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Smart Landscaping Ideas to Get Rid of Common Pests

7. July 2020 Administrator Landscape Contractor Articles, Lawn Care Tips (0)

By Guest Blogger Raymond Web

Just like your home, your yard can get infested with pests. The lawn is one area that is ideal for pests to build their nests. Once they invade the lawn, it becomes fairly easy for them to come inside and infest your home.

Pests come in all types; no matter how big or small your lawn is, they will infest it. If you don’t do anything about it, they will enter your house to damage your property and pose a threat to you and your family.

Common Lawn Pests

Wondering what pests are problematic? Check out our list of common pests.

Ants: Ants are not a direct threat to lawns, but they are a nuisance. Some ants like fire ants build anthills while some ants like carpenter ants infest wood and other items built with wood.

Hornets & Wasps: It is best to keep wasp away from your lawn and your homes. However, before taking any action to address wasp infestation, make sure you know the species. Some species are aggressive, and their stings may cause an allergic reaction in many people. It is recommended to take help from a pest control expert to tackle wasp infestation.

Armyworms: Armyworms are smooth-skinned, about 1 1/2 inches long, striped, and generally are yellow, dark brown, green, or black in color. They feed on grass and create brown patches on them.

Billbugs: These grubs are C-shaped, about 3/8 of an inch long with red-colored heads. They damage the turf in irregular patches.

Burrowing & digging mammals, mice: Moles, gophers, chipmunks, or groundhogs dig the ground and form tunnels. They are also responsible for creating mounds.

Grubs (Chafer grubs, White grubs): Masked chafer grubs eat the roots of lawn grasses, and create irregular patches of brown.

Green June Beetle Grubs: These cream-colored beetles with orange-brown headscreate tunnels in the lawn, which dries the soil and makes it spongy.

Cutworms: Cutworms can have a devastating effect on the plants, including holes in the leaves and fallen plants.

Fleas: Fleas don’t harm the lawns, but they can be a nuisance for people or pets using the lawns.

Mosquitoes: Mosquitoes do not damage the lawn, but they can transmit a number of diseases to humans through their bites.

Ticks: These small parasitic arachnids feed in the blood of their host and swell up. They are not a threat to the lawns, but they can cause harm to humans and pets.

Sod webworm: These pests eat the foliage and not roots. Hence they leave the area of the lawn brown or completely bare.

Landscaping Ideas to Keep Your Lawn Pest-Free

Mow Your Lawn: Ants, cockroaches, termites, fleas, mosquitoes, and other insects look for a safe place to live and reproduce. The tall grass in your yard is perfect for doing both. So, mow your lawn frequently and keep it short.
Turn Your Mulch: Insects, such as fire ants, build their nests with small organic material. If you don’t want them to build nests in your lawn, use a rake to shift the mulch around.
Reduce Shade: Dense shade prevents the sun from drying the lawn areas, making the environment conducive for pests to thrive. Trim the things to provide the necessary sunlight so that the soil in your yard is less inviting to pests
Trim Bushes and Trees: A yard that is not maintained is a magnet for pests as some of them use the branches as a bridge to get into your house. Make your home less accessible to them by trimming the bushes and trees.
DrainStagnant Water: The stagnant water in your lawn attracts mosquitoes to lay their eggs. Check around the exterior of your house to see if there areany drainage issues resulting in puddles. If you have a pondor a swimming pool, cover it when not in use. Make sure you regularly drain and refill it.
Remove Rotting Wood: Rotting wood makes for a perfect home for termites. If you want your home safe from termites, remove any dead tree stumps or fallen trees on your property as quickly as possible. If you need to store wood, place it above the ground. This practice will prevent the termites from coming inside your house.
Place Pest Repelling Plants: The best way to keep the pest away naturally is to grow plants that are known to repel them. Do your research to find more about these pest-repelling plants. Some of the known pest-repelling plants are:

Chrysanthemums
Marigolds
Lavender
Petunias
Citronella
Peppermint
Basil
Catnip
Mint
Rosemary

Consider the Lights: Many insects are drawn to the exterior lights on your lawn. It is best to put off the lights at night. Consider replacing white bulbs with insect-resistant light bulbs.
Pluck the Weed: Weeds grow in patches around the house. If the weeds are not plucked, pests will come into your yard and then eventually into your home. So, pluck them regularly to keep pests from away from you and your family.
Insects and animals are essential to keep the balance in the ecosystem. But if these pests are problematic, you need to get rid of them as soon as possible. Along with taking care of your lawn and garden make sure to take necessary steps to prevent indoor pest infestation. These top nine best practices can help you make your lawn pest-free.

Author Bio:

When people find their homes and offices infested with pests, it is not uncommon for them to panic. Raymond Web has taken the task to educate people on pest prevention and control strategies helping them keep their surroundings healthy, safe and pest-free. Being the digital marketing manager for Take Care Termite and Pest Control, in Tracy, CA, he has an in-depth understanding of people and their pain points due to pests, which he uses in his content to educate.

