(Newswire.net — March 30, 2021) — When you walk outside, you can almost taste it – spring is coming. Warmer weather, beautiful flowers, and all the freshness of new life are just around the corner. But spring doesn’t just lead to smelling flowers and ditching winter coats. It also means that it is cleaning time.
Everyone talks about indoor spring cleaning. After all, when the world outside starts to feel fresh and new, you want your house to feel that way too. Remember though that your yard actually needs some spring cleaning TLC before it can feel as fresh and pretty as you want it to be. Plus, because spring can also mean an increase in pests in and around your home, yard spring cleaning can be effective pest control as well. So here are some important steps to remember in your yard spring cleaning.
9-step Checklist for Yard Spring Cleaning
1. Pickup Trash and Clutter
The first thing you want to do for your yard cleanup is get rid of any and all clutter around your yard. This includes any trash that might have been missed in the fall or dropped over the winter (like snowman decorations), broken branches, dead leaves, etc. This clutter will not only be in the way of your cleaning but can also become a haven for pests looking for a new spring home. So, when you clear out clutter, you also clear out pests.
Clearing all of this out first thing will help the rest of your cleanup go quickly and smoothly. Plus, taking the time to walk around your yard and pick up clutter will also give you a chance to quickly assess the condition of your yard.
2. Prune Your Plants
For plants like trees and shrubs to grow and look their best, they need to be pruned. Now, there are certain plants that are better pruned in the fall or late summer, but a lot of plants can be pruned in the spring. For the plants you prune in the spring, you’ll want to prune them early on before they start to bud or bloom. Otherwise, the plants may stop flowering.
As you prune, watch for signs of pest infestation or plant sickness. Catching both infestations and sicknesses early on will help you remove the problem quickly and keep your other plants safe from the same dangers.
3. Inspect Your Lawn for Signs of Rodents
When winter sets in, some pests hide out in your home to find shelter from the cold conditions. Others, however, simply dig into your lawn and set up camp there. The longer they’re there, the worse your lawn will look.
In the spring, you’ll be able to find the holes to their tunnels and see the evidence of their tunnels as your grass begins to grow because the lawn will look patchy or have lines of dead grass throughout it. Your grass can recover from this, but you need to get rid of these rodents first. Professional pest control can be really helpful in removing these rodents, but you can also try putting traps or poison around your yard. Just don’t let your kids or pets near the traps or poison.
4. Care for Your Lawn
Whether or not your lawn has rodents living under it, you’ll want to give your lawn some good treatment. You’ll want to aerate the lawn and fertilize it so it can grow its best. Remove any weeds as well.
As your grass revives from the winter, make sure to trim it regularly. Trimming it not only makes it look nice, but it also helps it stay healthy and it prevents pest problems from building in your grass. Some pests really like living in long grass, and so keeping your lawn trimmed will prevent the pests from wanting to live in your lawn.
5. Check Your Woodpile
Woodpiles are well-known places for pests to live. It’s always important to store wood piles away from your home and raised off the ground. Covering the wood with a tarp can also help protect it. However, in the spring, it’s a good idea to assess the condition of your woodpile as part of your pest control. If any of the wood is damp or moldy, get rid of it before it can damage the rest of the wood and attract all sorts of unpleasant pests.
6. Clean Windows and Window Wells
Your home feels so fresh and bright right after the windows are cleaned. Window cleaning is a great spring activity because it not only helps your home feel better but it also helps minimize the number of pests that might come into your basement. It will give you the chance to remove any spiders or mice that are living in the window wells and let you assess your windows for any gaps that might be letting pests inside your home.
7. Tidy Up Sidewalks and Gutters
Through the winter, your sidewalks and gutters may accumulate dirt, dead leaves, twigs, and garbage. Not only does this look gross when spring comes around, but it also attracts certain pests that like to live in clutter.
The clutter in the gutters can also cause blockages to water running down the street, and that can mean you have standing water around your home. This can lead to mold and slime in your gutters, and it can attract pests that lay eggs around standing water, like mosquitos. Cleaning your gutters early in the spring can prevent a lot of these problems.
8. Paint or Stain Your Fence
Between the hot summer sun and the cold winter wind and snow, your fence takes a beating throughout the year. And if it isn’t fixed up and cared for, it may start to sustain serious damage. One of the best ways to protect your fence is by painting or staining the wood. This will help keep moisture out of the wood and will discourage pests like ants or termites from setting up their colonies inside the wood.
9. Hire Pest Control to Treat Your Yard and Home
After you’ve cleaned up most of your yard, it’s a good idea to hire pest control to treat your home and yard. While the cleanup is a major part of protecting your plants and house from pest infestations, it isn’t completely foolproof. Pest control treatment gives you an added layer of protection so you can fully enjoy your home and yard without unnecessary pest problems.