Until temperatures reach 50 degrees consistently during the day time, avoid too much yard work to help many hibernating bugs and insects who won’t emerge until May.
Bees and butterflies are among those affected, and their numbers have been decreasing in recent years as a result of habitat loss, pesticides and even seemingly harmless yard clean up.
To protect pollinators during this time of year, delay these activities until end of May if possible:
- Don’t cut back stems from last year’s garden. Some insects burrow into them, like old raspberry canes over winter.
- Avoid spraying or digging up dandelions, which are a great food source for pollinators.
- Start planting pollinator friendly plants, like purple coneflower, bee balm and milkweed.
- Don’t burn or bag up yard debris until the end of May.
- Don’t spray your yard until the pollinators have emerged.
It’s important to protect these insects as they aide in the growth and progress of other plants and animals. for more information, please visit pollinator.org.
This article is a summary. Read the original here. Photo by Gary Bendig on Unsplash.
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