Creating and caring for a garden around your home is beneficial to you and your property in many ways. But one mistake that some homeowners make is getting too close to their home's foundation with their gardening practices. Gardening and landscaping too close to your foundation can bring pests.

Digging can disturb chemical termite barriers

Homes in Australia should have chemical barriers to stop termites invading from the soil. If your home doesn't have one, hire a pest control service to place one for you.

If a chemical barrier is in place around your home, don't dig or garden around it, as this can damage the barrier and leave a gap that termites can travel through.

Plant roots serve as bridges for termites

The roots of plants can act as bridges for termites attacking your home from the soil. Plant roots can help termites bypass chemical barriers in the soil.

Watering can damage your foundation and bring pests

You'll need to water the plants around your home's foundation if you choose to garden there. If water seeps against and under your home's foundation constantly, cracks can form in the foundation, leaving the way open to pests such as termites.

Moisture and humidity also create good living conditions for many types of pests like rodents and termites.

Bushes and shrubs give rodents a place to hide

Rodents use vegetation to travel along the ground since this allows them to hide from predators such as birds of prey and humans. Planting bushes and plants around your foundation gives rodents somewhere to hide and even nest. This increases the risk of rodents invading and infesting your home without your knowledge.

Wasps and ants can nest in bushes around your foundation

One type of pest that can be a painful nuisance is insect pests that can sting or bite, like ants and wasps. These pests can also damage your property as they build their nests, especially carpenter ants and yellow jackets.

Vegetation too close to your home gives wasps and ants a warm place to nest, with water and food close by.

Tree roots can damage your home's foundation

The root system of trees can spread out much further than their canopies, the branch system that grows above ground. So be careful when planting trees. If you plant trees too close to your home, the roots could invade and damage your home's foundation. Pests could then enter using cracks.

Reach out to a pest control company to learn more.

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