DEAD WOOD FOR WILDLIFE

Leave the logs,
let them rot.

A rotting log is a home, not a mess.

Fungi, mosses, beetles, small mammals and birds all use dead wood. Wildlife charities ask gardeners to keep some: a heap in a corner, a stump left in the ground or a few logs half buried in the soil.

DEAD WOOD is living habitat

Pick your wood

A low pile of mossy broadleaved logs in a shady corner of a garden, with ferns and ivy growing over it — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

Keep fallen wood
Bury some of it
Leave it undisturbed
Untidy corners, busy wildlife

THE SHORT ANSWER

Keep some wood,
and let it rot.

Dead wood feeds a whole community.
Gardens and parks can supply it.

LOG PILES

Neat or untidy, both work

PTES says a log pile can use logs, wood chips, old firewood or fallen branches in a corner, and insects don't mind if it is untidy.

Pick your wood

STAG BEETLES

Years underground

Stag beetles live 3 to 7 years on average, says the Natural History Museum, and most of that time is spent as a larva feeding on rotting wood.

See the numbers

SHADE OR SUN

Position changes the guests

A pile in shade stays damp, which suits fungi, mosses and some invertebrates. In full sun the wood dries out, which suits solitary bees.

Build one

A QUICK WOOD CHECK

What can you
leave in place?

Pick the kind of dead wood you have room for. The bar shows how closely it matches what stag beetles need: damp, rotting wood in contact with the soil.

Wood check

Choose what you can leaveA half-buried log pyramidA tree stump left in placeA loose pile in a shady cornerOne log on or in the soilA heap of wood chip

A half-buried log pyramidBest for stag beetles

Logs partly buried upright, with soil between them, give females a place to lay eggs and larvae room to move in and out.

A tree stump left in placeKeep it

Buglife suggests leaving stumps where possible. Adult stag beetles emerge from the soil beneath logs and tree stumps.

A loose pile in a shady cornerGood start

In shade the wood stays damp, which suits fungi, mosses and some invertebrates. Partly burying a few logs makes it more useful to stag beetles.

One log on or in the soilStill welcome

If space is limited, the PTES leaflet says a single log on or in the soil will be appreciated.

A heap of wood chipA little help

The Natural History Museum says even wood chip would be appreciated, though larvae need damp, rotten wood to feed on.

Sources: PTES 'Map your log pile' press release; PTES and Buglife leaflet 'Build a log pyramid for stag beetles'; Natural History Museum, Stag beetle facts.

Based on advice from PTES, Buglife and the Natural History Museum. Any dead wood helps some wildlife.

TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING

Dead wood is
full of life.

One figure on how much woodland life depends on it,
one on how long a stag beetle needs it.

40%

Share that depends on dead wood

Trees for Life says a remarkable 40% of woodland wildlife depends on dead wood, including fungi, lichens, invertebrates, mosses and birds.

WOODLAND WILDLIFE · TREES FOR LIFE

3–7 years

Average lifespan, mostly as a larva

Larvae tunnel through and feed on decaying wood for several years. Adults live only a few weeks in summer and usually die by August.

STAG BEETLE · NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

Most female stag beetles travel no more than 20 metres and return to where they emerged to lay eggs, says the PTES and Buglife leaflet, so a population can die out if there is not enough dead wood nearby.

BUILD A LOG PYRAMID

An afternoon's work,
years of use.

The PTES and Buglife leaflet says log pyramids can be built at any time of year. This is their method in four steps.

Gather broadleaved logs
Use wood from any broadleaved tree, with logs at least as thick as an adult's arm.
Dig and bury them upright
Their diagrams show logs set about 50 cm deep, with soil filling the spaces between them.
Choose partial shade
Partial shade and partly buried logs stop the wood drying out.
Let plants grow over
Plants keep in moisture and give shade. Then record your log pile on the PTES map.

Small brown mushrooms and green moss growing on a damp, rotting log on the ground in shade — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

A large male stag beetle with antler-like jaws resting on a rotting log at dusk — AI-generated image, not a photograph of a real person or place.

WHY STAG BEETLES STRUGGLE

Too tidy is
the problem.

The Natural History Museum says the main reason stag beetles are struggling is the loss of dead wood, through the tidying of woodland, parks and gardens and the loss of broadleaved woodland to farmland, plantations and building.

Small changes help too. The PTES and Buglife leaflet suggests keeping a lid on water butts, where beetles can drown, avoiding polythene weed sheeting, which can trap emerging beetles, and trying not to use pesticides.

Questions

Questions people ask

What wood should I use for a log pile?

The PTES and Buglife leaflet suggests wood from any broadleaved tree, in logs at least as thick as an adult's arm. A general log pile can also include wood chips, old firewood and fallen branches.

When can I build a log pyramid?

At any time of year, according to the PTES and Buglife leaflet.

Are stag beetles dangerous?

No. The Natural History Museum says they are harmless and can be picked up safely to move them out of harm's way. Males can give a small pinch only if encouraged.

What if I dig up a stag beetle larva?

The Natural History Museum advises putting it back exactly where you found it, or burying it somewhere safe with as much of the original rotting wood as possible.

Are stag beetles protected?

Yes. The Natural History Museum says Lucanus cervus is covered by the amended Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which aims to stop the beetle being collected for sale.

Leave the logs,
let them rot.