Preparing Your Lawn and Landscaping for Winter

24. January 2020 Chip Glennon Lawn Care Tips (0)

The things you must do to care for your lawn and landscaping change when fall and winter arrive. Fall brings mild temperatures and often moderate precipitation. It's a good season to perform restorative maintenance like fertilization and aeration. In winter, many plants either die or go into a time of no growth. Hard frosts and freeze/thaw cycles can wreak havoc on sensitive plants. Knowing what to do to prepare your lawn and landscaping for winter can help you protect your property, and ensure that your garden and lawn will be in good condition when spring and summer come around once again.

Aerate

Soil can become compact after a summer of intense temperatures, especially if your lawn didn't get enough water over the course of the season. Aerating your lawn prevents and reverses compaction, encourages good root development and prevents thatch from building up.

You can aerate your own lawn by renting a lawn aerator, or by hiring a landscaping company to do this for you. After aeration, your lawn will be covered in small, muddy chunks of soil, but soon enough those pieces will dissolve back into the earth.

After aerating your soil, spread a thin layer of compost over the aerated area. Compost adds nutrients to the soil, restores the soil's natural texture, and prevents the soil from becoming hard again.

Mulch

As the temperature outside drops, shallow roots become vulnerable to damage. Mulching around perennials and trees can protect these roots from the lowest temperatures. Mulch also keeps moisture in the ground, which can prevent some plants from drying out.

When mulching a vegetable garden, use undyed organic wood mulch. In a flower garden, feel free to use dyed mulches and mulches made from alternative materials. Spread the mulch on thick, but avoid piling mulch against the trunks of trees. Mulch piled against trees can lead to disease.

Re-Seed Your Lawn

Fall is a good time to re-seed your lawn. The cool temperatures are perfect for germinating seeds. Do this in mid-fall, when the last of summer weather has dissipated, but before the winter chill is in the air. Keep seeds well-watered for the first several weeks. Cut back your watering routine gradually until the new grass is hardy and healthy.

Fertilize Trees

Fall is a good time to fertilize your trees. Cool (but not freezing) temperatures are good for root development. Fertilizing at the right time will encourage the roots of your trees to grow stronger before the coming winter. When temperatures drop, a well-fertilized tree will be better able to withstand the frost and ice.

Before fertilizing, follow all manufacturer instructions. Trees have varying fertilizer requirements depending on the species, age of the tree, whether it produces fruit, and so on. Purchase the fertilizer to match the needs of your tree. Most fertilizers are made for specific types of plants, so you can find the right kind of tree fertilizer for your lawn.

Plant Bulbs

Planning in advance is a key part of growing a garden. Bulbs start growing in late winter and early spring as the ground thaws. Most bulbs need a period of cold weather before they will blossom. Plant bulbs in the fall to ensure that your bulbs will be ready to grow in spring. Tulips, daffodils and crocuses are common examples of bulb plants that need to spend time in the ground before they will sprout in early spring.

Rake Leaves

Rake your leaves regularly throughout the fall. Leaves left on the ground can lead to the growth of fungus in trees and plants. If left on the grass, leaves will starve the grass of sunlight and weaken the plant, causing disease. Leaves are a good ingredient for compost, so if you don't have a compost pile already, consider starting one now.

Continue to Mow Your Lawn

Grass continues to grow, even in fall. Allowing the grass to grow too long can lead to problems down the road. Continue to mow your lawn as needed, keeping in mind that grass may not grow as quickly in fall when temperatures are cooler. Strive to keep your grass the same length as it was when you were mowing it in summer.

Winterize Your Irrigation System

Water left in the pipes of your irrigation system can freeze in the middle of winter, causing the pipes to burst. Winterizing your irrigation system eliminates the water from the pipes to prevent this from happening.

If you're not able to keep up with lawn maintenance or are uncomfortable with certain DIY tasks, consider hiring a landscaping company to take care of your lawn throughout the winter and into the spring. Your lawn care company can help you keep your property in good condition, by tending the flowers, grass, trees and soil itself.

Four Ways to Have an Eco-Friendly Lawn

1. August 2019 Kristin Louis Lawn Care Tips, Your Yard and The Earth (0)

A healthy-looking lawn does wonders for your property. Not only does it make your house stand out on your block, but it can also provide flood control, dissipate suburban heat, reduce fire hazards and if you’re trying to sell, definitely gives your home some curb appeal. Lawn care is big business, too. In 2015 alone, U.S. households spent almost $16 billion on lawn care and gardening services, which includes supplies, equipment, and lawn and landscaping services. Clearly, we spend lots of money to have great-looking lawns and landscaping, but could all the pesticides, fertilizer, and growth and greening additives we use be harming the environment, too?

It’s easy to go overboard with all the products when trying to keep a nice-looking lawn. However, you can still have green, thick grass, along with healthy trees, shrubs, and a garden, and fewer or no weeds if you follow these steps to creating an eco-friendly lawn.

