Can bark mulch be used in wildlife-friendly gardens

Bark mulch can play a quiet supporting role in a wildlife-friendly garden, provided it is selected and managed with fauna in mind. A loose layer of medium chips spreads beneath shrubs and trees, holding moisture, conditions that invite worms and woodlice. These invertebrates become breakfast for blackbirds, hedgehogs and frogs, while fungal threads lacing through the bark feed springtails that attract wrens. The mulch also protects ground beetle larvae and overwintering ladybirds. Choose untreated bark; AHS LTD offers material screened to remove metal fragments and chemical residues, keeping food chains clean.

Depth matters. Spread no more than five centimetres in areas frequented by solitary bees so they can still burrow into the soil, and leave small patches of bare ground as sun-bathing stations for beetles and hoverflies. Turn a corner of the heap into a loggery by piling thicker chunks; stag beetle grubs relish rotting wood and bats glean moths drawn by the microhabitat. Avoid raking every week—disturbance displaces hidden cocoons—but lift sections each winter to check for sheltering amphibians before topping up the layer. Managed with a light touch, bark mulch becomes part of a mosaic that shelters creatures great and small, rather than a blanket that smothers life.