Pest Control Tips For the Home Owner - Prevention Through the Correct Landscaping

Landscaping Tips Prevention: As with all pests, the best prevention is home maintenance.
American's spend millions of dollars per year on landscaping.
They pay to have their yards mowed, trees trimmed, shrubs planted, and mulching done.
What we fail to do in most cases is to landscape properly.
If you have read any of my previous articles on Mice, Bees, Hornets, Wasps, and Cockroaches, I discuss a regular check around the exterior of your home to look for any pest infestations.
Prevention, when it comes to landscaping is simple.
By following these tips, you will reduce home invasions dramatically.
1.
Remove all shrubbery to a minimum of 6 inches from the siding of your home.
Pretty simple task unless you have a 1900 era home with ivies and vines covering the sides.
The reason for doing this should be clear, pests like vegetation.
Remove the vegetation, no place for pests to like.
Also, by opening up a 6" to 12" perimeter around your home you have given yourself a good visual all the way around your home of the foundation and siding.
That becomes important when using my tips for eliminating Wasps, Hornets, Ants, Spiders and Bees.
2.
Keep all tree limbs from touching the home.
I have seen carpenter ants enter a home by following a tree limb right up to the roof.
For itty bitty guys, they are pretty smart.
So, remove all branches, limbs etc...
where they come in contact with your home.
3.
Mulching: Mulching/Barking is fine but, as you get closer to the house, make the material thinner.
Here is what I mean.
If you mulch properly, the directions say to put down 2" to 4" of mulch covering.
As you get closer to the home, reduce that to a smattering.
Just enough to cover.
If you really want to be extra careful, you can do ornamental edging around the base of your home.
The less foliage around the home, the easier it will be for you to spot issues.
Once you get the foliage away from the home, you can start regular walk-a-rounds.
One more thing, Mother Nature has a way of creeping back, so, once you have finished clearing, it takes regular maintenance.
I know...
everything is about prevention.