Bat boxes, bluebird houses, and pollinator gardens are all things we can do to bring live and beneficial animals and insects into the garden to help manage and reduce problematic insects and animals.

Did you know there are also owl boxes?  Jeff Church, Extension Master Gardener℠ Intern, first learned about making owl boxes in the Extension Gardener Handbook and during a lecture on wildlife during Initial Training. Owls, along with hawks, foxes, dogs, and cats are common predators to a number of smaller animals, many of which can be a problem in the garden.  We often see plastic owls in the garden center as a device to frighten garden pest animals, but can you imagine hosting live owls?  What interested Jeff most was the natural control of voles, moles, and mice.

The handbook pointed Jeff to Cornell Lab of Ornithology where he downloaded a box plan, but also found other plans and information on the Internet. Jeff's box, known as a Simmons Barn Owl box, among other features, provides good protection from predators such as great Horned Owls and raccoons.

Next time you are at the N.C. Cooperative Extension, Buncombe County Center on 49 Mt Carmel Rd, check out our newly installed Barn Owl Box in back behind the storm water garden.