Tips For Keeping Your Backyard Bug Free

Mowing the lawn

Ah, summertime. The warm weather is a welcome change after the cold winter, but you can’t help but feel annoyed by the bugs. Your backyard is probably crawling with insects, making it hard to enjoy the warm weather. Fortunately, you can maintain a bug-free backyard by following some tips.

Install Outdoor Fans

Imagine walking through hurricane-force winds. It’s so challenging that you’d end up moving backward or falling over. Because mosquitoes and other insects are so tiny, the breeze from outdoor fans makes them feel like they’re flying against a massive hurricane. Install fans in your patio area and keep them running whenever you’re outside. As soon as insects feel the breeze, they’ll turn around and head elsewhere.

Clean Your Gutters and Downspouts

Mosquitoes love standing water. As long as it’s around, you’ll spend your summer dealing with infestations. You probably know standing water is an issue, but you might not realize that clogged gutters and downspouts can add to the problem.

If you have a clog, the water will build up, giving mosquitoes a place to lay eggs. Remove clogs regularly, so the water will flow instead of building up.

Pay Attention to the Type and Placement of Mulch

You need to add mulch to bare ground, or yellow jackets will tunnel into the bare dirt and build nests. However, if you place organic mulch next to your home’s foundation, cockroaches and ants will move in and might make their way into your house. If you use organic mulch, it needs to be at least a foot away from your foundation.

What if you need mulch closer to the foundation? Rock or gravel will cover the ground without providing shelter for pests.

Add Pest-repellent Plants to Your Landscaping

You can keep pests at bay by adding some plants to your landscaping. Rosemary, marigolds, lemon thyme, lemon-scented geraniums, and citronella plants are natural mosquito repellents. You can keep mosquitoes and flies away with basil, and catnip repels mosquitoes, ticks, and cockroaches.

Lavender is another fantastic option for maintaining a pest-free yard. This plant repels fleas, flies, mosquitoes, and moths. Then, plant some chrysanthemums to keep bedbugs, fleas, ticks, ants, and roaches away.

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Keep Your Yard Maintained

Maintaining your yard is another way to fight back against pests. Ticks are naturally attracted to tall grass since it gives them a place to hide, so you need to mow regularly. Also, trim the trees and bushes that are close to your house. Otherwise, pests will hide in them before making their way indoors.

Fighting pests can seem like a full-time job. However, once you incorporate these tips, you’ll spend a lot less time worrying about pests. You’ll just need to conduct a bit of routine maintenance throughout the summer to keep pests away.

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