This seemingly simple tip was shared by an association which highlights its usefulness.
If you see a tennis ball lying around in your neighbor’s garden, it is not necessarily a toy forgotten in the fall… but rather a precious gesture for the garden. The cold season is slowly setting in and it is high time to think about protecting our little corner of greenery. Covering fragile plants, mulching, protection against frost… The gardener’s small actions can make all the difference in helping the vegetation survive the winter. But we must not forget our animal friends! Birds, hedgehogs, squirrels and other small creatures also need a helping hand to cope with the cold and find something to eat.
This is where a surprising recommendation from the RSPCA, the UK-based Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, comes in. His advice: leave a tennis or ping-pong ball in a very special place in the garden. The tip will concern everyone who has a pond or water point in their garden. But even a water trough can do the trick.
Better, there is nothing to do other than let a tennis or ping-pong ball float on the surface of the water in the pool, pond or garden water trough overnight. No need for any special accessories, this simple little yellow ball will do the trick.
What is the point of this innocuous gesture? Quite simply to allow animals to access an unfrozen water point. Indeed, when the mercury drops, even small bodies of water can freeze on the surface, preventing wildlife from drinking. The ball, by moving slightly with the wind, helps break up the ice that is trying to form. Better still, the continuous movement of the ball on the surface helps to oxygenate the water, improving its quality for the animals that come to drink from it. For those who place a bird feeder and a large bowl or pot for the birds to drink from, a small ping-pong ball will also work very well.
Of course, in larger ponds the ball will have less impact. But for small ponds, bird baths and other waterers, the trick works wonderfully. Just leave the ball overnight. If you really want to attract small animals, even the most suspicious ones, you can remove it in the morning so that they dare to approach the water despite the presence of this bright yellow intruder! A seemingly simple gesture, but which can prove crucial for the survival of the small wildlife in our gardens.
So this winter, between raking leaves, football games or snowball fights, consider leaving a few balls near your water points. Your feathered and furry friends will thank you!