Do you love outdoor parties? But what about your least favorite guest? Insects and bugs? Not so great, right?
Here's how to keep them out of your patio and yard, as well as out of your home.
1. Install Patio Fans
Mosquitos have a powerful sting, but they're wimps when it comes to surviving a breeze. With the flip of a button, patio fans can keep your outside entertaining space clear of mosquitoes (and other small flyers).
You'll also benefit from a cool wind.
2. Mulch in Moderation
While mulching is typically beneficial to curb appeal, going overboard can be problematic.
It may provide the ideal habitat for cockroaches and ants to nest and enter your home. Mulch provides heat while also protecting hatching bugs as it decomposes. It can also aid in the tunneling of mice into your home. Keep the mulch at least 12 inches away from the foundation, or use an inorganic mulch like rock or gravel.
But don't go the other way and skip mulching entirely. Yellow jackets dig tunnels into the bare ground to build their nests.
3. Remove Standing Water
Your gutters and downspouts could be home to mosquitos. That's their perfect breeding ground.
Clean up your gutters and downspouts regularly to avoid obstructions that retain water and provide a breeding ground for those pesky stingers. When not in use, keep kiddie pools, buckets, and watering cans empty.
4. Trim, Mow, and Tidy Your Lawn
Keep your garden shears sharp and your lawnmower out regularly. In the tall grass, ticks prefer to hide.
5. Put Insects and Bug Repellent Plants
Bugs detest strong mint or citrus odors. For added beauty and practicality, incorporate plants with such scents into your landscaping, particularly near the porch, patio, or deck.
Here are some plants that repel pests, as well as the bugs that despise them:
- Basil: flies, mosquitoes
- Catnip: mosquitoes, ticks, flies, cockroaches
- Chrysanthemums: roaches, ants, ticks, fleas, bedbugs
- Lavender: moths, fleas, flies, mosquitoes
- Citronella: mosquitoes
- Geranium, lemon-scented: mosquitoes
- Lemon thyme: mosquitoes
- Marigold: mosquitoes
- Rosemary: mosquitoes
6. Use Lighter Colors for Your Home
Bugs can perceive dark and bright colors more easily, according to studies, which is why people are sometimes recommended to wear light-colored clothing to repel them. The same idea might be applied to your property. To make your home's siding, doors, trim, and other elements like fencing, patios, and decking less appealing to mosquitoes, use lighter paint colors.
Just make sure the paintwork blends well with the surrounding area and adds to the beauty of your property. Bugs are annoying, but lowering your home's worth is far worse.
If you need more tips that are beneficial to your home's curb appeal, just send me a message here.