When homeowners think of keeping pests away, their first thoughts always wander to the interior of their homes. What holes need to be filled? Do I need to clean my basement every week? Do storing potatoes in my cupboards attract mice?

All valid questions, except you need to first think outside of the box. The giant box that you live in, also referred to as your home.  

A pest control area that often is overlooked is the yard that surrounds a structure, whether that is a residential home or commercial property. How you treat and maintain your yard will have a massive impact on the amount of pests that you encounter in and around your home. By following a few tips from your friends at Bugmaster, you will be able to stop those little buggers before they even have a chance to peek in your window!

Here are the top four yard maintenance tips that will keep pests away from your abode.

1. Keep Your Lawn Neat and Tidy

Your lawn should be cut often, with all the clippings bagged and disposed of far away from your property. Aside from cutting your grass often, you should also ensure it stays healthy with fertilization. A well maintained lawn leaves insects with nowhere to hide from predators, which is great news to you as the property owner. Less insects around your home keeps creepy crawlers out of your living space but it will also reduce the amount of pests that love to regularly dine on small insects (such as wolf spiders).

2. Don’t Stand for Standing Water

If there is stagnant water around your home, you are inviting insects to engage in an all out breeding fest in your backyard. All sorts of flying bugs will mate in still water, although mosquitos have a special love for lounging in the murky water that accumulates in forgotten wheelbarrows and flowerpots. Walk around your property and clean out your bird baths, gutters and if you have a pond, ensure the water is flowing.

3. Clear Out the Clutter

Clutter is the root of all evil- when it comes to pest control that is. Clutter gives pests a place to hide and creates the ideal environment for breeding and foraging for food. The more clutter you have in your yard, the more difficult it will be to keep it clean and clear.

Bonus Bugmaster Tip!

A great way to recycle coffee grinds is to use them in your garden to keep pests away. Slugs and cats strongly dislike the smell and taste of coffee, while even deer usually shy away from it. As an added bonus, coffee is a great way to add nitrogen back into your soil!

4. Trim Your Trees

Big bushes went out of style in the 80's. Keeping your trees and bushes under control is vital in your fight against pests. Your vegetation should be pruned back, leaving less places for pests to hide and it will also help maintain a clear lawn with less leaves to fall on the ground below. Ensure that you remove all the branches that you clip from your trees and keep large plants away from the walls of your home. Leaving bushes and other vegetation close to your foundation provides the perfect opportunity for rodents to creep close to your walls and devise their break-in strategy.

The war against pests is a never ending battle but if we take the proper precautions around our homes, we can drastically reduce the amount of pests that find our properties appealing. Do you already have an angry army of pests that have set their sites on your home?

The team at Bugmaster loves a good show-down with some devious pests. Call in the big guns and we will have your home and yard pest free before you know it!