When treating your home and yard for pests, protect our pollinators

RABUN COUNTY, Ga. — You might be seeing bees, wasps, and other flying insects around your yard this time of year.

When looking for pest control, make sure it’s safe for the people and pets who use your yard.

Bees might seem pesky, but they are important pollinators and play a crucial role in our ecosystem.

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When created a safe space around our homes to keep bugs out, we should try to protect our pollinators while doing so.

“Treating around the foundation of your home and making sure to not treat our lawns, our flower beds, any place where bees might be foraging,” Rebecca Tellar with Pestie told Severe Weather Team 2 Meteorologist Eboni Deon.

Tellar is the head of customer service at Pestie.

She said to avoid treatment when pollinators are most active.

Typically that’s midday.

Treat early in the morning or late in the evening when the sun is still out.

One way to keep pests out of your home without putting pollinators at risk is by making sure things are properly sealed with caulk or mesh.

“78% of all insect biomass has disappeared in the last 30 years. That’s a mindblower. Honeybees are a part of that,” owner and operator of Blue Ridge Honey, Bob Binnie said. “We want to do the right thing and save the bees but honestly we need to do the right thing and save all of this stuff.

Insects are an important part of the ecosystem.

“When you see a beautifully manicured lawn, that’s actually part of the problem because it takes not only just a lot of work but also a lot of chemicals,” Binnie said.

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Chemicals don’t only harm bees, but every other pollinating insect too.

“Wasps, yellow jackets. I know we don’t like to see them, but I mean, they’re part of the big picture,” Binnie said.

Beekeepers say to consider using a portion of your lawn for planting live native plants and flowers.

Pest management can be done safely while protecting the environment and our pollinators.

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