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Growing plants and vegetables in your yard can provide a wealth of benefits. For one, planting on your yard can improve your health as you’ll be encouraged to consume more fruits and vegetables. Since the fresh produce from your yard doesn’t contain any harmful chemicals, consuming them regularly will ensure that you and your family will get the most vitamins.
Having a yard can also help you save money as you no longer have to visit your groceries and pay for fruits and vegetables. Your yard can also improve your mental health as planting allows you to reduce stress and get more vitamin D from the sun.
However, you won’t be able to experience these benefits if pests are always present in your yard. Instead of improving the quality of your life, a yard infested with pets will only cause a lot of stress and expenses.
Yard pests can come in a variety of types. You could have a raccoon making a mess of your garbage, wasps swarming your trees or garden shed, or rabbits eating your garden. No matter what type of pest you have, there are a few different solutions you can employ.
If you want to make the most out of your yard, it’s vital that you work on removing pests as soon as possible. The sooner you take on this task, the higher chances you’ll have in finally enjoying a pest-free yard.
To help you out, listed below are some of the most common pests often seen in yards and solutions to prevent them from coming back:
The best thing to do to get rid of rabbits is to remove any and all possible hiding places. Then add a few deterrent plants and, if necessary, a sturdy fence. Keep in mind that rabbits are one of the most determined pests and will chew or claw through just about anything but metal.
It’s common for deer to roam around and eat fruits and vegetables. If you don’t want them to damage your yard, invest in high-quality fences, such as those from Deerfencing.com. Products from this website are designed to prevent deer from entering any property and are made from strong and durable materials.
If you have a problem with a skunk, your patience may be tested. One skunk can quickly become a family, especially if the animal has nested somewhere on your property.
When you allow one skunk to roam around your yard, it won’t be long before they’ll bring in their family and even reproduce in the area.
The best method to use here is to vacate and close off any areas under porches or foundations, make sure there are no available food sources on your property (such as unsecured garbage cans, compost piles, or pet food areas.) Making sure there is no hospitable cover for the skunk to nest is a decent skunk deterrent.
Raccoons and any variety of opossums are similar to skunks in that they want shelter and food. If you take these things away, they aren’t likely to stick around.
Keeping squirrels out of your yard is a battle. Squirrels aren’t quickly put off. If you have a tree nearby, they will be content to set up a nest in most cases. If you can remove what attracts them, like fallen nuts or fruit, do so.
Make sure to remove all rock and woodpiles, along with trim back plantings, as these can become their shelter and food.
Surrounding your yard with a plant-free gravel border and planting fruits and vegetables in bulb cages can also help.
Snakes stay where food is plentiful. Most yard and garden snakes prey on crickets, small fruits, eggs, and small mammals like mice. Just make sure your snakes are correctly identified as harmless, like a fox snake or garter snake.
Wasps are easier to repel than people might think. They don’t like strong smells (like essential oils, mint plants, or incense), and tend to stay away from the thriving population of bumblebees or carpenters bees. Wasp traps can also work but in many cases, these are harmful to bees.
If you have far too many snails and slugs in your flowerbed or lawn, diatomaceous earth and finely eggshells are your new best friend. Both of these substances will get rid of these pests in less than two weeks, if sprinkled on consistently and after each rain or watering.
The best way to keep pests out of your yard is to create an unfavorable space for them while still maintaining it as a pleasant place for you and your family. In most cases, you have two main options: add more deterrents and remove any attractants.
Deterrents, in the realm of most herbivorous pests, can be as simple as planting a few undesirable plants. For instance, rabbits dislike strong-smelling herbs like basil (especially Thai Basil) and alliums like garlic or chives.
Most small animals and even deer will avoid areas with a high concentration of (somewhat) poisonous plants- like columbines, morning glory, and clematis. In the case of introducing toxic plants, be sure to keep an eye on your pets near them.
Other deterrents come in the flavor of predators. A dog can produce a scent keeping all but the most desperate pests away. In the same vein, if you attract more beneficial insects, like carpenter bees, wasps are less likely to nest on your property.
Few things attract pests like an open food source. If you have a problem with animals getting in your garbage, there are commercial solutions for that. It might add a little inconvenience to your life, but it’s never as bad as having your garbage shredded and strewn across your lawn.
If you have precious plants being nibbled on or eaten down to the ground, fence them, put them up in a planter, or hedge them with deterrent plants.
If you are too desperate and need help from professionals, count on a pest exterminator.
This is a guest post from http://skunkpestcontrol.com/
