For homeowners, summer is the perfect time to enjoy some outdoor fun with their furry pals. Unfortunately, summer is also the season when common dog pests come out in full force. Pesticide may be the obvious solution to eradicating them, but a number of studies have linked the chemical to a variety of short and long-term health problems. If you would like to build a pest-free backyard that’s safe for your dog to dwell in, consider applying these natural tricks to the backyard.
Team Up with the Good Bugs
Let’s first list out a few bugs that dogs absolutely hate. The most common dog parasites include fleas, botflies, and mites. These bugs may irritate your poor dog and, in the worst case scenario, cause harmful health conditions such as Lyme disease. Fortunately, there are certain bugs that may come to the rescue. Like most animals, pests like fleas have natural predators. Common examples include spiders, ladybugs, and even ground beetles. These predators are referred to as beneficial insects because their diet primarily consists of other insects and not the precious plants that you may be growing in the backyard.
Using beneficial insects is also a much more sustainable pest control solution, especially if you are able to keep them around in the backyard. Just make sure your backyard has areas for these insects to shelter in and also leave out a pan of water for good measure.
Aside from insects, you may want to also try attracting other animal species like birds and amphibians. These species may also help with controlling the backyard pest population. Just make sure that they will be able to co-exist in the same environment as your dog. The last thing you would want is for your dog to chase to them away!
Defensive Wall of Plants
Unlock your inner green thumb by growing pest-repelling plants. Evolution is a cool thing. Over the centuries, many species of plants have developed ways to build up resistance against pests and rodents. Some of the more popular pest-repelling plants include lavender, parsley, peppermint, rosemary, and spearmint. Growing these plants around common entry points, such as the edge of the backyard, could be a good way to ward off the pests.
Before you grow these plants, make sure they are not toxic to your dogs. Some plants, like chrysanthemum produce chemicals that may cause all sorts of health symptoms for your dog, especially if they are exposed to a large concentration of it.
Create Your Own Traps
Love DIY projects? There are plenty of natural traps you can build to get rid of the pests. For example, fleas are attracted to light. You could build a simple flea trap with dish soap solution and a lamp. Fill a tray with the dish soap solution and point the light towards it. The idea behind this trap is to drown the fleas by having them enter the tray of soapy water. Make sure the tray is out of your dog’s reach.
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