5 Expert Recommendations for a Healthy Pest-Free Home and Garden
Humans pay close attention to wild animals. However, it’s not always for the best reasons. Interestingly, some homeowners have grown to love rabbits, skunks, raccoons, and squirrels due to their adorable appearance.
Photographing these furry guests as they occasionally forage for grass in their backyard and continue to feed them more to entice them to return for entertainment excites some people.
However, as the number of wildlife in metropolitan and suburban areas continues to rise, people are growing more conscious of the risks that wild animals pose. These cuddly woodland creatures are mischievous. Wildlife harms the structural integrity of your property, like the insulation and electrical installations in the attic. Worse still, they harbor parasites like fleas and ticks that transmit disease.
Sadly, pest animals won’t hesitate to enter your house. Therefore, it’s ideal to implement a wildlife control plan. These expert suggestions will help keep wildlife outside your home.
Never Feed Wildlife
The most effective way to draw wildlife into your house is to leave pet food outside or food items in the outdoor trash can. Rodents, black bears, and other wild animals that intrude into the area will be delighted to munch on the no-cost buffet. The exploitative invaders will return after receiving one free meal in hopes of getting another.
Worse yet, having rodents as prey in your yard invites foxes and wild cats, which are predators. The predators may view your yard as the ideal place to hunt. Ensure your pets eat inside to prevent interactions with feral creatures in your dwelling.
Trim Tree Branches
Many animals, such as squirrels, are skilled climbers of trees. Regretfully, it is far too simple for them to fall from sticking tree limbs and find their way inside if they are over your rooftop or other areas of your home.
Removing tree limbs close to the house is a simple way to tackle this. Ensure you limit the chances of animals entering your home through those branches. In addition, you’ll gain the advantage of having more natural light entering your house without having branches lean against your roof or mask your windows.
It’s advisable to cut the branches anywhere between 6 and 8 feet away from the roof’s edge if you’re unsure about the distance back to do so.
It’s an excellent move to limit the amount of vegetation in your garden alongside pruning back your trees. It does not imply that you should give up on landscaping. Instead, concentrate on clearing your yard of debris, such as brush and leaves.
Rodents and birds use these resources to construct their homes and nests. It is less probable for these animals to make their nest someplace they shouldn’t be the farther they are from your home.
Secure Entry Points
Unveiled exterior holes, such as cracked windows in an attic or screen-less views in a city dwelling, are the most popular ways wildlife gets into homes.
Take measures to secure all interior door openings to avoid unintentional intrusions. It involves covering the eaves, chimney openings, and pipelines facing the exterior with screens. The screen might dislodge or even deteriorate if your house is older or your neighborhood has seen severe weather.
However, do not block off entryways if you discover an animal inside your house. Provide them with a means of escape and establish a setting that motivates the animal to leave without help. If the critter is nocturnal, put a bright light source in its location. Motions and loud noises could encourage them to leave your home. You can pound on the walls or play songs if you find yourself secure.
If they are awake during the day, make sure all lights are off. Then, open the windows and doors for them to see the more vibrant outside. They won’t want to approach you if you stand in the path of the entrance waiting for them to go. Offer them space.
Block all identified entry points permanently once no animal is still inside.
Employ Repellents
You can use many plants in your garden to help ward off wildlife. Garlic plants have a smell that repels most animals. Because their leaves taste bitter, most animals don’t like daffodils, making them an adorable addition to any garden. Lavender is an efficient repellent for deer and rabbits. Likewise, marigolds effectively deter moles.
To help deter wildlife, you may also scatter or spray undesirable supplies around your yard or specific plants. Hot pepper extract, predator urine, petroleum jelly, spicy cayenne pepper, cloves clippings, rotting egg whites, and coffee grounds are a few effective ingredients.
Build Physical Barriers
Fencing is a fantastic way to keep intruders and pests out of the yard. Depending on the animal, you may decide to fence every inch of your property or just the areas causing you the greatest trouble, such as the area right around the yard or the ground beneath your home.
A fence about two to three feet tall will be too tall for most bunnies to jump, though some may try to burrow under it.
The least expensive options for small animals are rabbit fencing, chicken wire, or hardware cloth. Most deer can be deterred from eating small, appetizing plants like berries by encompassing them with plastic bird netting before adulthood.
To keep most wildlife from tunneling beneath or jumping over a barrier, install a sturdy fence positioned no less than 1.5 feet underneath and 8 feet above the surface. The animals will be almost completely kept out.
Maintaining a Pest-Free Home and Garden
There are several tactics you can use to keep wild animals out of your house. Construct barriers, plant bug-repelling plants, call a pest control expert, tidy the dining area and hide the trash cans, discover the bugs and determine how to avoid them, and consider getting hunting pets.
Depending on your preferences, the area, and location, there are suitable options to prevent wildlife pests from entering your estate. You can preserve your peace of mind and ensure your family’s safety by implementing these techniques.
