10 Tips To Pest Proof Your Yard This Summer
It’s finally summer in Miami, and there are endless things to do - you can visit South Beach, eat delicious food in downtown Miami, or see art at the Wynwood Walls.
But you might also just want to sit back and relax by the pool, or even host a party for friends and family - the only issue is the swarming pests like ants, termites and mosquitoes in your yard that want to mess with your summer fun.
They’re flying all around you, biting you, and buzzing in your ear. It’s no wonder that you’re looking for solutions!
The good news is your yard can become pest free. How?
Look no further because we have the answers you’ve been searching for! Keep reading to learn 10 tips to pest proof your backyard in Miami this summer.
1. Remove Standing Water
If you want to prevent mosquito bites this summer, then you’ll want to look for water in your yard. Mosquitos are highly active near standing water because it’s where females lay their eggs.
So, if anything in your yard is pooling water, that right there is the source of your mosquito problem. If you eliminate all pools of water in your yard, you’ll notice a big difference.
To remove standing water, you can start by removing objects like buckets, flower pots and kiddie pools. Try to maintain your gutters and downspouts so water doesn’t collect anywhere in them.
Keep your bird baths fresh by changing the water every three days or so.
And the key is to be consistent. You might be tempted to take action and then quit when you see results and throw a party.
But, you’ll notice that your yard might not be mosquito proof for long. Your kids might sneak toys outside and leave them, you might purchase a pretty new flower for your yard and like the way it looks potted.
Or, you may forget to check your gutters and clean out your bird bath, and that’s where you’re back to square one.
So, even after the mosquitoes stop coming to your yard, you’ll want to be checking it constantly for sources of standing water, so you can remove them and keep your home mosquito free!
2. Clear Your Yard of Debris
Lawn care not only helps your yard look great, but it also keeps insects like carpenter ants and ghost ants away. Here in Miami, ants like to find shelter under wet leaves and sticks because it keeps them wet and safe. When your yard is full of debris like that, insects will be attracted to your yard.
To keep some of these pests away, clear out any yard debris. Rake any leaves and pick up the sticks, twigs and branches. Also, stack your firewood properly away from the house so insets will not be drawn inside.
We also do lawn care services, where we can keep pests like whiteflies, mealybugs and scale insects far, far away. Native Pest Management can help take care of your yard, and give you the best guidance to keep your yard healthy and green.
Call Native Pest Management today to discuss our lawn care services, or check out some of our best lawn care tips.
3. Remove Rotting Wood
Termites and ants love wood, especially when it’s rotten. They feed on it, and they live in it.
If you have an old wooden fence, a decaying shed, or rotting stumps in your yard, you probably have ants and termites living there as well.
Try to remove these sources of rotting wood to keep your yard looking pretty and pest free. Dig up stumps and pull out old fences.
If you have an old shed, you can replace some rotting boards or you can purchase a new shed if the one you have is not fixable. Make sure to also properly store your firewood to prevent it from rotting and to keep it away from ants and termites.
4. Keep Garbage Cans Covered
When you leave the trash sitting out uncovered, insects like American cockroaches are attracted to them, and will overall make your home a little less pleasant.
If you store your trash in a sealed trash can, the American roaches won’t have easy access to it. Also, avoid placing your trash can outside right by your house.
American cockroaches live outside, so you can expect some to be already hanging out near enough to your home that they smell the trash.
So, store your trash properly in sealed trash cans or airtight bins, ideally still in your home. Keep these trash cans some distance away from gathering areas outside as well. This will help reduce the number of pests that interrupt your backyard activities.
5. Store Food Properly
Outside gatherings are a great time to enjoy good food and hang out with friends. But having the food outside attracts insects to the party as well.
Keep your food covered as much as possible and store it in sealed containers. It might be a bit more inconvenient, but it’s better than finding flies and ants in your food! Also, store your food inside whenever you can so that cockroaches aren’t drawn to your patio.
Keep your food table inside, so that ants, cockroaches, and mosquitoes can’t go after it. Keep the door shut and remind your friends to close the door when they go inside to get food.
The only downside to that is if you have indoor pests like ants in your home. If you think you might have an ant infestation inside your home, you’ll want to avoid keeping your food out for too long so that sugar ants, ghost ants, pavement ants, carpenter ants or big headed ants can’t run amok and colonize your party food.
