How to prevent landscaping pests

Using exterior landscaping to make a facility welcoming for customers, visitors, and employees is an expense that many businesses use significant financial and labor resources to maintain. The reward is a beautiful facility that can help generate a positive image for a business. However, landscaping can also inadvertently contribute to pest problems if not thought through carefully.

Keeping your landscaping from attracting unwanted pests to your facility isn’t as hard as it may sound, it just takes planning. Rentokil’s pest control experts offer these 3 tips to help keep pests at bay:

Keep building foundations clear of vegetation. Create an 18-inch “vegetation-free” zone next to any structure. This allows for easy inspection and keeps pests from being able to harbor against (and find their way into) your structure.

Prevent plants, shrubs, and trees from touching buildings. When leaves, limbs and branches touch buildings, they create a perfect “roadway” for pests to climb right onto your building and then take advantage of gaps and cracks to find their way in. Trees and shrubs in close proximity to a building can also increase the risk of damage – root systems can damage the foundation of a building.

Select mulch products carefully. Traditional wood mulch and other ground coverings can attract pests, such as termites, and provide a perfect harborage for other insect pests. In fact, experts believe that fire ants may have spread their geographical reach in part through transportation in landscaping materials, such as pine straw. Consider using egg rock or stone instead.

Rentokil’s Landscaping Best Practices card provides 9 useful tips for organizing your landscaping plan. Download it today.