Pests. Plants. People.

Healthier plants need less help from pesticides. Set up your garden in the right location with proper soil health and irrigation.

• Take inventory of what you already have at home to avoid buying duplicates.
• Hold back on buying all together and wait until you see the weeds growing before buying products.
• Only buy what you need. Use a common surface area formula to calculate the surface of your yard and figure out how much you’ll need to buy.
• Dispose of unused and unwanted pesticides properly at the HMMF.

Give your lawn and garden a strong start. Follow our tips to help tackle weeds and accept that no lawn is 100% free of weeds.

Lawn:

• When you mow, cut no shorter than 2.5-3” in length to keep your grass healthy.
• Fertilize your lawn only as needed to maintain a healthy lawn that can compete with weeds.
• Hand pull or hoe weeds or hire a young entrepreneur to do it.
• Pour boiling water on weeds popping up in sidewalk cracks or edges.
• Use mulches and non-plastic fabric to block weed growth.

Garden

• Mix compost into the soil to add nutrients for soil health or better yet, make your own compost to be sure it’s not contaminated with weed seeds. Participate in a free compost workshop hosted by Boulder County.
• Thin crowded planting to improve air circulation.
• Try companion gardening (strategically place pest deterring species such as basil, chives, or petunias, or chrysanthemums).
• Rotate your annuals each year to reduce the build up of pests.

Landscaping with Native Plants

Different pests require different approaches. Identify your pest so you can learn its lifestyle and the best way to manage it.

• Insects & Spiders
  • Identify bugs to determine if they are beneficial or harmful.
    • Beneficial bugs could include bees, lady beetles, most spiders, green lacewings, damsel bugs, ground beetles, and predatory mites.
    • Damaging insects can include aphids, ash borers, or pine beetles.
  • Plant a diverse group of plants to provide more types of foods and homes for beneficial insects. Try adding lemon balm, thyme, spearmint, or purple coneflower.
• Rodents, birds, and larger animals
  • Block all holes and openings in your house (including attics and window wells). Look along the ground and within roof eaves and soffits. Get rid of wood and rock piles near the house. Store all food in secure containers and cupboards that can’t be chewed through.
  • Once spring babies are born it’s more humane to wait a few weeks for them to get big enough to move.
• Slugs
  • Put a local Boulder County based craft beer in shallow containers or saucers to attract and drown slugs

Pesticides have a lot of unintended targets. If they are not applied appropriately or stored incorrectly, they can have negative effects on human health, and the environment.

• Some pesticides/herbicides have been found to be carcinogenic chemicals that cause childhood cancer. Research the product and the ingredients before you use it.
• Store chemicals in clearly labeled containers that aren’t leaking. Never use the same sprayer for different types of chemicals.
• Pesticides from lawns can run off with rainwater contaminating nearby water sources and groundwater. Excess fertilizer can also run off causing algae blooms that are deadly to fish and other aquatic life.
• Drift (wind) movement of spray droplets can affect unintended targets such as bees, ladybugs, or more desired native plants.