ABCs of Pest Habitat Modification-Exterior Landscaping
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Let's begin by inspecting
the exterior of the building.
The first thing
we want to pay attention to
is the vegetation.
And there is three things
to consider.
First of all,
what species of plants
are you utilizing
as the exterior vegetation
or the foundation plants?
If you've selected plants
that produce flowers or fruit,
that's gonna be attracted
to insects
and other types of pets.
When fruit starts to fall down,
rodents may be feeding on it.
So select the proper
foundation plants first.
Second of all, you many have
a foundation plant
that doesn't produce
flowers or fruit,
but it's very densely compacted
like this privet plant.
That's not a good idea either,
because wasp nests
and other types of flies
can harbor in that area
and then have access
to the building.
The third thing
about vegetation is,
where is it spaced
or where is it positioned
in reference to the building.
This is important
because, like this plant,
it's way too close
to the building.
Pests can use the plant
as a highway to the building
and therefore have direct access
to getting inside.
After you've considered
your vegetation,
then you want to consider
what's down below.
For example,
here in this situation,
is a lot of mulch,
almost six inches of mulch.
Now mulch is really good
for plants
because it actually
keeps the moisture there.
But it's also a great harbor
for insects.
They love that moisture
and food.
So that moisture and food source
will be a harborage area.
So we recommend that pine straw
and other chip mulches
ought not to be used
around the exterior
of the building.
We encourage that you have
a three foot barrier
with no vegetation
and to use rock
or rubble in that area.
This is for two reasons,
number one,
most pests don't like to live
in rock, and second of all,
rodents will be exposed
if they're running
on the outside
of the building.
They really like to be hidden.
And when you have that
three foot barrier of rubble,
they're not gonna be running
on the outside
of the building very often.
Water is the source
for all life.
When you're doing
your inspection,
look around for water sources,
puddles or other types
of water situations,
that may be where pests
are actually congregating,
situations like this,
you've got a downspout
and you can actually
see water dripping,
actually some moss
is growing here,
these are conditions
that are gonna be
conducive for pests.
The pests may be breeding
in that area
or just coming to drink
the water that's there,
birds and rodents, therefore,
are up next to the building
and their next step is gonna be
going inside of the building.
Try to remove all standing water
if possible.
And there's kind of
two ways to do that.
Make sure that the movement
away from the building
is downhill
so the water will move away.
If not, you may actually
have to mop it up at times
to make sure that there's not
a water source for pests.