Home Content // Pest Problems: How to Create a Pest-Free Garden*

Spending time in the garden is a popular pastime for many Brits. However, not if you have a pest issue.

Pests looking for somewhere safe to sleep and breed can cause huge headaches for homeowners all over the UK. In London, more than 100 rodent complaints are made every day. Although this doesn’t mean that you’re at risk, it’s worth making a few quick and simple preparations to stop potential pests from making your garden their homes.

Need help to safeguard your garden? Browse our top tips for safeguarding your decking from a pest invasion.

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Ways You Can Prevent Pests Entering Your Decking
You’ll significantly decrease your chances of a pest problem if you make your decked area, and even your entire garden, as difficult to get into as possible. Pests won’t be able to make a home under your decked areas if they can’t enter to begin with, so investing in extra materials to create a barrier is worth it.

Large decked spaces give rats and mice shelter from heavy rain and harsh winds. To make your decking less inviting, use wood, mesh or chicken wire and run it along the entire edge of your decking between the boards and the ground. If you’re worried that this will ruin your decking’s aesthetic appeal, you can install a wooden trellis and have the mesh running behind it. Then, arrange potted plants or flowerbeds around your decking to mask the mesh further.

All material you use must be strong, sturdy and well installed — rodents can get through the tiniest of spaces!

Where else could pests take shelter in your garden? Hedgerows and bushes are great for bearing the brunt of a storm and hiding small animals from predators. Trim these as far back as possible to decrease the range of shelter for potential pests, and make sure any grassy areas are cut regularly. If your main pest problem is birds, movement is a great deterrent. Try hanging something that moves — like a wind chime or wind spinner — to help prevent birds from making a mess on your decking.

How Can You Discourage Pests?
Once you’ve sealed off the lower part of your decking, you need to consider the surface. Pests, such as rats and mice, will scout out places before deciding on where to settle down, so try and make your decking as unalluring as possible.

Food is a huge bonus for pests looking for a new home, so don’t leave leftovers lying around outside. Ensure rubbish and refuse bags are tied tightly and placed inside a bin with the lid shut, too. If you have a get-together on your decking, make sure you thoroughly clear up and clean the decking so that no sauces or dropped food remain which could entice rodents and other critters. Remember; rats, mice and hedgehogs will also eat birdfeed, so make sure to opt for a birdfeeder that isn’t placed on the floor or a table and put it away from your decking.

The Importance of Sealing Wooden Decking and Furniture
One of the major pros of composite decking boards is that they won’t rot. However, normal wood will, which means you could be at risk of woodworm. There are three kinds of woodworm in the UK. The common furniture beetle is usually what people mean when they say ‘woodworm’, but the house longhorn and deathwatch beetles are far more destructive — although thankfully rarer.

Keeping wood dry and protected from rain is critical to its longevity and prevention of woodworm. This might be difficult for large areas like your decking, but your tables and chairs should be relatively safe under a waterproof cover. Sealing your wood with varnish is a good shout too. This creates a barrier that prevents female wood-boring beetles from laying eggs in the pores of the wood.

Perhaps you’re reading this article already suffering with a woodworm infestation. If you can see small holes across your decking and furnishings — these are usually in a cluster and often about 1mm wide — there might be woodworm present. Although this is treatable, you first need to identify which type of woodworm is doing the damage, so it might be worth seeking professional advice. Common furniture beetle problems can be treated yourself using products that you can buy online. However, if the culprits are house longhorn or deathwatch beetles, you may need to treat by injection.

Trapping
Non-lethal traps and scent repellents are humane methods for solving a pest problem. Rodents detest the smell of garlic, peppermint and hot spices, which means that planting a peppermint tree around the edges of your decking or sprinkling cayenne around potential entry points can deter vermin from nesting. Of course, there are also plenty of commercial rat and mice repellents you can buy that will work to keep pests at bay.

Many people don’t like to use lethal traps, regardless of how great a pest problem they have. Thankfully, there are alternatives. Forget cheese; sweet treats work best to lure mice into a non-lethal trap. Place these around your decking and make sure to release the rodent at least one mile from your home once caught. If you prefer, buy an ultrasonic pest repellent. Compact and discreet, these devices are ideal for placing by your decking and emit high-frequency sound waves that rodents can’t stand — and we can’t hear.

Getting rid of unwanted critters is achievable and relatively simple. Browse online for traps and equipment to safeguard your garden.