Is Your Landscaping a Hiding Pest Palace?

Insects That Can Be Drawn to the Landscaping Around Your Home

The Northwest is home to a large assortment of residential pests, all of which can be commonly found in and around your home or garden. We have assembled a list of the different types of bugs most likely to infest gardens and landscaping. These can easily ruin all of the hard work you have put in to making the exterior of your home more attractive and inviting. Among the most common found in our area include: 

• Aphids: These are small, soft bodied insects commonly found on the tender parts of plant shoots. They secrete a sticky substance on leaves that can turn into black mold. 
• Bark beetles: These are small, brownish-black bugs that bore into trees, weakening branches and infecting them with disease. 
• Caterpillars: Most homeowners are familiar with the damage caterpillars do as they chew through greenery. Eventually, they turn into moths, which can then travel into your home, damaging clothes and other items. 
• Earwigs: These small creatures come at night and can completely destroy new landscape plantings. 
• Gallmakers or gall mites: These form in response to other infestations and embed within plants. Their numbers can quickly get overwhelming if not addressed. 
• Leaf miners: As their name implies, these bugs form mines through plant stem and can quickly devastate the foliage on trees and bushes.
• Sawfly: These are small, black flies that can appear in large numbers, chewing through leaves and shrubbery. 
• Scale insects: These live under shell like shelters on plant branches and their secretions can result in mold and fungus. 
• Spider mites: These are small red or yellow bugs that can engulf plants in their webbing. 
• Thrips: These are tiny bugs that resemble a tar dot on plants. They can quickly spread throughout your landscaping and in other areas of your yard. 
• Whiteflies: These light colored fly suck sap from plants, leaving behind a moldy submit that could potentially transmit viruses. 

Other common household pests that can be attracted to landscaping include root weevils, spittlebugs, wood borers, and the dreaded stink bug.

Landscaping and Other Issues That Contribute to Pest Problems

In addition to attracting insects, mulch, rocks, plants, and other supplies you use around your home could also be attracting rodents and other potentially damaging pests. For example: 

• Wood mulch can attract carpenter ants and termites. 
• Thick rows of bushes can provide hiding places for spiders, snakes, and mice;
• Vines and trellises can act as a bridge for ants, roaches, and other types of bugs;
• Fruit trees, flowers, and rocks can attract yellow jackets, wasps, or hornets;
• Standing water in birdbaths or fountains can draw disease carrying mosquitoes. 

Once insects, rodents, and other types of pests infest the outside of your home, it becomes easier for them to make their way indoors. Issues that can contribute to a home pest infestation include leftover food on countertops, spilled liquids left on floors, and open packages in pantries or cabinets. Ways pests can get into your home from outdoor landscaping include through cardboard boxes, leaky drains or faucets, cracks in your attic or home’s foundation, and gaps around windows or doors. 

Call in the Pest Control Professionals

It is frustrating to think that your efforts to make a nice home could actually be drawing unwanted pests. In addition to wasting your time and money, some of the bugs and rodents you may be attracting can do serious damage to your personal belongings and your home’s structure, while threatening the health and peace of mind of the people who live there. 

To prevent these types of issues from becoming a major problem in and around your property, reach out to Pointe Pest Control. We provide safe, highly effective professional pest service throughout the Northwest, helping to keep your home bug and rodent free. Call or contact our pest control specialists online and request a free estimate today.