That way, you can have fun with friends and family, enjoy food, and never worry about the ants in Miami!
You should also make sure you clean up as thoroughly as possible after. Sweep and mop the floor, clean off surfaces, and store food in the fridge so ants or cockroaches aren’t attracted to it.
6. Mow Your Grass Frequently
Pests are attracted to tall grass as they love to make their homes in it. Some parasitic insects, like ticks or fleas, even use tall grass to get onto their hosts, whether animals or humans.
Mowing your lawn may not be your favorite activity, but you need to do it regularly to keep the grass short and keep the pests away. During the summer, there may be dry spells when you do not need to move your grass as often, but try to keep the grass shorter than 5 inches.
Also, trim your landscaping grass and bushes so they are at least a foot away from your house. You don’t want pests using those bushes as a ladder into your house!
7. Install Ceiling Fans
A little breeze can go a long way in keeping your porch and patio free of insects. Pests can have trouble flying with air blowing down on them, especially smaller pests, like mosquitoes and small nats. That makes ceiling fans an effective method for keeping bugs away from you.
Try installing a couple of ceiling fans on your porch. You can also place upright fans on your patio to keep bugs away. Not only do you eliminate your pests, but you also get to enjoy the breeze and stay cool.
8. Plant Insect-Repellant Plants
Certain plants repel various insect species, serving as a natural pest deterrent. In fact, there are several plants that insects don’t like and will run away from. When you place them throughout your yard, you will have fewer summer pests around!
Plants that prevent pests in Miami:
- Marigolds
- Sweet Basil
- Citronella
- Lavender
- Rosemary
- Lemongrass
- Chrysanthemum
Not only will these help repel pests, but basil and rosemary are perfect herbs to use for your next recipe, and lavender has an essential oil perfect to make your house calm and relaxing.
Try planting some of these plants, herbs and flowers in your front yard and backyard to repel pests around your house. Plant them near your patios or other gathering areas so that insects are discouraged from joining you there.
You might be surprised that the pests could start to disappear, and even if they don’t, you’ve at least got yourself the perfect garden!
9. Build a Bat House
Bats in Miami love to eat little bugs like moths, beetles, and mosquitoes, and they can eat about 1,200 pests per hour! They’re a great sidekick to help control the insect population in your backyard.
You can invite bats to come and eat your bugs by building a bat house. Sadly, bats are losing their natural habitat and their homes, so if you put a bat house up, a bat will most likely move in soon. This can also be a fun project to do with your kids!
10. Professional Pest Control in Miami
Our tips are accurate, and that’s the truth. But we have one more tip that may change how you think about controlling pests like ants, roaches, mosquitoes, and whiteflies in Miami.
It’s important to know that while you can take action to control the pests in your yard, the other half of the truth is that pest control is tricky.
There are so many pests in Miami. From cockroaches to ants, to mosquitoes, to rodents, and even lawn pests, it can be overwhelming to control them all and to stay consistent. It’s hard enough to get the pests away once, and it’s even harder to make sure they’re gone for good.
It can be hard to come up with the best pest control plan all by yourself. And it’s okay if you need help - there are experts right behind you ready to help solve your pest problems quickly and completely.
You shouldn’t have to worry about pests in Miami alone. You deserve to have peace of mind that ants, cockroaches and mosquitoes are out of sight, and won’t find your food or bite you while you’re trying to relax or having fun with your friends.
Native Pest Management has the expert technicians you’re looking for, in locations all across Miami and way up in Tallahassee. We can provide services in West Palm Beach, Port St. Lucie, and Fort Lauderdale.
To learn about each area we service, check out our service areas page!
We’ll come to your home and assess your pest needs, and then we’ll develop a custom treatment plan for your unique situation.
We offer multiple treatment plans for different insects, including professional ant control, professional cockroach control, professional whitefly control, and professional mosquito control, so you are guaranteed to find the perfect plan to get your home pest free quickly and effectively.
We can perform one-time or quarterly services to get rid of the pests and ants in your home, and we guarantee that your home will be pest free. If your home requires it, we will do follow-up treatments completely free of charge.
It’s our job to give back what the pests in your home stole from you - your peace of mind. Your home can be comfortable and relaxing again without all the stress and worries about what’s crawling in the night.
Ready to put a stop to the pests in your yard or the ants in your home? Contact us today and see how we can remove your pest problem.
Request a free quote for pest control by calling today!