How To Protect Your Plants & Home Gardens From Common Pests

Singapore is known as the garden with abundance of greenery sanctuary and vegetation landscapes. From trees lining every street or the small gardens we grow in our homes, planting has become a common home lifestyle and trend today. However, many often forget that home gardens can easily become hotspots for pests.

It is inevitable to expect some insects in crawling in your garden, as they are an important part of the ecosystem. However, environment conditions, landscaping and housekeeping gaps can draw pests such as ants, mosquitoes, and even termites to your garden and end up infesting your premises. In this article, Rentokil shares how you keep your garden and home pest-free and learn useful important pest control tips to prevent possibility of pest infestation from taking place.

Pests That Are Attracted To Home Gardens and How To Prevent Them

Ants

Ants are common in outdoor green spaces and are often an unwelcome sight in houseplants as they are a symptom of a larger problem. An abundance of ants can indicate additional presence of garden pests such as aphids and mealybugs. Besides the sweets and sugar that most house ants feed, they also rely on dead or alive pests and insects for protein as their food source. In addition, they will consume the honeydew produced by the aphids and mealybugs.

Some of the common outdoor ant species is the fire ant, where they seek warmth and lurk among plants, grass, shrubs and yards. Fire ants can enter into your home for shelter and obtaining more food source, and can place your family at risk of ant bites. Unlike some pests where bites are bearable and generally harmless, this is not the case for fire ant bites where medical attention and treatment is critical.

More importantly, ants can breed and set up colonies in your home since there is a food source nearby - which may result in an ant infestation! Encountering a handful ants is manageable, however ants infestation can escalate, spread and cause damage and health and safety risks.

Tips to keep ants activities in your garden under control

• Get rid of the aphids and mealybugs that are infesting your plants
• Engage professional pest control company to get rid of ants in your garden
• Sprinkle some Diatomaceous Earth powder on the soil. It will puncture the ants’ exoskeletons, causing them to dehydrate and die.
• Apply insecticides that are formulated for the plants
• Maintain adequate landscaping including shrubs management, pruning, mulch removal
• Ensure diligent outdoor housekeeping, clearing clutters and junks
• Keeping environment dry and free of moist and water, as pests need water to survive

However, there are many types of ant species, and for some pests, they have close resemblance that make pest identification difficult. For example, there is the carpenter ants and termites (or also known as white ants) that have similar outlook unless identified by professional pest control specialist. To ensure you have the right solution to resolve your ants’ problem, get a home inspection check today.

Mosquitoes

Mosquitoes are not typically a danger to plants but to humans. They are often attracted to the plants and greenery because of the carbon dioxide they detect. They also favour plants near or within standing water as that is where they lay their eggs as part of mosquito breeding process. Besides, we will spend time in the outdoor, for planting or exercise activities, and these are main attraction points for mosquitoes because of the lactic acid they trace from us. In addition, they seek body warmth, and thus, homes with outdoor garden are at risk of mosquito infestation.

Some common home mistakes include using saucers for potted plants with excess stagnant water, which becomes a breeding ground for mosquitoes. Others include leaving receptacles around the garden including tires, containers, pails and piles. Mosquitoes carry and spread harmful diseases such as dengue fever and the Zika virus.

Mosquito prevention tips you can apply to prevent your gardening activities from attracting mosquitoes

• Empty the saucer of excess water immediately after watering your plants
• Turnover unwanted pails, containers or pots to avoid collecting water
• Avoid keeping plants overly dry, as hardened soil can result in receptacles
• Trimmed excess shrubs and grass, clear unwanted piles and items
• Keep surfaces and environment dry, wipe off spills, leaks and excess water
• Refresh water for gardens with water feature and ponds
• Check drains and gutters for any stagnant water and mosquito breeding

You may also try your hands by using scents such as lemongrass, citronella, basil, and rosemary to ward off mosquitoes. Their scent repel mosquitoes to other parts of your home. Worse of all, entering your home and thus increasing indoor mosquito risks. While DIY natural ingredients can disrupt their scent trail and navigation for a short while, they can track your location with their receptors and it does not get rid of mosquitoes effectively. You can also consider engaging a pest control service where they recommend integrated and comprehensive mosquito control including water-based fogging to eliminate adult mosquitoes, larviciding to remove breeding mosquitoes and placing mosquito traps to lure and trap both adult and breeding mosquitoes and stop transmission of dengue.

Also Read: Complete Guide For Mosquito Control

Termites

Another pest that is more likely to invade outdoor gardens besides homes is termites. Among all the pests that your home garden can attract, termites are quite possibly the most damaging as they can cause structural damage to your property. Termites are attracted to moisture and the cellulose found in wood and wooden structures. Home gardens happen to have an abundance of both of them and typically attract subterranean termites. They build their colony underground and even extend their mud tubes into your home if you happen to have wooden structures. Besides Dampwood termite that is associated to outdoor and greenery, of the three types of termites in Singapore, subterranean termites are the most destructive.

Termites often go undetected for years. Furthermore, they are a pest that is very hard to get rid of on your own. It is recommended to engage a professional termite control specialist whom will detect signs of a termite infestation in your premises. They have professionals who are capable of administering termite treatments to keep termites away from your garden and home. In addition, they utilise microwave technology to detect termite activities and presence accurately.

Termite prevention tips to key these destructive pests away

• Minimise any connecting contact between ground or surrounding wood to your home
• Adopt adequate proofing to prevent termites entering your home for food source
• Clear away rotten wood pile, fence and planks and mulch that may be infested
• Minimise the use of materials and furnishing with wood or containing cellulose
• Keep place dry from water and moisture as all pests seek water for survival
• Ensure place is well ventilated and reduce humidity of the environment
• Always check for potential signs of termite infestation and take quick action

Termites can cause several problems and consequences to a home. It is important to protect your home with adequate termite treatment. Firstly, they can weaken home foundation by chewing off the interior and wood, thus making stability a risk. Secondly, it can result in collapsed beams or ceilings in severe conditions. Thirdly, mud tubes that they produce for their traveling purpose can be unsightly and less complimenting to a home décor. Fourthly, their droppings is known to trigger allergies among some. Finally, species such as Dywood Termite can damage door and window frames, thus affecting its functionality. Contact a termite control specialist today and find out more on the seven years warranty programme.

Why the Need for Outdoor Pest Control

Pest control Singapore covers not just the indoor protection, but also outdoor. This is because most home infestations are triggered from the outside, where they can enter into homes through openings. For example, cracks and crevices resulting from poor home conditions, gaps due to structure expansion, opened doors and windows, and any other entry points. As pest travels and causes cross infestation, it is important to have adequate pest control coverage in the entire premise. Besides pests that favour plants, there are other outdoor pest that are as essential. These include rats, bees, birds and ticks or fleas.

Protecting Your Garden & Home

Home gardens provide much-needed greenery and beauty to our homes. Moreover, growing a garden has been associated to reducing stress and anxiety. If you happen to cultivate vegetables, it can even be a source of food! However, they should be taken care of properly so that they do not end up attracting unwanted pests to your home. Worse of all, escalating an outdoor pest infestation to internally. In addition, homes with pets should take extra precaution in maintaining a pest-free garden and front pouch as pests such as ticks and fleas, can latch on to your pets, seeking blood meal from them and causing unpleasant bites.

Rentokil Singapore offers a range of expert pest control services for homes and businesses! Call us at (65) 6347 8138 for a pest control solution today.