How to turn down the volume and protect wildlife in your yard and garden

By Jessica Damiano

In the garden, the start of the growing season means the return of dirt under our fingernails, the scent of freshly spread mulch and the first blooming roses. In my neighborhood, and perhaps yours, it also means an audible onslaught of lawnmowers, leaf blowers and other tools of the landscaper’s trade.

From 8 a.m. through at least early afternoon — five or six days every week — the hum of power tools and other machines disrupts my peace. But even more concerning is that my peace pales in importance to that of my property’s other residents.

Birds, squirrels, rabbits, frogs, insects and other wildlife are critically affected by human-made noise. They’re outdoors right in the middle of what must seem to them a war zone — with no escape. And the battleground noises that surround them aren’t merely nuisances; they disrupt the basic instincts the animals’ lives depend on.

Instincts such as those that