You take pride in your lawn, so you want to do whatever it takes to preserve its beauty. Unfortunately, pests don’t care about your lawn nearly as much as you do, and once they sink their teeth into your stunning landscape, it can be very hard to get rid of them. Although a professional may be able to help you get rid of pests, you probably don’t want it to come to that point in the first place. After all, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so check out these seven useful tips to protect your lawn from pests.
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Cut Tall Grass and Trim Bushes
Ticks, raccoons, rodents, and other unwelcome guests love to hide in tall grass and unkempt bushes. Raccoons and rodents often bite, and they can even carry rabies and many other terrible diseases. They like the concealment and protection offered by untrimmed hedges and long grass, so make sure to regularly prune those hedges and keep the grass short. You’ll be safer, and your neighbors will be much happier, too.
Maintain a Clean Home
Pests love food scraps and other messes. You can have a very pristine landscape, but if the inside of your home is a mess, then roaches, ants, and rodents will come knocking, and once they’re inside, they’ll also set up camp in your yard. They love nothing more than a free lunch, so it’s extremely important to make sure that surfaces are sanitized and no food is left out. You should do your dishes every day and shampoo carpets, linens, and furniture every couple of months to avoid pests.
Be Mindful of Standing Water
Mosquitos, flies, and other nasty critters absolutely love stagnant pools of water. Ponds and puddles are prime real estate for mating and laying eggs, and once they lay their first clutch, you can expect a swarm of bugs in no time. Mosquitoes can carry a variety of deadly diseases, so it’s important to keep them away from your home. You should fill in all holes and depressions in your landscape to prevent water from accumulating. If you live near a pond that can’t be filled in, then consider setting up bug zappers, insect-repelling torches, and other anti-mosquito measures to keep your family safe.
Store Garbage in Sealed Bins
While you may be tempted to throw loose trash bags on the curb before your area’s garbage pickup day, doing so is like leaving a free buffet for pests right in front of your home. Crows, bugs, and scavengers may try to tear their way into your refuse, and once they see your home as a smorgasbord, they’ll keep coming back.
You may not have the space to keep your garbage inside all week, so it’s a good idea to invest in a durable outdoor trash can with a sealed lid to keep the hungry pests away.
Consistent Inspection
Pests may not be super easy to spot when they first move in. After a while, they’ll multiply and build bigger nests, but by that time, it may be too late to take care of them on your own. Because of this, it’s vital to regularly inspect your landscape for holes, nests, and signs of pests.
Automatic Lights
Many nocturnal mammals have a natural fear of bright lights. To keep opossums, raccoons, and some rodents away, you may want to consider installing motion-activated lights. As a bonus, not only will motion-activated lights scare nocturnal creatures away, but they can also deter burglars and make your walk inside a little safer.
Coordinate With Neighbors
There’s a good chance that your neighbors’ landscapes are very similar to yours, meaning that they have the potential to attract the same pests. You can do everything right, but if there are pests on a neighbor’s property, then there’s a good chance that the problem could spill over into your yard. To keep your neighborhood safe and clean, try to speak to your neighbors about your anti-pest efforts. They likely hate bugs, rodents, and unwelcome critters just as much as you do, so as long as you approach the topic respectfully, you should achieve good results.
