You should pay a million dollars in exchange for these hacks to attract fireflies to your yard.
Did you scoff? I hope not, but if you did, your perception might change after reading this blog.
Fireflies are magical. There’s no doubt about that. When I was growing up, the kids in the neighborhood revered these adorable insects. The glow of their wings was, to us, an enchanting penchant—straight out of Cinderella or Tinkerbell. Fireflies offered pixie dust to our fairy tales.
However, why don’t you pause for a while to consider the last time you saw your kid gaze adorably at the flapping wings of these beauties? I think you may not have a memory of that at all. In fact, people now pay to watch the wing synchronization of the male species, Photinus carolinus.
Welcome to our new reality. Fireflies, like all insects, are going into extinction, all thanks to us. Verified stats revealed that about 45% of insects have ceased to exist in the last few decades. What are we leaving our kids? Just a world filled with war and pestilence; pretty sickening if you ask me.
Reasons To Adopt These Hacks To Attract Fireflies To Your Yard
Asides the childhood adoration and fondness, there are several other reasons to ensure the continued existence of these beauties. Fireflies are incredibly important to the ecosystem.
To begin with, insects run the world. Think of little things like ants and fireflies carrying the Earth since time immemorial, a nice joke, isn’t it? But it is a reality. If every insect disappears off the Earth’s surface, humans will cease to exist. This is because insects are the fundamental bases of the food web. Without their often-disregarded activities, we will have virtually nothing to eat—well, save for nothing… nothing!
Insects pollinate nearly 80% of the entire plants on Earth; the figure gets to 90% if we focus only on flowering plants. Now, think about it: if we lose 80% of the plants we have today, what are we doing next? Probably make a space shuttle and move to Mars—too bad Mars doesn’t have chocolate… and fireflies!
Do you still doubt the importance of fireflies? I’d have gone further, but this isn’t a boring lecture on pollination and plants. It is a lifeline to keep humanity alive, healthy, and nourished.
Top 5 Hacks To Attract Fireflies To Your Yard
Well, having stirred your childhood emotions and adulthood logical sense of reasoning (fireflies can do both), an excellent starting point to protect fireflies more is to make more space for them in your yard. I don’t need to wish myself luck in this; I know you’ll be practicing the hacks below. Thankfully, they are easy to follow.
Kiss Your Rake and Leaf Blower Bye
Now, that may sound funny to you. I mean, most of us can’t bear to see leaves and grasses littering our yard… that’s a possible cause of migraine. Well, you have to protect some glowing lives now. I hope dropping your rake and leaf blower won’t be a problem.
Why?
Fireflies live in grass and leaf litter around. But when we continue to take away every litter even before wings glow, what happens? Your guess is as good as mine.
Relax, I know you’ve maintained a tidy turf culture for years. Fireflies aren’t asking for that much. All you have to do is dedicate a portion of your yard to their growth. This means that you set aside some space that you don’t rake or blow. That’s all they ask.
Designate A Mow-free Patch In Your Yard
This may come off as an “ungardening” practice, but it is pivotal to the survival of fireflies. Just create a zone that you do not mow. That’s about all it takes to save the 2000 species of fireflies known.
Fireflies crave tall grasses and hence remain close at all times. During the day, they stay at the bottom of these grasses and then at night, spread their majestic carpet of glowing wings on them. Apart from the mind-blowing scenery they offer, fireflies use this time to seek mating mates to continue the cycle of existence.
Remove Invasive Plants From Your Yard
Invasive plants are foreign plants that are introduced to an environment and are likely to cause damage to existing crops. Experts say they are “ecological tumors”; you have to take them out. They continue growing and spreading until they encroach a landscape and invade.
As such, this infiltration blocks the potential for native or local plants and food webs to grow. These food webs support insects, fireflies inclusive, and their absence might lead to malnourishment. If invasive plants are not weeded out, they capitalize on every space, thereby disrupting natural balance and system. In fact, thriving invasive plants increase the transmission risk of Lyme disease.
Cultivate Native Plants
Native plants are crops naturally occurring in a locale. In our country, they refer to plants that were growing before immigrants came with other plants. The National Wildlife Federation says that native plants have established symbiotic relationships with native wildlife for very long—and hence are the most preferred habitats.
Native plants are amazingly easy to grow. They require no stress, fertilizer, or pesticide to be healthy and nourished. This protects the environment as these harmful chemicals are not released in the air regularly. So, what are you waiting for? I can offer you some of mine.
And God said, “Let There Be Darkness!”
I think that would have been the opening and most important verse in the Bible of fireflies. Fireflies love the dark. Apart from the numerous benefits associated with absolute darkness during the nights, fireflies’ glow in the dark. So, in a sense—if you’re keeping porch lights or other elements of light in your yard at night time—you’re not only killing these insects, you’re robbing them of their shine!
That’s theft and murder.
I get you’re concerned with security, but there are better alternatives. Yellow LED bulbs and motion sensors can serve the purpose effectively.
Concluding The Hacks To Attract Fireflies To Your Yard
As you can see, the hacks to attract fireflies to your yard are easy to keep. This isn’t a HTML hacking tutorial; it’s just an effort to get natural glow during the night… as well as keep humans alive. This has been of much help—now where’s my million dollar bill?! Pay here: SaveFirefliesTonight.
