With the cold months behind us and spring in full-speed, you might be in the mood to spend your weekends working on your garden. If you’ve been long awaiting the day you can dig through soil to lay some seeds, we don’t blame you.
The beautiful look and smell of fresh flowers are one of our favourite parts of this season too. Though you might be investing a lot of time and energy into picking out the perfect plants, we highly suggest getting familiar with pest control services.
During spring, there are many pests to watch out for. After familiarizing yourself with what types of pests to expect, knowing how to handle them is the most important step. After putting lots of hard work into your garden, the last thing you’d want is for pests to damage it.
We’ve put together a list of ways you can prevent pests from taking over your garden:
Become Aware Of Spring Pests
As we mentioned earlier, it’s imperative that you thoroughly read about what pests are most common during the season. By knowing what to look out for, you can better prepare.
A few of the most common spring pests include:
- Pavement Ants: They are normally found in soil outdoors, but they can also enter homes.
- Carpenter Ants: They are attracted to warmer temperatures but can also make colonies inside the foundation of your home.
- Spiders: They are commonly found in porches, basements and garages. Their presence is usually an indication that you have other pests or insects around.
- Houseflies: Anytime a door or window is open, take extra caution as houseflies tend to always find a way in.
- Fleas: They mainly are found in homes with pets or large animals. To control this, use basic cleaning products and regularly check your pet.
Accept Insects That Are Beneficial
Not wanting any insects at all is understandable, however, it isn’t exactly practical. Though it might get annoying to see bugs and bees around your garden, there are many insects that are doing more good than harm for your greenery. There are several beneficial aspects of keeping around the following insects:
- Parasitic Wasps
- Ladybugs
- Bees
- Damsel Bugs
- Minute Pirate Bugs
These insects are able to naturally help keep down the number of other pests by eating them. In order to draw in some of the “good” bugs to your garden, it’s necessary to supply sources of nectar. Not just any ordinary flower will have the nectar source that beneficial insects crave.
A few common plants that will do the trick are:
- Rudbeckia Species (Black-Eyed Susans)
- Eriogonum Species (Native Buckwheat)
- Coreopsis Species (Tickseed)
- Ammi Majus (Laceflower)
- Zizia Aurea (Golden Alexanders)
- Spirea Alba (Meadowsweet)
If these options aren’t what you’re looking for, you can ask your nearest outdoor garden store for recommendations on this.
Be Cautious When Choosing Plants
As tempting as it may be to pick out the most aesthetically pleasing plants in a garden store, you may want to ask a few questions to the sales associate first. Without even realizing it, you could be planting an open invitation for a variety of pests. By doing a bit of a research online, you can find out what plants are the most attractive to pests. There are many plant varieties that are more prone to issues with pests than others.
Pest-resistant vegetables are a great alternative to those that don’t want to take the risk of having their garden invaded. You can find similar alternatives for other types of plants, depending on what your preference is.
Cover Your Plants
One of the most effective steps of this process is to cover your plants. Though this takes away from the beauty of your garden, your plants will be protected. When making purchases for your garden, double check if they are pest-susceptible. If they are, it’s a good idea to invest in a floating row cover.
A floating row cover is a lightweight fabric that covers your plants, leaving little room for pests to enter. The sides can be pinned to the ground to ensure sturdiness. If your plants begin to come into flower, ensure that you remove the cover so that pollinators have access to them.
Need A Professional Opinion?
Removing all forms of pests isn’t exactly an easy task, nor should it be. Though you might follow our list of preventative tips, it’s still possible for pests to appear. If you’d rather leave it to the professionals, we’re more than happy to help you protect your garden.
Here at Pestend, we understand the importance of keeping a home pest-free and safe. Thankfully, we specialize in much more than just garden protection. With services and specializations in professional bed bug extermination services, residential pest control services, rodent control services and other wildlife control services, we are confident that we are the best choice to get the job done.
We can assure you that our highly-skilled Pestend team is ready to provide you with affordable prices and quality service.
To learn more about our money back guarantee and our free estimate service, feel free to visit our website.
