Wait to do your yard cleanup this spring to help out pollinators and other beneficial insects.
Yet, starting yard cleanup too soon can do more harm than good.
With the help of beneficial insects like these, gardeners can reduce their use of chemical pesticides.
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This not only saves money, but also protects the health of people, pets, and the environment.
Luna moth caterpillars spin cocoons from leaves and spend the winteramong fallen leaves.
Swallowtail butterflies overwinter in chrysalids that are often attached to dried plant stems.
Additionally, many native bees, some as tiny as a grain of rice, hibernate within plant stems.
These insects only emerge from their winter naps when temperatures warm up to a certain point.
Bycleaning up your spring gardentoo early, you may be discarding these vital insects along with the plant debris.
Those times also varydepending on the climate zoneyou live in.
This prevents unintentional disposal of sleeping insects andensures they have habitatthroughout the summer.
This may be especially important for native bees, which are facing unprecedented declines.
The more leaves you might leave in your garden beds, the better, says Braatz.
If you have too many leaves, redistribute some to other areas of your yard.
This approach offers a significant perk:free mulch!
Leaf litter is just a really, really wonderful resource, says Braatz.
When it comes to stems, dont scalp everything down to the ground, says Bolt.
Either leave stems intact in your garden beds or trim them down to a height of 8-24 inches.
Dried stems provide nesting sites for native bees, so youre essentially creating naturalbee hotels.
To avoid this, experts recommend installing signs explaining that youre creating pollinator habitat.
While people sometimes fear insects, most are harmless to humans and generally venture to avoid us.
In fact, most bees are actually too small to sting people.
