement triggered light on the front of the annex which is actually our main entrance and it is solar powered. Other than that I like to leave the lighting to the moon and stars.

Dovefromabove · December 2023

We live in a suburban village where the streetlights are the modern downward pointing ones … they go off around midnight an on again around 5am. The bats here (we have quite a large roost comprising several species in nearby caverns … an SSSI) have also learned how to trigger the light on our neighbours house across the way … we sit in Ged on summer evenings watching the light switch on and off as the bats lure the moths in … when they’ve harvested the moths who are around in that area they fly on down to the marshes and harvest the moths there. 😊

KT53 · December 2023

The solar lights we have in our garden are very low strength so I very much doubt they have much effect on wildlife. On the other hand the people next door but one to us have security lights on the buildings at the end of their garden and they are bright enough to be mistaken for landing lights at our local airport!

debs64 · December 2023

Our streetlights stay on all night and once you add in car headlights and security lights it’s never dark. We have bats and foxes and badgers and a good selection of birds plus obviously rats and mice and frogs and toads. Lots of insects too. Not sure how they are being affected by the lights I think wildlife adapts as we humans have to. A few solar lights are not going to make any difference.

I am not saying this is a good thing but maybe not such a problem as people sometimes assume

rowlandscastle444 · December 2023

pansyface said:

Yes, sad but true.

On the other hand, the bats round here have learned that our PIR light which comes on and lights up our garden gate and surrounding road (we live on a dark country lane) is excellent for attracting moths.

The bats fly past, set the light off, fly down the road for a few seconds, return and catch the moths, set the light off again etc etc.

When they first did this we thought that the local youth were messing about!

I love the idea that the bats have learnt this. Too often we fail to credit animals with the ability to learn. But, they do.
Thank you for this, @pansyface and @Dovefromabove

fidgetbones · December 2023

Last year we stayed at a pub in Hampshire, very dark but the bats hunted through the lights on the cabins at the back of the pub car park.

Fairygirl · 24 February

You'll just keep getting removed for spamming @sheena15661, so maybe learn from that and pay for your adverts.

amancalledgeorge · 24 February

Fun to read the original self-righteous hissy fit at the top of the thread 🤣

Fairygirl · 24 February

I think the 'current' spammer [the fragrant sheena] has flagged me @amancalledgeorge - you have to laugh eh?

The original poster has never returned. I wonder why....

Solar lights

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