Having a beautifully landscaped yard can bring you so much joy, but pests of all kinds can be a huge nuisance. Here are a few important things you should know about keeping pests out of your yard.
At Greenhaven, we specialize in a lot of things when it comes to making your landscape look and feel divine. From patios to decks, water features, outdoor living and workspaces, pavilions, lighting, and so much more, we really love collaborating with our clients in order to make their dreams come to life.
One thing we don’t have a great deal of control over, however, is when nuisance pests decide to come over to your home to build nests, disrupt your parties, and create general havoc, especially when they decide to show up when it is least convenient. (And they always show up when it is least convenient.)
Though we’re not pest control experts, we do have enough experience in all things landscape-related that we can confidently provide you with some important insight on how you can keep your yard and outdoor spaces beautiful and your life just a little bit more pest-free.
Keep your trash and recycling tightly sealed!
It’s no secret that trash and recyclables are big attractors for all sorts of pests, including insects and rodents. Once they know that they have access to a source of food, they not only decide to stay, but they usually end up inviting their friends, or worse — they choose to build nests!
Not everyone likes to store their trash or their recycling bins in their garage or an outbuilding like a shed, due to odors. We recommend our clients to consider investing in more robust outdoor storage for your trash cans and recycling bins. These enclosures can not only help you keep pests out of your bins, but they come made in a variety of materials like wood, plastic, and metal, offering you a much more attractive alternative to simply keeping your bins outside.
Indoors or outdoors, making sure your trash and recycling containers are sealed tight between pickups is vital, as it prevents pests from accessing their contents. If they can’t eat, then they’ll look elsewhere for food.
Deal with any standing water on your property, and give your water features regular maintenance.
Insects, especially nuisance pests like mosquitoes, absolutely love water, particularly standing water. And let’s be honest, untreated standing water on your property is unattractive, typically has a foul odor, and is a breeding ground for bacteria and for pests. Insects will commonly use these sites to lay their eggs.
So, first things first, if you have any standing water on your property, it needs to be dealt with. We have experience in helping our clients regrade their landscapes so that it has the appropriate grade and drainage as part of their landscape designs. Our goal is to bring your vision to life in a way that has the form you want to see, and the function it needs to be appropriately maintained.
But being mindful of water spaces is not just limited to standing water. Properly maintaining any water features on your property will help reduce their potential for nuisance pests, as well.
Deeper designs for water features, no fewer than two feet, will create depths that are less than ideal for mosquitoes to lay eggs. Making sure that your water features are properly cleaned, filtered, and circulated will also create conditions that make it difficult for mosquitoes to hatch larvae.
Another great way to keep insects from becoming overbearing due to a water feature? Add fish! By adding fish to your water feature, you have a built-in extermination system that helps keep your yard free of pests and their bellies full. It’s a win-win!
Don’t lose sight of basic yard maintenance.
We understand that you probably have a pretty busy schedule. Everyone seems to these days. Most of us would love to have beautiful yards, but not all of us have the time or energy to devote to keeping it beautiful.
Here’s the thing, though — by losing sight of the basics, you’re degrading a lot of the investments you’ve made in your yard, you’re inadvertently making it a less inviting space, and you’re also creating the conditions that make your yard attractive to pests.
Weed trimming around decking, your home’s foundation, and other spaces serves multiple purposes. One, of course, is the aesthetics of having a completely groomed lawn, but it also has a more practical reasoning behind it. By keeping these parts of your yard trimmed, you’re removing spaces for pests, particularly rodents, to safely travel.
Similarly, we recommend that you don’t store things like wood piles too close to your home. Doing so provides similar throughways for pests, but also provides safe places for rodents, insects, and spiders to nest. If you do need to store wood or similar materials outdoors, we recommend doing so at least three feet away from any structure.
Remember, not all “pests” are bad.
There are some “pests,” like honeybees, bumblebees, paper wasps, and many others that are central to the pollination process. Of course, many folks have allergies or even fears of these creatures, so if that would describe you or a loved one, we’d encourage you to consider carefully what type of flowering plants are most appropriate for your yard.
The most important thing? That you love your space! And if you don’t, then let’s talk!
For 25 years, the Greenhaven team has been supporting our clients’ landscape dreams, bringing them to life so that they and their loved ones can enjoy them all year long.
Contact Greenhaven today to learn how we can make your outdoor dreams a reality!