Best Tips for Insect Control – Ticks, Mosquitoes, & Gypsy Moth Caterpillars

The Spring and Summer mean it’s time to get your outdoor living space ready for months full of pool parties, late-night swims, and backyard BBQs. As you prepare to get your pool and outdoor landscape ready to impress, a big thing you can’t overlook is the damage harmful insects can do to your lawn and garden. Ask yourself this, the next time you have friends and family over to enjoy a beautiful East Coast Summer day or night, do you want it ruined because mosquitoes keep attacking your guests and caterpillars have destroyed your plant life? We don’t want that for you either and fortunately, there are a lot of all-natural options to help with protecting the long-term health of your lawn and garden from these nasty bugs. The most popular insects that you’ll see as the weather gets warmer are ticks, mosquitoes, and Gypsy Moth caterpillars, and we’ve put together some helpful tips to make sure they don’t ruin all the fun you have planned to show off your outdoor landscape this summer.

Ticks

As the days get warmer, one of the peskiest insects that attack your outdoor living space is ticks. These little critters can do some serious damage to not only you but your pets as well. Here are some helpful tips that can naturally protect you from ticks without having to use any harmful chemicals.

1. Mow your lawn and prune low lying bushes

Yes, mowing your lawn has its benefits besides keeping your lawn looking well-maintained. Ticks are known to hang around the tips of tall grass so mowing your lawn regularly will remove one of their favorite places to call home. Pruning low lying bushes to let in more sunlight keeps the yard from being so damp and shady, so ticks will be less attracted to the yard.

2. Create a barrier between your lawn and property

Use a three-foot-wide woodchip, mulch or gravel barrier where your lawn meets the woods. Ticks are less likely to cross the barrier into the lawn because they are prone to drying out.

3. Don’t overwater

Ticks typically find their way to moist areas of your lawn and garden so make sure you properly water your grass and plant life to avoid ticks from gathering in overwatered areas.

4. Tick-repellent plants and herbs

Neave Lawn Care’s team of professionals can apply a treatment to your lawn to help prevent unwanted pests. There also some popular plantings and herbs that help repel ticks such as garlic, mint, rosemary, fleabane daisy, and wormwood. Also, avoid installing plants in your yard that attract deer. Deer can carry ticks into your yard.

Mosquitoes

The summer also welcomes plenty of mosquitoes that do their best to annoy you when you’re enjoying your outdoor living space. Here are some natural ways to keep mosquitoes away from you and your property.

1. Remove areas of standing water

Mosquitoes only need a little bit of water to lay eggs and that’s why you should check your entire outdoor property for spots of standing water. From an empty cup left on the patio table to drains that are clogged, standing water is the perfect place for mosquitoes to breed and spread. Another tip is to use bark or wood chips in areas where water collects after the rain.

2. Trim your grass and weeds

Mosquitoes love to gather in overgrown vegetation, so be sure to cut your grass regularly and keep a look out for weeds and pull them. It’s also important to remove dry leaves as they are a popular breeding ground for mosquitoes as well.

3. Repel with plants and herbs

There are a number of plants and herbs that you can either plant in your garden or in a small pot on the table to keep away mosquitoes. These include lemongrass, rosemary, basil, lavender, lemon balm, peppermint, and of course, citronella, commonly used in citronella candles.

Gypsy Moth Caterpillars

A big problem many homes around the Northeast are facing this year is the damage from Gypsy Moth caterpillars. One egg mass can hold between 500 and 1,000 eggs, and when they hatch, the caterpillars attack oaks, maples, birches and other deciduous plants. So if you find your plant life whittled down, chances are these caterpillars are the culprit. Here are some tips to naturally control these pesky pests.

1. Clean up your yard

Remove items such as dead leaves, branches, and stumps as these are popular spots for the caterpillars to lay eggs.

2. Locate the nest

Eggs nests are typically found attached to tree bark or objects kept outside year-round. The nests are tan and about 1 inch in diameter. Gypsy Moths lay eggs in the summer and hatch in the spring so it’s important to find and remove them this time of the year.

3. Add lighting

Gypsy Moths like gathering in darker areas of your yard and so one way to eliminate this is by adding more light. Flood lights or other types of landscape lighting can be helpful in preventing Gypsy Moths from finding a home, plus they can also add more security throughout your outdoor space.

As you can see, protecting your outdoor areas from insects and pests is pivotal to keeping the beautiful appearance of your landscape. At Neave Lawn Care, we specialize in insect control and can help come up with a plan to keep these harmful bugs from damaging your lawn, trees and garden. We want to make sure you and your family get to enjoy your summer outdoors and not have to worry about infestations from insects such as ticks, mosquitoes, and Gypsy Moth Caterpillars. Contact us today to find out more about our all-natural and organic pest management programs and how we can help.

If you’re in the Hudson Valley, call us at (845) 463-0592. Westchester County, call (914) 271-7996, or Connecticut, dial (203) 212-4800. You can also fill out our simple web form, and we’ll contact you about setting up your free consultation.