With summer just around the corner, backyard barbeques and sprinkler-filled afternoons will likely be staples on your weekend calendar. That said, it’s critical to keep your yard free from unwanted pests if you’re hoping to enjoy your time outdoors. While traditional, chemical-ridden pesticides are popular with consumers, their effects are often irregular, inefficient, and sometimes dangerous.
Between painful rashes in humans and pets, links to certain cancers, and the harmful effects on natural ecosystems, pesticides often cause more chaos than bug control. Luckily, there are plenty of all-natural pest control methods to keep your yard and garden bug-free and thriving. If you’re looking for healthier, more organic forms of pest control, call on trusted pest control experts like these and read on for six insect-repelling solutions.
Build A Strong Foundation
First and foremost, natural pest control starts with healthy soil and balanced nutrient levels. Depending on the foliage and grass you have, you’ll want to match your dirt to create a fertile environment where vegetation, crops, and non-destructive insects can thrive. Keep your yard thriving by adding proper nutrients, pruning when necessary, and watering as needed.
Create A Barrier
An excellent way to keep pests out of your garden is by creating a barrier using common household items, herbs, and spices. To keep cutworms out of crops, plant seeds inside recycled toilet paper rolls, and your plant will grow free from disturbances. If you’re battling an infestation of aphids or ants, try planting peppermint and spearmint in between your produce to deter unwanted visitors. You can even stop snails in their tracks by spraying a line of diluted lime juice on infected areas.
Buy High-Quality, Pest-Resistant Seed
Although you can eradicate pests after they’ve made their way into your garden, it’s easier to stop them before they can infiltrate by purchasing pest-resistant seeds. When shopping around, look for brands and types resistant to verticillium, fusarium, nematodes, or tobacco mosaic virus, all diseases that harm certain produce, cause wilting and infect roots.
Utilize Beneficial Insects
Although there are more than enough unwanted pests looking to nest themselves in your yard and garden, there are also many beneficial insects that can stoke a healthy ecosystem and prey on harmful bugs. You can lure helpful friends—like ladybugs and praying mantis’—into your area or purchase them for release, allowing them to work their magic on infested areas. Not only will they ward off any hazardous pests, but certain species can also pollinate, clean up waste, and help maintain healthy soil.
Prune Your Garden Consistently
When you allow dead leaves, sticks, and waste to build up, you’re essentially creating a perfect breeding ground for unwanted pests to thrive. Make sure you have a solid maintenance plan in place to keep foliage and crops pruned and clean throughout the year. Tending to your yard and sweeping away any debris allows your plants and lawn to maintain a healthy airflow.
Use Traps
For pesky bugs that seem to evade every technique you try, consider using sticky traps in your garden space to catch unwanted visitors. These pads use an adhesive to capture pests, often luring them with certain scents. Just make sure you check with your local garden center to ensure the sticky traps are okay for outdoor use and deter beneficial insects.
Wrapping Up
Keeping your yard bug-free is essential to happy crops, fun backyard activities, and a healthy environment. Ensure your yard remains free from unwanted insects by ditching chemical-filled pesticides and utilizing all-natural solutions instead.
