Does Trimming Your Lawn Prevent Pests?

Does Trimming Your Lawn Prevent Pests?

We all get complacent sometimes, especially in the months of extremes – Whether extremely hot or chilly. It’s a regrettably common thing for some people to let their lawns grow tall enough to seed. Is that legal? According to the law in most Florida counties, you have to keep the grass and weeds down via trimming until they are below 12″. Why is that? Many people think it’s an aesthetic choice or just the city throwing its weight around. That’s not the case.

If you have an unkempt lawn, you might have encountered one of the consequences in your home. Pests move to wherever there’s shelter and food. Tall grass provides both of these. Insects, spiders, and other creepy crawlies move in first. After that come the mice, rats, and other brush critters. As you might expect, these can cause serious problems for communities. The more wild your lawn, the more likely the problems of the wild are to show up.

Now, does trimming your lawn reduce pests? You bet it does. The benefits go beyond pest control, though.

What Pests Live in the Grass?

Well, it’s not just grass you have to worry about. Most properties in Florida have not only grass but flowers, bushes, shrubs, and trees. These shed leaves, petals, stems, stalks… And create shelter for ground bees, ants, grasshoppers, spiders, wasps, yellow jackets, and more. Some of these can damage the lawn and surrounding garden. Again – Problems of the wild. These critters are food for rodents and lizards. While most Floridians don’t consider lizards a pest, any nuisance animal you don’t want around is a pest.

Rats are another serious worry. While most rats will prefer to stay indoors if they can, well-sealed homes will find rats in the tall grass outside. While not every animal that lives in tall grass is harmful, many are.

How to Reduce Pests in Grass

The biggest thing you can do is keep your grass neatly trimmed. Tall grass provides shelter, which everything relies on. Without that tall shelter, insects have trouble hiding from birds and lizards. Mice also avoid being out in the open as much as possible. To reduce lawn pests, you first have to take care of the lawn. Once you’ve done that, examine what pests you have left because the treatment will vary depending on what you’re dealing with.

How to Clean Up Your Lawn by Trimming and More

Aside from mowing, the big theme to consider is reducing clutter. This means pruning and trimming your trees and bushes. It means picking up any trash and displacing large objects. For example, do you have an old canoe turned over in the backyard? It’s time to flip it over and clean up around it. Old washing machine? It might be time to get rid of it. Take down decorations that have been up for a long time and put up something new. You can find pests living everywhere – You know those tin stars people hang on their doors? We’ve seen wasp nests built in the bevel of those things.

Of course, if you need a hand getting an unruly lawn under control, give us a call. We offer a wide range of groundskeeping services, including mowing and trimming.