7 Things That Attract Pests to Your Garden

What are things that attract pests to your garden?

1. Stagnant Water
2. Birdseed and Pet Food
3. Trash Bins
4. Dirty Grills
5. Open Compost
6. Outdoor Lights
7. Overripe Fruits

 

Are you having a pest problem in your garden? Though this is a common problem among gardeners, there are ways to fight this. The best method is to avoid making your garden attractive to pests. That means you need to avoid all the things that attract pests to your garden. You may not know it, but some of these are most likely present in your garden.

Getting rid of these pest attractors will quickly lessen the number of pests that come to your garden, but it shouldn’t stop there. If you want to avoid garden pests, read on to learn what things you should keep an eye out for in your garden!

 

Stagnant Water

You’ve probably heard this before, and you’ll hear it here again. Stagnant water will attract pests. Standing water is a prime breeding spot for mosquitoes and other insects attracted to water. Try to eliminate stagnant water from buckets, birdbaths, bowls, or other places in your garden where water can gather. Make sure to also check if you have a clogged gutter, which is a common spot for standing water.

 

Birdseed and Pet Food

A bird feeder in your garden might attract beautiful birds, but it can also attract pests. Birdseed would be an easy meal for any pests that might be attracted to grains such as rodents. Even the birdseed bags themselves, if not properly sealed, might attract moths and other bugs. If you wish to avoid attracting pests into your garden, then consider removing the birdseed from out in the open.

Another thing to watch out for is pet food in your garden. Sometimes, our pets don’t finish the food we give them and some are left in their bowls. These would also get the attention of insects and rodents alike.

 

Trash Bins

There are plenty of trash-loving pests out there, and if your garden is near any area with buildups of trash, then it is likely that pests will get attracted to your garden too. Of course, food scraps in the trash are also attractors for many pests, but even the odor itself could get some insects coming. That’s why aside from taking out the trash and not letting it build up, you should keep the trash bins as clean and odor-free as possible.

 

Dirty Grills

Having a garden party with a grill is something that most people enjoy. If you recently had an outdoor cooking thing in your garden, make sure to properly clean your grills after the party. The smell of food itself from the cooking would have already attracted some pests. Leaving the grills uncleaned in your garden is not good because the residue of food and oils in your grill will attract all kinds of bugs and rats.

Also, don’t spill soda on your garden because the sugar will attract ants for sure.

 

Open Compost

Many gardeners do compost to improve their soil’s health. While this is a good way to dispose of organic wastes, this is also a huge neon sign for free meals for bugs and other pests. An open compost pile will almost certainly catch the attention of hungry pests, so switching to a more enclosed system of composting would be better. You could also mix garden wastes, such as leaves and grass, to undercut the smell of the food scraps in there. Avoiding fats, meats, and dairy products in your compost pile would make it less attractive to pests.

 

Outdoor Lights

Having some lights in our garden can give it an ambient feel, or even just illuminate the lovely flowers and plants there. But many species of insects are attracted to light sources, especially at night. This means that although it makes your garden look better, outdoor lighting can actually increase the pest population in the area. You might want to consider taking them down or use light bulbs with less attractive rays if you really need the light.

 

Overripe Fruits

If your garden produces fruit, then you already know that they are prime pest attractors. Fruit flies love fruits, and other insects get attracted by their aroma as well. If you don’t pick those fruits and store them properly though, they might just turn overripe. Overripe fruits produce that yummy ethylene gas, which is what gives off that overripe smell we all know, that will make them bigger targets for fruit-loving pests.

 

Key Takeaway

Keeping your garden pest-free is definitely a challenge that can have many different solutions. But simply avoiding these things that attract pests to your garden would already lower the local pest population significantly. By making your garden less attractive to possible pests, they would see no reason to visit your garden.

Avoiding attractors can help with pest control, but it is not enough to eliminate the pest problem entirely. If you want to get rid of the pest problem, then getting professional pest control services is the way to go. We at Topbest ofter the best pest control services in the country. Simply contact us here for a free consultation and we can talk about eliminating your pest problems!