1. Locate your vegetable garden 20 feet, or as far as possible from your house:
• Fruit & vegetables attract insects and wildlife;
• Source of food
2. Don’t over-water plants!
• Water attracts insects e.g. “Fungus gnats”
• Termites – high demand for moisture and water
• Let soil dry out
3. Clean your gutters
• Water backup causes damage that creates EASY ENTRY for carpenter ants
• Position downspouts to move water away from house
4. Attract “beneficial bugs” to your garden
• ground beetles eat caterpillars, not plants
• dragonflies feed on mosquitoes
• parasitic wasps prey on tomato hornworms
• beneficials liked plants with tiny flowers: members of the mint, carrot and aster families, sedums and alyssums.
5. Plant a variety of plants and know how they impact wildlife
• Chrysanthemums are a natural repellant to deer
• Deer have good noses and do not like plants with strong scents or flavors (Spices)
• Butterfly Bushes attract butterflies but also attract Carpenter Bees
6. Trim hedges and bushes two-feet away from the house
• Allows air-flow and sunlight to dry out soil
• Cuts off a physical avenue to your home: ants and stink bugs
7. Eliminate soil- or mulch-to-wood contact
• Do Not put soil or mulch right up to side of home
• Wet wood is conducive to carpenter ants and termites
• Don’t over-mulch!
8. Carefully remove empty birds nests from trees and bushes
• Attracts bird mites that first eat the nest… then attack your home
• Attracts other pests and animals
• Be careful to make sure nest is empty
• Be careful using a ladder going into trees
9. Pick up after your dog in your yard
• Dog feces attracts all kind of pests: Flies; Mosquitoes; Rat!
• It spreads disease
• It gets stuck in your gardening shoes
10. No standing water in your yard;
• Circulate water in ponds: Attracts mosquitoes; termites; critters
• You name it… water attracts it.
About the Author
B.S. Entomology and Applied Ecology
Concentration in Wildlife Conservation
Univ. of Delaware, College of Agriculture Conducted bird surveys for DE & PA Taught conservation classes in Hawaii
Jess is an Entomologist and Certified Pest Professional at Royal Pest Management.
1-800-ROYAL-PEST (800-769-2573) www.royalpest.com
Royal Pest is full-service pest control company serving Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia. Royal uses the most advanced methods and materials in IPM (Integrated Pest Management) to provide customers with pest control that is the safest and most effective in the industry today. Royal’s services are a truly planet friendly way to protect your family, your home and your lifestyle from annoying, destructive and harmful pests.