For gardens without much bare soil to spare, a ready-made shelter is a simple addition. Many gardeners start with bee hotels positioned in a sheltered, sunny spot close to nectar-rich planting.

Placement decides whether the house gets used at all. A fixed position at around waist to head height, facing south or south-east to catch the morning sun, and sheltered from driving rain and strong wind, gives insects the stable conditions they need. Once occupied, the house is best left undisturbed through the nesting and overwintering period.

Timing across the season is worth planning for deliberately, since gaps in flowering leave pollinators with nothing to forage on for weeks at a stretch. Leaving seed heads standing rather than cutting borders back in autumn also gives finches and other seed-eating birds a natural food source right through the colder months.

Fish are worth thinking through carefully. Ornamental fish will happily eat frogspawn and tadpoles, so a pond intended mainly for amphibians is usually better left fish-free. Leaving some leaf litter to settle at the bottom over autumn also gives amphibians a place to shelter through the colder months.

Application is simple but does depend on getting the conditions right. Nematodes are typically mixed with water and applied with a watering can or hose-end feeder directly onto moist soil, since they need moisture to move through it and reach their target. Soil temperature also matters: most products need the soil to be above a minimum threshold, often around 5°C, to remain effective.

Shelter is often overlooked. Many Garden Wildlife UK bee species are solitary rather than hive-dwelling, and a patch of bare, undisturbed soil in a sunny spot can serve as nesting ground for mining bees, while hollow stems and drilled wood blocks suit species that nest above ground. Choosing biological pest control over chemical sprays around flowering borders also helps protect the insects visiting them.