Red River Valley Yard Prep: Preventing Bugs & Rodents
We’ve had all sorts of weather over the last couple of months, with the last few weeks feeling cooler than what we’d expect. That hasn’t kept most of us out of our yards, in fact most of my neighborhood has already run their mowers and the first round of fertilizer applications have been happening around us. We also took the time to cut back some landscaping plants that we left over winter, including our dozens of Karl Forester grass clumps, Autumn Joy Sedums, five asparagus plants (that are already producing tons of stalks!) and a few other miscellaneous plants and bushes.
It’s still a little too chilly to be seeing much in the way of insects, as their life cycles depend on warmer weather to move quickly (a mosquito can go from egg to larva to pupa to flying, biting adult in just a week during the peak of summer’s heat!). We have been hearing reports of ticks in quite a few areas, along with plenty of mosquitoes and some fly issues in the Fargo/Moorhead and surrounding cities that we serve. We’ve of course heard from the families who’s yards we treat for voles (and mice, too) - Spring is when we notice the most damage from these rodents. Now is a great time to get your yard ready for growing season, and with a little foresight you can work to minimize the amount of nuisance insects and rodents on your property. Here are some tips:
VOLE/MOUSE/RODENT TIPS
1) Keep your grass cut to a suitable but short level, especially if you have tall grass areas near your lawn. Rodents are easy pickin’s for birds of prey, cats and plenty of other critters and the cover of tall grass lets them travel with confidence - take this away from them and you’ll see fewer mice and voles.
2) If you keep bird feeders on your property, be mindful of what the birds spill. The seeds and nuts that drop from feeders are an open invitation to rodents. Clean up after your messy bird pals and consider feeders that keep litter to a minimum.
3) Repair damage from vole trails by raking up the dead grass and planting new seed in the areas their runways were in. No sense in living with the visual evidence of their activity all year when a couple handfuls of seed will repair the spots in a few weeks’ time.
4) If you keep livestock or even backyard chickens, be sure to stay mindful of how feed is stored. Don’t spill it if possible, clean up any messes involving feed right away. Keep it in airtight, gnaw-proof containers to keep rodents from getting in and they’ll have one less reason to spend time on your property. The same goes for dog or pet food that might be kept outside, keep it locked up.
5) Contact us for a vole remedy plan in your yard, or an all around rodent abatement plan for reducing the amount of mice & voles on your property. We have solutions ranging from trapping and baiting to more organic/humane treatment options.
NUISANCE INSECT TIPS
1) Like the first tip for reducing rodents, keeping your grass mowed will help reduce insect-friendly habitat. We focus our insecticide treatment applications on vegetation that is ankle to head high, which is where the vast majority of any insects that will bother you prefer to hang out.
2) We’ve noticed that the yards with the most landscaping features are not only the most inviting to humans, but also seem to be the perfect bug habitat. We’ll never suggest people skip out on landscape design at their home, but it’s something to be mindful of. Bugs love tall, decorative grasses, evergreens, shrubs and bushes. If you’ve got a lot of these in your yard, you’ve got excellent areas for us to treat with our applications to turn your insect haven into a comfortable retreat for your family to enjoy again.
3) Refresh bird baths and dump out any standing water in containers in your yard. Mosquitoes can lay eggs that hatch in the thousands in containers as small as a 12oz pop can filled with water.
4) Keep plants near your home trimmed, the easier an insect (or rodent, for that matter) can touch your house, the easier they can get in a gap in the siding/trim or a slightly open window. Trimming trees and bushes near your house will also reduce damage to both the plant and your siding thanks to the wind we seem to constantly be blessed with.
5) Contact us for a quote on managing outdoor pests in your space, we’re happy to help find a solution that works for you and your family.