57 Ways - 14. Use Pest Barriers In Your Garden

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57 Ways To Protect Your Home Environment (and Yourself)

Caring for the Home Landscape

1. Aim for a healthy lawn rather than a perfect lawn
2. Cut the grass without gas
3. Prevent insect, disease, and weed problems in the garden
4. Identify fruits and vegetables that need fewer pesticides
5. Select native trees and shrubs that will thrive in your yard
6. Keep your tress healthy and safe
7. Plant “wild” in your backyard
8. Attract birds and butterflies to your backyard

Using Alternatives to Traditional Pesticides & Fertilizers - Where Practical

9. Scout for pests on the landscape
10. Consider microbial insecticides
11. Consider botanical insecticides & insecticidal soaps
12. Conserve beneficial insects
13. Monitor & control insects with traps
14. Use pest barriers in your garden
15. Solarize soil
16. Consider the potential of natural fertilizers

Using Chemicals on the Landscape - If Necessary

17. Know what to ask a lawn-care company and arborist
18. Understand pesticide toxicity
19. Read the pesticide label
20. Apply pesticides accurately and safely
21. Apply fertilizers accurately and safely

Storing & Disposing of Hazardous Chemicals

22. Store hazardous chemicals safely
23. Dispose of pesticides safely
24. Dispose of auto products safely
25. Dispose of paints and solvents safely
26. Dispose of adhesives, areosols, household cleaners & other hazardous waste safely

Managing Yard, Food & Other Household Waste

27. Reduce household waste
28. Recycle paper, glass, & aluminum
29. Reuse and respond
30. Recycle grass clippings
31. Create a compost pile
32. Use yard waste as mulch
33. Dispose of tree residues

Protecting Your Drinking Water

34. Know when & how to test your water
35. Test your water for coliform bacteria & nitrate 36. Test your water for pesticides - if necessary
37. Know the signs of contaminants in drinking water
38. Select effective water-treatment methods
39. Prevent contamination from septic systems
40. Know the pros & cons of bottled water

Protecting the Indoor Environment

41. Prevent contamination by lead
42. Test your home for radon
43. Reduce radon levels
44. Control dust, dust mites & other allergens
45. Reduce pollution from combustion equipment
46. Prevent contamination by formaldehyde and asbestos
47. Recognize tht it's not always necessary to control indoor insects
48. Select the right household pesticide
49. Control household pests with less toxic alternatives
50. Select household cleaners wisely

Conserving Energy & Water

51. Design new homes for energy effciency
52. Save energy in heating & cooling
53. Insulate & seal your home
54. Choose energy-efficient appliances
55. Save money & energy with compact fluorescent light bulbs
56. Use plants & other landscape tools to conserve energy
57. Conserve water in & around the home

14. Use Pest Barriers In Your Garden
	A variety of pest barriers are available for use in the yard and garden as alternatives to pesticides. Plant covers were marketed originally as devices that heat the soil and make earlier planting possible. But these covers have a nice bonus: used when crops are small, they keep insects away from the plants.
	To create your own plant covers, attach muslin to a wooden or wire frame and set it over the plants. In addition to muslin, other good materials are vented polyethylene, spun- bonded polyester, point-bonded polypropylene, and woven plastics.
	Another pest barrier is copper sheeting. Place 6-inch-wide copper sheeting at least 2 inches into the soil around valuable plantings. This barrier is quite expensive, but it effectively blocks the invasion of slugs.
	Various sticky barriers and trapping adhesives are available commercially. By attaching or applying them around trunks or trees, you can create a barrier for canker worms and protect individual trees from defoliation by these particular pests.
	To keep cabbage maggots from attacking the roots of cabbage and other related vegetables, create a screen cone from ordinary window screening. Shape the screening into a cone, attach it to a piece of wood, and place it over the plant. This barrier excludes the flies that lay the eggs from which cabbage maggots hatch.
	You can also protect plants from cabbage maggots by encircling the young plant with a 3-inch-diameter disk of tar paper, foam rubber, or other study material. It works in a manner similar to that of screen cones.