As the weather warms and daylight hours grow, you might be tempted to get outside and start cleaning up your lawn. But raking or mowing last year’s leaves too soon in the spring can kill a key group of creatures in Connecticut’s food web.
“Insects still have yet to come out of hibernation – or fulfill their life cycle – and most of them are going to be in leaf matter or in hollow stems of our perennials or shrubs,” said Stefan Martin, the conservation manager for the Connecticut Audubon Society.
Without insects, we won’t have birds. “Over 90% of our species are insectivorous, meaning they mostly rely on eating insects,” Martin said.
Rather than getting an early start on lawn care at the first hint of spring, Martin recommends waiting until there are five to seven straight days where temperatures are at least 50 degrees Fahrenheit before cleaning up leaves and cutting back last year’s perennials.
It is also a good idea to wait until there is no risk of frost and the season’s first flowers are becoming available, said Ana Legrand, an entomology assistant extension professor at the University of Connecticut.
Insects aren’t just food for birds, Legrand said, they also have other benefits, including pest control in Connecticut yards.
Ground beetles, which seek refuge in leaf litter, are great predators, she said. “They will feed on a number of other insects that we may not want to have around,” Legrand said.
Once Connecticut gardeners do start digging in their yards, Legrand recommended taking steps to increase plant biodiversity.
“Increasing the presence of flowering plants, different types, so that they provide the nectar and pollen throughout the whole summer and also early on in the spring and early fall,” Legrand said.
Homeowners should also only use insecticides when they are absolutely needed, she said.
In other words, a buggy, biodiverse yard is better for the birds.
This story was originally published by Connecticut Public. It was shared as part of the New England News Collaborative.
