Why foxes, wasps and fungi can be good for gardens

WHEN you’re swatting away wasps at your summer barbecue, trying to deal with fungi in your lawn or tackling flies on your compost heap, it might be a good time to consider how beneficial these so-called garden ‘nasties’ can be. Acceptance of pests and diseases is all part of the ethos of modern gardening, says horticulturalist and BBC Gardeners’ World presenter Frances Tophill, whose new book The Modern Gardener offers a practical guide to gardening creatively, productively and sustainably.

How can we live happily with wasps and flies, foxes and other historic garden nuisances?

FOXES

Tophill says: “Foxes are one of the last carnivorous wild animals we have in this country. Not that long ago, we would have had wolves. They naturally control the population of rabbits. Humans invented horrendous diseases to try to control the rabbit population, so foxes do that for us.

“There is obviously a problem if you are keeping livestock like chickens, but build what you can to build safe areas for animals that you are keeping.”

Foxes can also keep down pigeon populations. And if a fox poos in your garden, you can use it as manure – but you would want to cover it up with soil and leave it a long time before using, while flies and wasps help decompose it and, within six months to a year, it would have good nutrient content.

FUNGUS AND BACTERIA

“We live with fungus and bacteria in our own bodies, [and we are] learning about our gut microbiome and how important it is for our health generally. The word bacteria sounds horrible but there are so many and such a varied range,” says Tophill.

“It is believed fungi connects the roots of plants which enables a communication between them.”

WASPS AND FLIES

“They are beneficial in so many ways,” she insists. “There are more than 7,000 species of wasp in the UK. Two of them are the black and yellow ones that sting; the other 6,998 are different. Oak gall wasps, for instance, live on oak. Little round balls form on the oak tree, where the wasps live. They are not in any way harmful to the tree but they live symbiotically with that oak, as part of nature’s rich tapestry.”

Parasitoid wasps are predatory to other insects and will feed off aphids, which can cause massive damage to plants. Lacewings, ladybirds and parasitoid wasps help keep aphid numbers at bay.

SPIDERS

“These control insect populations,” says Tophill. “They stop any one species becoming too dominant. They will eat anything that lands in their webs.”