1. Keep Your Lawn Green Without Chemicals
Paul Tukey writing for Popular Mechanics suggests some ways to mow your lawn that will keep it green, including keeping the mower’s blades sharp, using a push or electric mower to cut back on pollution, and leaving clippings on the lawn to create a natural fertilizer. He also suggests using compost as a natural, root-level fertilizer for lawns, gardens, shrubbery, and trees.

2. Water Wisely
While an oscillating or spinning sprinkler is a symbol of summer lawn care, both of those can waste a lot of water if you don’t monitor their use. Another option for watering is using low-pressure drip irrigation, where nozzles are placed at the base of plants, trees, or shrubs and water is applied slowly. This method can lower your water use. While a drip irrigation system might initially be expensive, it does reduce water usage and energy costs and improves seed germination. Regardless of whether you use drip irrigation, a sprinkler, or hand-watering, the key to using any type of system to water your lawn or your garden is to soak the ground to the depth of the roots.

3. Use Our Friends, The Bugs
Why spray your garden and foliage with aphid and other control products when nature provides its very own: bugs! Goodhousekeeping.com lists several species that can keep your greenery free of damaging pests, such as aphids, caterpillars, and Japanese beetles. These natural pest killers include ladybugs, ground beetles, soldier beetles, and tachinid flies. Many of these same bugs also help keep lawns free of pests, too.

4. Consider Using Plants As Ground Cover Instead of Grass
Unless your home is on several acres of land and there’s nothing but a wide stretch of lawn between the street and your front porch, consider using plant life as ground cover instead of grass. You can use flower and shrub beds, clover (just don’t step on the bees), or even several varieties of moss. Many of these and others, especially the mosses, grow easily in the shade, are easier to water (which is where the drip irrigation system can work better), and you won’t have to drag out the lawnmower every weekend. However, the ground cover does invite a number of unwanted pests and will have to be weeded frequently before fully grown. But once your insect friends make their home in it and you keep weeds from becoming a problem naturally with compost and organic mulch, ground cover will make your whole front yard look like a garden.

It doesn’t take a lot of chemicals to have a nice-looking lawn, just sensible use of mowing and organic fertilizer, the wise use of water, putting nature’s pest controllers to work, and using alternatives to grass. So, get out your gardening tools, pull on your gloves, and go play in the dirt to create an eco-friendly lawn you’ll be proud to call yours.

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

Spring Maintenance For The Home: How To Clean Up After Winter

9. April 2019 Clara Beaufort Lawn Care Tips (0)

Photo via Pixabay by Andreas160578

Spring maintenance around the house is a necessity once winter moves on for good, but many homeowners are at a loss when it comes to figuring out the best way to go about it without spending a ton of money. You may also be wavering back and forth between which projects are DIY and which ones will require a professional’s touch, and it’s important to make that decision from the start in order to prevent safety issues and damage.

Fortunately, there are several easy things you can do to spruce up your home--both inside and outside--when the weather turns nice. From the landscaping to the gutters, there are some simple fixes that won’t break the bank. Take a look around your property to get a feel for what needs to be done; for instance, if winter brought heavy storms, it’s a good idea to check out your roof and siding. Tree and dead limb removal may also be necessary around the yard, and while you can do some of this yourself, bigger jobs will require a professional tree service.

Here are just a few things you can do around your house when spring is in full bloom:

Find The Right Help
One of the first things you’ll want to think about when you’re ready to spruce up your home is whether or not you can do the job yourself. Many spring maintenance projects are DIY weekend tasks, but some will require special tools and knowledge, and calling in a pro means setting a budget. When you have an idea of what needs to be done, look online for the best services near you, and get a price quote so you’ll know what to expect.

Start With The Right Tools
The right tools can make a huge difference when you’re working on a project yourself, and you may need different items to accomplish different tasks. A good screwdriver set, a hammer and a mallet, and a cordless drill will go a long way toward helping you take care of your spring maintenance chores. If you aren’t a tool person and don’t know where to begin, look online for tool reviews and check out the best ones for the tasks on your list.

Prep Your Lawn
Sometimes, spring maintenance isn’t only about fixing things that became overgrown or broken in winter; when it comes to your lawn, there are several things you can do now to prep it for warmer weather so you’ll have beautiful pops of color and lush green grass. Weeding, mowing, removing dead branches and leaves, sprucing up flower beds with fresh mulch, and planting new bulbs and seeds is a great way to get your lawn into shape. To make the job easier, have the entire family get in on the act over a weekend, and give everyone a job to complete.

Check the Roof Winter
can be extremely harsh and unforgiving where your roof is concerned, so when the weather starts to turn warm and sunny, check out the uppermost space of your home for broken, cracked, or missing shingles or tiles, and make sure the gutters are in good working order and don’t have any debris or leaves in them. Roof repairs can be costly, so it’s best to leave the big jobs to a pro; otherwise, you may end up causing more damage and busting your budget.

Spring maintenance around the house can take some time, so make a plan before you get started that will lay out a timeline for all the jobs you need to get done. Create a budget so you aren’t overwhelmed at the last minute, and remember to get help from a professional for any job that requires electricity or plumbing.