How to Keep Your Patio Pest-Free

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While it is impossible to eliminate all pests from your patio, there are many strategies that you can employ to prevent these pesky invaders from becoming comfortable in your backyard. Aside from being annoying, these pests can also pose a huge health risk by spreading germs and diseases everywhere.

This is why it is critical to keep your outdoor area pest-free and you can take a look below to see the simple ways in which you can do just that.

Keep grass and plants trimmed

Pests rely on plants to stay hidden and if you have unmowed grass or untrimmed plants near your patio it can be impossible to get rid of pets ranging from ticks and ants to birds and rodents. By using the plants as hiding spots, the pests can venture to your patio, steal some food, and quickly go back to safety.

Thus, it is crucial to keep plants trimmed back so that these critters can’t use them to hide. It is also a good idea to plan a few herbs that are natural repellents such as rosemary, lemongrass, chives and garlic which can repel biting insects and other pests.

Avoid storing trash outside your home

Keeping an outdoor area is crucial if you don’t want to have problems with pests since trash is a prime attraction for pests who are looking for some easy food to eat. Thus, if you tend to leave trash outdoors right near your patio or yard, then you’re basically inviting in insects, rodents, and other wildlife.

Instead, you should focus on keeping any food waste or trash as far from your outdoor living area as possible. This means that you should sweep up any crumbs and wipe away spilled liquids every time you dine on your patio since even the smallest morsel or sticky stain can attract ants and other pesky insects.

Furthermore, you should make sure that any existing trash cans and dumpsters are sealed securely since if you remove this temptation you’ll see immediate results without having to use chemical repellents.

Find a good pest management strategy

Your patio is not a good place to use strong pest repellents but there are plenty of natural alternatives that you can use if you have a serious pest infestation. You can use a mix of essential oils such as lavender or eucalyptus and spray it around the patio to create a natural pest barrier. You can also spray it on you and other family members to keep the bugs away.

Citronella torches and citrus candles can also be used to drive away bothersome insects such as mosquitoes and flies and combining them will let you get better pest-fighting action. If you want to see instant results, you can take a look at this analysis.

Lighting is important

During the night, the lights on your patio will act as magnets for insects and there are a couple of things that you can do to make your outdoor eating experience more pleasant. First, you should replace white bulbs with sodium vapor lights or yellow bulbs since the orange or yellow glow will attract fewer insects.

Secondly, you should move your lighting further away from your outdoor living space either higher up on the wall or further away from the patio.

Avoid standing water

Mosquitoes, in particular, are attracted by standing water and they use it for breeding. To avoid an infestation you should never neglect your pool, birdbaths or water features. The pool should be maintained frequently and covered when you are not using it. For the other water sources, you should try to keep the water moving as much as possible.