Labor Day is a great time of year to get together with your family and host a cookout. If you are like others, you will want to do everything that you can to make your cookout stand out in a positive way, but doing so is not always easy. You and your guests are not the only ones who are looking forward to the feast, so you must be on the lookout for uninvited visitors. Several pests will love to join you for your Labor Day event, and they can cause a lot of problems if you don’t take steps to stop them from getting into your yard. Luckily, you can keep yourself and your guests safe by keeping a few tips in mind and learning about common invaders.

Ants

Learning how to prevent ants from ruining your cookout is a smart step in the right direction when your goal is to keep your guests happy from the start of your event to the end. Ants send scouts into different locations to search for food, water and other resources, and your yard could be the next target. If an ant finds your food, it will return to the colony to inform the others of its discovery, and you will encounter an invasion in no time. If you want to keep ants away, you can mix a solution of 50 percent water and 50 percent vinegar, spraying it around your yard. Placing your trash cans away from your table is also a great idea when you want to safeguard your friends and family from pests.

Wasps

Nothing will ruin your Labor Day cookout as much as getting stung by wasps while you are spending time with your loved ones. If you don’t already have wasps near your home, you can put holes in brown bags and hang them up around your property. Wasps are territorial and won’t want to create a new nest where they think other wasps are present, and the bags will act as decoys. When wasps are nearby and you want to address the issue, you can spray them with soapy water. Doing so will prevent them from flying, so they won’t be a threat for much longer. You need to ensure that nobody is too close to the nest when you spray it because wasps will sting when they are agitated, and it does not take much to make them angry.

Mosquitoes

If your Labor Day cookout lasts until the evening hours, you will eventually feel the itching and skin irritation that comes with mosquito bites. Preventing these flying pests from annoying you and your guests can be difficult, and some people decide not to try, accepting mosquitoes as a part of life. In addition to causing mild discomfort, mosquitoes can transmit a range of diseases that you will want to avoid, such as the West Nile virus, yellow fever and more. You can use sprays and creams to prevent them from biting, but you can also set up candles around your yard.

Hart Pest Control

Even though you can take many steps to discourage pests from invading your Labor Day cookout, you can only go so far. If you want to give yourself and your guests the best possible protection, turn to Hart Pest Control. We will handle mosquitoes, wasps, ants and any pest that tries to spoil your fun. You can reach out to us if you have questions or concerns, and we look forward to working with you.