Keeping wildlife safe in summer

You can help the wildlife in your garden by giving animals plenty of fresh, clean water for drinking and bathing. Don't forget to be wildlife-friendly when you're tending to your garden in the summer - take care when using lawn-mowers or strimmers and keep pesticides out of reach of animals.

If you're enjoying some sports in the back garden, don't forget to remove any equipment after use to stop animals from getting caught in sports netting. We also recommend replacing pond or plant netting with solid metal mesh, too.

Breeding season for grass snakes

Snakes are most active during June and July - don't be alarmed if you see one! Most are just passing through and tend to shy away from humans.

June and July are breeding season for grass snakes. You may find their small leathery white eggs in compost heaps, grass cuttings or sawdust piles between June and September. You can tell they're grass snake eggs, as no other snake native to the UK lays eggs outside the body. Please leave the eggs undisturbed throughout this time.

Find out more about caring for wildlife.

Advice during heatwaves

When the grass is dry, there’s a higher risk of wildfires being started accidentally because of litter. Cigarette ends, sky lanterns and disposable barbecues are especially dangerous at this time of year, so always make sure you put cigarette ends in a bin and avoid using sky lanterns and disposable barbecues.

If you see fish struggling in lakes or rivers because of low water levels, report it to the Environment Agency on 0800 807060, or contact your local angling club if it’s a water body used for fishing.