Protect Your Yard and Home From Spring Pests in St. George

Spring is a time for Utah pests to emerge and get busy.

Not only do a variety of pests become more active in the spring, but people are outside more, where they're often noticing pest activity has picked up. Whether it's moving things around and de-cluttering, spending time in the garden or working on projects around your home, you may be seeing more pests than usual.

While insects and spiders are some of the most noticeable spring pests, there are a few other pests that might be causing you (and your home or yard) issues.

These pests might be:

• Birds
• Rats and Mice
• Voles
• Clover Mites

Which yard pests are causing you issues, and how should you prevent pest damage to your yard and home this spring?

Pest Birds

Birds can be charming creatures, but they can also be seriously annoying pests.

In residential areas throughout Utah, birds have been known to cause damage to homes and yards. They may build nests in gutters and eaves, which can clog the gutters and cause water damage to the home. Birds may also roost on porches and patios, leaving behind unsightly droppings and filth. Occasionally, birds eat fruit from the garden, damage flowers with their scratching and pecking, and contaminate soil with their droppings. To avoid these issues, bird control methods should be used.

If you're in Utah, you may be dealing with a variety of bird species, particularly:

• Pigeons
• Sparrows
• Starlings

Pest birds are known for creating issues all over the world, and Utah is no exception. Anywhere people thrive is a place where pest birds can thrive. Our structures, food waste, and standing water all create an ideal living environment for them.

Believe it or not, birds can cause a lot of damage to property. They carry disease that can spread to humans and animals, their droppings can erode certain materials, and they can leave nesting debris and fecal matter all over if they decide to roost.

How to Get Rid of Pest Birds

Proper bird control is dependent on a variety of circumstances:

1. Where and when are you noticing activity?
2. What type of bird is causing the issue?
3. What are the birds doing?
4. Is this a residential or commercial bird issue?

To address a bird problem, ask yourself what is attracting the birds in the first place. Is it an ideal roosting spot, or an openly available food or water source? Seek to remove these attractants whenever possible.

There's a wide array of bird control options available, ranging from ultrasonic repellant devices and bird spikes to netting and professional-grade growth regulation products. The best control options are dependent on the situation, so contact a local bird control specialist for help.

For Utah residents, Thorn pest solutions will help you get to the bottom of your bird problem, starting with a thorough inspection. Feel free to send any photos of pest evidence along with your message and we'll help identify what might be going on.

Yard Rodents: Rats, Mice and Voles

Many times, homeowners don't realize they have rodents until the activity has moved inside. A rodent issue is most noticeable when they start making noise and causing damage. Learn to look for the signs of rodents in your yard and around your home before these pesky animals are able to make their way in.

You might be noticing tunnels and burrows in the ground, or damaged plants and gnawed tree bark around your garden. There are steps you can take to reduce the presence of rodents, but you must do so carefully.

Start by thoroughly inspecting your home. Ensure it is adequately sealed against rodents. If rodents are already accessing the inside of your spaces but you have not realized it, you could push larger numbers of them inside as you remove their outdoor harborage areas and food sources.

Are you unsure of how to perform a rodent inspection on your Utah home? Contact Thorn for a quick and easy consultation. We'll check your home from top to bottom and help you come up with a plan to keep rodents out of your home and your yard, too.

Get Rid of Rodents

Once you have verified that your home is free of rodent access points, you can take the following steps to reduce them from your outdoor areas:

1. Keep your yard and foundation clean and free from clutter
2. Remove ground cover and dense vegetation where rodents could be hiding
3. Identify, contain, and remove possible food sources including garbage and bird feeders
4. Address possible water sources whenever possible, even leaky hoses and kiddie pools

SOME QUICK ADVICE FROM THORN: When it comes to mice and rats, there are a few tell-tale signs to look for, and one of the most obvious signs is droppings. Rats and mice tend to leave behind small, dark pellets of feces as they travel around. If you find droppings in your yard, compare their size to a grain of rice. If they are larger (closer to the size of a tic tac) this was likely left by a rat, but if they are smaller than a rice grain, these were likely a mouse.

Voles

Voles (also known as meadow mice) are quite small, but that doesn't minimize the damage they can cause to your landscape.

Voles are 3-6 inches in length, have hairy tails and short brown hair. They are known for making distinct, shallow runway systems in a variety of outdoor spaces and materials, including:

• Mulch
• Grass
• Turf
• Garden beds
• Ornamental gardens (especially where tubers and bulbs are planted)

Occasionally, voles will enter indoor areas by accident, but they will not become established there. They are far more interested in running around outside where they can find plants, tubers and bark to eat and damage your landscape in the process.

There are a few steps homeowners can take to keep voles outside and prevent them from infesting yard and garden spaces, including:

1. Reduce clutter
2. Eliminate dense plantings including ground cover, mulch, weeds and ornamental plants that provide food and shelter
3. Install tight-fitting door sweeps to keep them outside
4. Seal cracks and crevices around pipes and electrical lines that enter the structure's walls
5. Keep all exterior doors closed

What is The Fastest Way to Get Rid of Voles?

The fastest, easiest and most effective way to get rid of voles is to hire a company that specializes in this type of wildlife removal. Look for an honest, locally based company that practices Integrated Pest Management, as they will address the issue according to pest biology.

If voles are tearing up your beautiful landscape this spring, call Thorn and we will help bring peace to your outdoor areas. With a variety of professional tools available to us, Thorn specialists will reduce the vole population surrounding your home and help you identify what steps you can take to keep them away for good.

Clover Mites

Clover mites are tiny, reddish-brown insects that are a common pest issue in Utah. Clover mites are arachnids, meaning they are closely related to ticks and spiders, and they are so small that they often look like tiny, moving red dots. They are most easily spotted on surfaces such as patios and windowsills, especially after the surrounding or nearby soil has been heavily moistened.

To keep clover mites outside where they belong, make sure vegetation is trimmed back from around your home, and ensure that you are not over-watering your soil. This can flush clover mites out of the soil and drive them inside.

Should You Worry About Clover Mites?

Despite many misconceptions, clover mites do not bite or sting humans and are generally harmless.

More than anything, clover mites are an indication that the soil around is healthy and nutrient dense, but they can still injure certain plants, especially turf grass. Clover mite damage mimics that of drought-stress and is most prominent in the spring when these mites are most active.

While mostly harmless, clover mites can still be a massive nuisance, as they can invade homes and structures in unbelievably large numbers and leave small red-brown stains where they are crushed.

In Utah, clover mites are most active from February to May, until the hot summer weather forces them into cooler and better protected outdoor places. If clover mites have been an ongoing issue inside or outside your home (or business), contact Thorn in St. George for a treatment plan specific to your property.

Get Rid of Spring Yard Pests in St. George

No matter what pest is plaguing your yard or home this spring, Thorn can help.

With our highly trained specialists and state-of-the-art, environmentally conscious methods, we'll help you find the best pest control options for your property while keeping the health and safety of your family, pets and yard in mind.