Fall Garden Clean Up and Pests

Native bees (a.k.a. solitary bees) sleeping on California Buckwheat

We regularly read horticultural advice advocating raking up and removing leaf litter and debris from Nipomo gardens in order to "clean" them up. Removing the brown seed pods, dried grasses, fallen twigs, coastal live oak leaf litter and other signs of abundant summer growth feels intuitively right. After all, this is how we clean our homes. But does this practice really "clean up" garden pest problems?

Garden Beneficials Need Winter Habitat

Turns out that the very same leaf litter and dried stalks that we fear give harbor to some of our garden nemeses also provide shelter and habitat during colder months to the native pollinators and beneficial insects that keep our Nipomo gardens thriving and in balance during the summer. Pollinators boost the health of our plants and predatory beneficial insects feed on our garden foes -- they may even be encouraged to stay in our gardens because they have a decent food supply!

Keeping shelter in place for the following Nipomo garden "good citizens" seems like something we'd all be interested in:

• Native Bees and other Pollinators
• Butterflies
• Native Ladybug Species
• Insectivorous Birds
• Predatory Insects

We really like this article that advocates delaying garden clean up until the spring months (with some exceptions, of course):

Six Reasons to Not Clean up the Garden This Fall

While it is written with temperate climate gardens in mind, its advice is sound practice for the mediterranean climate gardens found in Nipomo.

Read why kicking back and relaxing in your garden this fall will reward you with increased garden health next summer, then head out into your garden and watch as birds and insects get ready for winter by nestling into the leaf litter and dried stalks out back!

Contact O'Connor Pest Control today if you are having problems with unwanted "pest guests," or call us at 800-284-7985 for immediate service!