On clearing my sisters garden of brambles, practically every inch or so I found a lady bird. I'm obviously at some point going to disturb their home and want to know if there is any way of creating a new home for them to hibernate during winter as I do not want to evict these lovely creatures.
Is there something I could make or buy to encourage them to come back to the garden?
I also would like to know about bumble bees, as I have one that seems to follow me around the garden and would like to keep her nearby if that's possible.
Any suggestions will be much appreciated.
A patch of wilderness will help, especially if stinging nettles are growing - ladybirds seem to thrive in stinging nettles.
A small log pile is an ideal home for ladybirds, and other insects.
http://www.wildaboutgardens.org.uk/habitats/log-pile.aspx
Here's a good site all about bumble bees
http://www.bumblebeeconservation.org.uk/
Something like this would be ideal: http://www.ulsterwildlifetrust.org/OneStopCMS/Core/CrawlerResourceServer.aspx?resource=1DDB167F-AA18-4FF6-84CE-DB0F21572D03&mode=link