Garden Pest Control: How to Prevent Pests in Your Lawn

When it comes to home pest control too many homeowners concentrate solely on the insects they find inside their home and ignore the outdoor ones. There are always some pests lurking in your garden, and unless you want them to get out of hand, you'll need to rely on garden pest control.

No matter where you live residential pest control consists of several elements. Protecting your home from all the bugs, arachnids, and rodents that are lurking around outside is essential for both your family's health and overall peace of mind. A big focus is placed on the inside of the home. Whether it's sealing up holes in your walls so they can't get in or setting up traps to capture or eliminate the tiny beasts. But your interior is only one part of the puzzle. The other side of pest control for homes consists of the exterior, especially lawn care. Here are some garden pests you need to get rid of:

Ants

Due to their size and sheer numbers, ants can quickly find their way inside your home in search of food and become a real menace. Of course, they have to start somewhere, and your garden is a great place for that to happen. Ant Infestation These are probably the most unexpected of all critters to be found in your garden because most homeowners are aware that they ingest wood. Logic would then dictate that these ants would only be found within your home, but like all other ants, they must travel and your garden makes a great area to stop before venturing inside.  

Bed Bugs

You probably wouldn't expect to find bed bugs in your garden, but it can happen. Bed bugs latch on to people, but then must fall off so that they can molt and enter a new larvae stage. Bed Bug During this time, they can be found anywhere, and it isn't uncommon for a child or even an unsuspecting pet to come across a bed bug in the garden without even knowing it. And once they've hitched a ride inside, then you have a huge bed bug problem to deal with.  

Rodents

While you may not see squirrels as too much of a nuisance most of the time, when considering home pest control you must include these and other rodents such as rats and mice. Yes, rodents love to invade your home but will also scurry around your garden in search of food. Allowing any rodents to run around your garden freely can be extremely detrimental to your home pest control. While it is true that these animals will eat certain insects that they find roaming around, they also have no problem destroying your garden while they're at it.  

Spiders

These eight-legged creatures can be beneficial at times, thanks to the number of insects they devour on a daily basis. But there can come to the point where even these helpful arachnids become too much for your garden and home to handle. It is important that you check your garden for increasing numbers of these critters because once spiders get out of hand outside, it's only a matter of time before you see them scurrying along the floors, walls, and ceiling of nearly every room inside your home.  

Lawn Insect and Garden Pest Control

To get you started, here are some lawn care tips that can help you keep the pests away from your home so there's less chance that they'll get inside:

• Keep your grass trimmed -- The taller your grass the more bugs you'll be likely to get. This can add to the number of rodents around your house as well. The taller grass allows some pests to conceal themselves while others feed on the grass itself.
• Pick up trash -- If you leave trash or debris on your lawn your house can become quite unsightly. The bigger problem can be the accumulation of pests that turn whatever you've left on your lawn into a place to stay. Simply keep your garden tidy.
• Fix leaky water sources -- We all need to water our lawns, and this will draw some pests to your home. If you have a leaky spout or a broken sprinkler this can cause an influx of water on the ground. Pests will be drawn in almost immediately. Make sure you fix any leaks to avoid this problem.
• Move firewood away -- If you're one of the many homeowners who use real firewood, and keep it on your property, you could be attracting some very nefarious pests. Of course, we're talking about termites. Although this may not impact you during the summer months, especially if you refrain from storing it, it's an important thing to remember year round though. Firewood should always be kept a safe distance away to keep the pests out.

 

How to Spot Houseplant Pests

Homeowners are always looking for ways to spruce up their homes with household plants as they are pretty to look at, but they also make your home prone to houseplant pests. Let's take a look at how you can spot these houseplant pests and how to fight against them. A wide variety of small bugs are attracted to the plants inside your home. You might have to deal with aphids, mites, scale insects, mealy bugs, thrips, or even springtails. Some of these are more common than others, but they should all be considered. Although these pests are typically tiny, they're not too difficult to spot. Most of them are visible as they feed on your plant. If they're too small, grab a magnifying glass to spot them. Others are a bit more unique. Scale insects, for example, look like little bumps on your plant. Springtails will often come out of the soil when you water.

Houseplant Pests Damage

Some houseplant pests are simply annoying. They might fly or crawl around, but the harm being done to the plant is minimal and not something to be too concerned about. Springtails, for example, feed on decaying roots and fungus, so they are very rarely harmful. Other bugs, however, can be quite damaging to the health of your plants. They will eat away at the leaves and stalk of the plant, and if not controlled, can cause it to appear unsightly and eventually die. This is why you must group all of these insects and get rid of them all at once.

How to Eliminate Houseplant Pests

When buying a new houseplant, the first thing you should do is inspect it for bugs. Once you have it home quarantine it from other plants for a short period in case you missed anything. If you find that you have pests on your existing houseplants, it's important to eliminate them. Luckily, there are some ways to choose from. You can spray pesticide, but you can also try using sticky traps. You can vacuum off the larger ones by hand. Sometimes, the simpler method is the most effective.

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