You’ve decided to create Habitat at Home for wildlife, hooray! You’ve mapped out your space, chosen your plants - but now your homeowners’ association (HOA), landlord, or neighbor has voiced concerns.
Just as one person’s trash is another person’s treasure, one person’s space designed for wildlife habitat might appear messy to someone else. It is important to co-exist with wildlife and it’s important to be considerate of those with whom we share our community.
Whether you rent or own, here are some tips on how to build wildlife habitat at home in a responsible way.
Tips for Renters
It’s important to be mindful of your landlord’s desires for any outdoor space on the property you rent. Use these tips to work with your landlord or property manager to create habitat for wildlife.
Examine your lease agreement
Some lease agreements restrict bird feeders, plantings, property upkeep, and container gardens.
Communicate with your landlord or property manager
Contact them before doing anything that alters the property or conflicts with your lease agreement. Come with a plan and an open mind, and prepared to discuss any landscape changes you would like to make, and why you are interested in doing so. Be ready to explain why what you’re proposing is important to you, and how it could benefit them as the property owner.
Start small
Big changes can lead to big reactions, and not always positive ones – especially if they weren’t communicated ahead of time. Start by adding a few plants on your balcony, one native pollinator flower bed, or a bird bath.
Don’t make a mess
Potted plants can leak, leaving stains and even causing water damage to porches and balconies. To avoid this, place planter trays or saucers under your pots to catch water. If your landlord has given you permission to change the landscaping, follow their instructions carefully (e.g., mow the lawn, trim the hedges, etc.). If you have opted for bird feeders, clean up scattered food to not attract unwanted pests.
Think about future tenants and wildlife
Give your landlord a reason to allow future tenants to maintain and add wildlife habitat. Communicate, follow the rules, and stay tidy. When you move out, check in with your landlord about how they would like the property to look when you leave and meet their expectations.
Remember – good Habitat at Home provides for wildlife while keeping wildlife wild. Improperly feeding wildlife can make them reliant on humans for food. This is not only bad for the animals, but it can make a headache for your landlord and the next tenant after you move out. Learn more about why we don’t recommend feeding wildlife like deer.
Offer resources
Share our Habitat at Home resources with your landlord or property manager. You can direct them to our webpage, print a brochure in English (PDF) and Spanish (PDF), or contact us to request additional resources.
Tips for Homeowners
Neighbors may have a variety of opinions about wildlife habitat you promote on your property. Follow these tips to help the changes you make be a positive experience for all.
Communicate with your neighbors
Inform your neighbors about plans to update your landscaping. Explain your end goal, what your landscape will look like, why creating habitat for wildlife is important, and the benefits that the landscape change may bring to the community.
Start small
Sudden large changes can be shocking. Rather than replacing your entire lawn at once, try reducing it over the course of a few years.
Make your space look intentional
While your Habitat at Home may not appear “tidy,” you can still demonstrate that you are taking care of your space.
- Keep sidewalks clear. Don’t allow vegetation to extend into your neighbor’s walking space. Mow edges along sidewalks and trim plants.
- Define the edges of your habitat. Natural habitats have edges and borders – yours can, too! These can be accentuated with rocks, pavers, mulch, and mowing.
- Utilize mulch. Mulching around new plants maintains moisture around the plant, inhibits unwanted plant growth, and appears clean.
Be mindful of pests
Be considerate of your neighbors and protect native wildlife by proactively considering pests. Avoid suet feeders and peanuts – they can attract rodents. Clean up spilled bird seed around bird feeders. If you compost, make sure you are doing so correctly so that food waste and other debris decompose completely. If food scraps cannot compost effectively or are in open piles, they can attract pets.
Get Certified
When you certify your Habitat at Home, you will receive a yard sign in the mail. The sign can lend legitimacy to your habitat and shows your neighbors why you’ve designed your space the way you have. It also has a QR code, giving neighbors the opportunity to learn more from our website. Apply for Habitat at Home certification — it’s free! Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (WDFW) Habitat at Home certification does not give your habitat legal protections, override HOA bylaws, or circumvent municipal rules.
Offer resources
Share our Habitat at Home resources with your neighbors. You can direct them to our webpage, print a brochure in English (PDF) and Spanish (PDF), or contact us to request additional resources.
Homeowners’ Associations (HOAs)
It’s important for residents living in HOAs to understand any restrictions in place through their Association’s bylaws that could impact how they promote wildlife habitat on their property.
Understand your HOA bylaws
Read through your HOA’s rules and restrictions. Your habitat plan may already fit within them, or you may be required to file a landscaping plan.
Know the law
In Washington, HOAs cannot outright prohibit drought-tolerant, pollinator-friendly, or wildfire ignition resistant landscaping (RCW 64.38.057). However, they can regulate the placement and aesthetic appearance of landscaping, as long as the rules do not make the landscaping “unreasonably costly or infeasible.”
Drought-tolerant landscaping
Despite wet seasons, there are often water shortages throughout Washington. Drought- resistant landscaping practices include planting native, drought tolerant plants (PDF) and not watering vegetation and lawns, or reducing how much you water them.
Pollinator habitat
Washington law defines pollinator habitat as “an area of land that is or may be developed as habitat beneficial for the feeding, nesting, and reproduction of all pollinators.” Under the law, ”pollinator habitat” does not include beehives, except for mason bee houses. Residents of HOAs can build pollinator gardens, reduce their lawn size, add native plants to their yards, and choose to limit their use of pesticides and herbicides.
Wildfire ignition resistant landscaping
Wildfire is a threat everywhere in Washington. While “fire-proof” landscaping practices and plants do not exist, “fire-resistant” do. The goal of using “wildfire ignition resistant landscaping” is to lessen the risk of wildfire spreading, especially near structures. Practices include leaving extra space between vegetation when planting, planting vegetation with a high moisture content, removing vegetation within five feet of a structure, and not planting flammable “fire-prone” vegetation. Specific plant suggestions differ by region:
Consider joining your HOA’s board
Board members can help shape the rules and restrictions of the HOA and often have the power to decide which community restrictions to enforce. They also mediate conflict between homeowners and between homeowners and the HOA board. One voice can make a big difference.
Tips for Everyone
Habitat benefits both wildlife and humans. Share what your landlord, property manager, and neighbors may personally gain from wildlife habitat.
Financial benefits
Non-grass landscapes are less expensive to maintain than traditional lawns. Landscaping with native plants, flowers, and grasses requires less irrigation, which lowers water bills. Eliminating the use of pesticides and fertilizers will cut costs as well. Finally, native landscapes need less overall physical maintenance over time.
Improved air quality
Plants clean air! During photosynthesis, plants act as air filters, taking in carbon dioxide and pollutants and then releasing oxygen. Where there are more plants, the air is cleaner and has less pollution and particulates.
Cooling
Trees, shrubs, and tall grasses reduce temperatures, by shading heat absorbent surfaces like sidewalks, roads, and roofs. They also increase the amount of cooling moisture in the air as plant leaves release water. Landscapes with abundant plants and trees can be one to seven degrees cooler than nearby areas that are less vegetated.
Support native pollinating insects and local agriculture
Native habitat supports pollinators! The majority of the fruits and vegetables that we eat are pollinated by insects, and over 100 crops grown in Washington benefit from native pollinators.
Natural pest management
Adding native flowering plants to landscaping attracts pollinators, including moths, a food for bats. While the bats visit, they also consume nuisance insects like mosquitoes.