Environmental benefits are a key advantage of ornamental plants (Hall & Knuth, 2019). These plants provide habitat and food for birds, insects, and other wildlife (Helfand et al., 2006; Nickerson et al., 2023). However, not all wildlife may be equally desired in one's landscape. Here, key findings from a study funded by the Horticulture Research Institute are shared, conducted in 2023-2024, that explored U.S. consumers' interest in different types of wildlife in their landscapes.
An online survey gathered responses from across the U.S., focusing on different geographical areas due to the variety of wildlife in those regions. A total of 2,011 people completed the survey. Participants were asked about their connection to nature using several statements related to nature and the environment (e.g., "My ideal vacation spot would be a remote, wilderness area"), and their level of agreement was measured on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). Overall, participants showed a strong interest in nature, with an average rating of 4.88 on the 7-point nature-relatedness scale.
Next, participants expressed their interest in attracting or deterring ten different types of wildlife to their home landscapes. The ten types of wildlife included bats, bees, butterflies, chipmunks, deer, game birds, insects, pollinators (in general), snakes, and songbirds. Based on participants' ratings, the wildlife was categorized into three groups: 1. Crowd favorites, 2. Maybe-maybe not, and 3. Ick or phobia wildlife.
The crowd favorites included songbirds, with 81% of the sample wanting to attract them to their yards, butterflies (78% wanted to attract), pollinators (68% wanted to attract), and bees (57% wanted to attract). The maybe-maybe not wildlife included game birds, deer, and chipmunks. Participants were equally divided between wanting to attract, being neutral, or wanting to deter these types of wildlife. Lastly, the ick or phobia wildlife included insects (53% of the sample wanted to deter), bats (63% wanted to deter), and snakes (77% wanted to deter).
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