Don't let mosquitoes and wasps spoil summer fun. You can safely apply organic, herbal products to your skin or spray barriers to protect your whole yard.

(ARA) – From backyard barbecues and pool parties to cultivating your landscaping and “recession garden,” summer fun is even better when shared with others … except when that group includes some unwelcome critters.

Humans aren’t the only ones who enjoy the warm weather. Flying, buzzing, stinging, four-legged and four-footed pests also turn out in force when the days turn pleasant.

“Warmer weather means it’s time for outdoor living and enjoying backyard picnics, parties and pure relaxation,” says Luke Miller, editor of Garden Ideas & Outdoor Living. “Unfortunately, as the days get warmer, pests wake up and make their appearance.”

Look for all-natural, safe and effective ways to protect your family and pets from mosquitoes, ticks and other pests this summer.

Whether they come after your plants or bite you and your pets, pests can spoil any day. You don’t have to share your backyard with deer, rabbits, moles, snakes or even dreaded mosquitoes and ticks anymore. And you also don’t have to resort to harsh chemicals and sprays to ward off unwanted critters.

Look for all-natural, safe and effective ways to protect your family, pets, garden and the environment this summer. Here are a few tips for thwarting some common summer pests:

Mosquitoes and Flying Insects

Mosquitoes aren’t just a nuisance; they can be a health threat as well, carrying a number of viruses harmful to humans. Other flying insects, like hornets and wasps, can also spoil your summer fun — or cause worse problems for those with insect allergies.

If you would prefer to forego strong chemical repellents, there are natural options. Look for organic, herbal or plant-based topical products that you apply to the skin or spray barriers that can protect your whole yard. Products like Liquid Net’s Ultimate Insect Repellent keep biting insects away without the use of DEET, the most common ingredient in chemical repellents. It’s made with botanical oils so it’s safe for children and has a pleasant scent. It also comes in an all-natural formula safe for dogs and cats.

For intimate areas and especially evening gatherings, good old citronella candles can be effective repellents for biting, flying insects. You can also add ambiance and gain some insect-thwarting benefits from strategically placed tiki torches — the heat, flame and slight smokiness of the torches will act as a natural repellent. Just be sure to practice smart safety habits around all open flames.

Finally, minimize the opportunity for flying pests to occupy your backyard. Eliminate all standing water from the vicinity, since it’s a favorite breeding ground for mosquitoes. Regularly check overhangs and eaves on your house and outdoor play equipment to make sure wasps and other nest-building insects don’t have the chance to take up residence.

Before these unwelcome guests ruin your day, we recommend you try new Yard Net Lawn & Yard Insect Repellent and spray an invisible barrier around your yard which will last for 24-hours. This all-natural, freshly scented formula made with botanical oils is safe for use around children and pets.

Garden Munchers

Many belt-tightening American families will turn to gardening this year to trim their grocery bill by growing their own produce. Yet common garden pests like rabbits, and even deer, can defeat your victory garden long before the first tomato or pepper appears.

No one really wants to harm the critters that visit our gardens. The goal is to just convince them to dine elsewhere. Plus, many Americans prefer to avoid exposing themselves, their families and the environment to chemical solutions. Fortunately, all-natural alternatives exist.

Look for products and techniques that use taste and scent aversion to turn animals off your plants. All-natural products like Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit or new Dual Action Rabbit Repellent use organic, natural ingredients to make vegetable and landscape plants taste and smell unappealing to common garden-munchers like deer and rabbits.

Move out Moles

Think moles can get the better of you and your lawn? Not anymore. Look for Mole Repellent Spray or new Mole Worms. This environmentally safe, easy-to-use repellent imitates a mole’s natural food source. But once they eat it, they’ll go elsewhere to look for food. It’s the most humane way to rid your yard of these underground animals and eliminate the unsightly and potentially hazardous conditions they create. Liquid Fence products are available at garden centers and hardware stores nationwide.

For these and more all-natural solutions to your pest problems, visit www.liquidfence.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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You don’t have to be a wildlife expert to know that after generations of dwelling in close proximity to humans, modern deer aren’t afraid of us anymore. What’s more, they no longer fear many of the traditional repellents some homeowners still use to protect shrubs, trees and landscaping. So when cool weather comes along and the natural landscape dies, deer have to start foraging for food sources. And they aren’t afraid to walk right into your yard and help themselves to your well-watered, well-established evergreens.

Even just a few deer can cause significant damage to your landscaping. “A single whitetail deer can consume, on average, 8 to 12 pounds of foliage a day,” says James Messina of Messina Wildlife Management. “In many areas of the country, deer overpopulation is a serious problem. With nowhere to go and not much left to eat in the dead of winter, deer can wreak havoc on shrubs, trees and gardens, and destroy new buds and leaves before they have a chance to grow, ruining your prospects for any spring growth.”

Hungry and bold, deer move into residential areas in the winter, and the damage they do in the cold weather will affect your landscape’s health next spring. Traditional animal repellents are also less effective than they were decades ago, Messina notes.

“That’s because those repellents rely on a bad smell — like the stench of a rotting carcass — to fool animals into thinking a predator’s kill is in the area and the predator may be returning for it,” he says. “But the number of predators has actually declined, and deer know it. They’re less afraid of predators, so relying on scare tactics has a greater tendency to fail over time.”

Some wildlife has also built up a resistance to chemical deterrents. Plus, increasingly eco-conscious homeowners prefer not to put potentially harmful chemicals into the environment. Other more lethal alternatives are not only inhumane but illegal in most parts of the country.

More homeowners are turning to organic alternatives, like Deer Stopper, a repellent formulated from plant extracts. This organic option works because it confronts deer by using their natural repulsion to certain plant smells and tastes rather than relying on fear.

“We know that deer will eat over 500 different types of plants,” Messina says. “Normally, they’re quite discriminating. But in fall and winter, when food is harder to find, they become less picky and much more of a threat to suburban landscapes. Still, like many wild animals, deer rely on taste and smell to judge if a food may be harmful to them. If your backyard foliage tastes or smells unpleasant to them, one bite and they’ll move on.”

An effective taste deterrent, Deer Stopper is 100 percent organic and completely safe for use on all types of plants — from vegetables to trees, flowers to shrubs. The Organic Materials Review Institute lists it as approved for use by organic growers. The smell- and taste-based technology also eliminates the need for a foul odor, so Deer Stopper actually smells good to humans. Lightly mist vegetation once a month, even during the cold and snowy winter to keep deer away all season long. To learn more, or to find retail locations, visit www.messinawildlife.com.

“In the early 1900s, there were probably only about half a million deer spread out over the country,” Messina says. “Today, there are more than 15 million. Deer, it turns out, adapt quite well to life in suburbia. Keeping them away from residential and commercial landscaping can help everyone — deer and homeowners — co-exist more happily together.”

Courtesy of ARAcontent

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