It’s summertime again, which means spending time in the backyard. Summer months are prime time for grilling food, watching kids play on a swing set, making s’mores over a fire pit, and spending long evenings on the back patio. Unfortunately, the summer season also brings lots of bugs.
Not only can bugs make us miserable with their pestering, but they can have a negative impact on your plants and gardens, as well. Here are a few tips for bug-proofing your backyard.
What kind of bugs are you trying to get rid of?
One key to bug-proofing your backyard is understanding what kind of bugs you are trying to eliminate. Common backyard pests include aphids, caterpillars, fire ants, June bugs, grubs, mosquitos, hornets, and wasps.
Believe it or not, there are a few backyard bugs that you might actually want to keep around. Spiders, for example, eat many other harmful pests to your lawn and garden, despite their scary appearance. Ladybugs are another harmless bug that helps keep pests at bay by eating aphids. Ground beetles, praying mantis, and flies eat many other pesky bugs.
You should also try to keep worms and honeybees in your yard. Although very different from each other, both bugs play a crucial role in our environment and are helpful in keeping your yard and garden beautiful.
Now that you have identified which pesky bugs you want to eliminate from your yard, here are a few ways that you can bug-proof your backyard this summer.
Eliminate Standing Water
One of the quickest ways to attract multiplying bugs into your yard is with standing water. It makes an ideal breeding ground for pests like mosquitos. If you have a bird bath, consider getting rid of it, changing the water regularly, or upgrading your bird bath to have a fountain so that the water moves. You may also find standing water in clogged gutters, rain barrels, sunken areas of your yard, or nooks and crannies of a plastic children’s playset.
Mow Your Lawn
Not only does a manicured lawn look beautiful, it also discourages bugs. This is because mowing your yard eliminates spaces for bug nests and makes your yard inhospitable to insects. Make sure you are also cleaning up ditches, sidewalks, fences, and other detailed areas where bugs could take up residence.
Clean-Up Trash
Another easy way to prevent bugs and pests from taking over your backyard is to clean up your trash. If you store garbage cans outside, ensure they are closed as tightly as possible and stowed away from gardens and patios.
Invite Bug-Eating Creatures
Just like you might want to keep specific bugs around that eat other pests, there are a few other creatures that eat bugs that you might consider inviting to your yard.
Although often perceived as scary, bats can eat over 6,000 insects in just one night. If you have an insect problem, consider building a small bat house in your backyard to invite these natural pest control experts in. Your new bat neighbors may frequent your yard and help keep the bug population in check.
Birds are also a great help in bug-proofing your backyard. You could consider putting a birdhouse or bird feeder in your yard to attract more of these bug-eating creatures.
Opossums are another bug-eating animal that many view as scary. However, opossums are nature’s best pest control. They can keep your yard clear of undesirable insects, snails, slugs, ticks, cockroaches, and other pests such as rats and mice. Despite their bad reputation and myths, opossums do not carry rabies, and they can be great neighbors.
Burn Citronella
Citronella is a very common method of bug repellent. It’s all-natural and completely safe for both you and your yard. Citronella oil is made from a combination of plant-repelling grasses. The scent of the candle also helps mask the scent of humans, which attracts mosquitos and other bugs.
Use the Right Bug Repellents
Finally, you can use a variety of bug repellents to ward off any last undesired bugs in your backyard. Consider investing in some non-toxic, eco-friendly pesticides, bug sprays, and tiki torches to bug-proof your backyard and patio space.
Get Insect & Pest Controls from Omni Outdoor Living
Omni has a wide selection of insect and pest controls to help you with bug-proofing your backyard or outdoor spaces. Try out Thermacell rechargeable mosquito repellers in your backyard to create an invisible barrier against bug bites. You can also find bug zappers, bug sprays, and rodent repellents. Whatever your backyard pest control needs, you can find a solution at Omni.
Experience Outdoor Living!
At Omni Outdoor Living, we make it our mission to help our customers make the most out of their outdoor experiences. We offer quality outdoor products focused on outdoor recreation, DIY projects, entertaining friends and family, or just relaxing outside! If you have any questions about your outdoor experience or our wide range of outdoor products, don’t hesitate to contact us today!
