A lot of Shaw rental property owners like you want to do their job to make your rental more environmentally friendly. Establishing a pollinator-friendly yard is one small thing you can do to make a difference. Creating yards that are attractive and easy to maintain is a best practice for rental property landscaping. However, you or your tenant could also think of making your property’s yard pollinator-friendly. It’s worth thinking about this idea for many reasons. It’s not only a helpful investment in the environment, but it may add value to your property as well. When done right, creating a pollinator-friendly yard may even be a nice way to draw in environmentally conscious tenants.
Though you may not necessarily be an avid gardener, you may have heard that pollinators like butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and other flying insects are quickly declining. These pollinators are essential to our ecosystem. Without them, we would not have various fruits, nuts, and seeds that most of us eat and love. But with just some changes to your rental’s landscaping, you can significantly impact pollinator populations in your land.
Plant With Variety
Using a wide variety of plants in your landscaping is one of the first things you can do first to encourage pollinators to visit your rental home’s yard. You should pick out plants that will bloom from early spring to late fall at separate times. In a lot of areas, you should be able to find native plant varieties that are both easy to manage and fast to attract pollinators.
Add a Feeder
Hanging a nectar feeder is another easy approach to attract hummingbirds and butterflies to your rental yard. Aside from providing many benefits to your landscaping plants, a lot of people also enjoy looking at these pollinators’ feed. To attract even more pollinators to your yard, you could also place a dish of ripe fruit or water mixed with sea salt. Butterflies are very attracted to these items.
Rethink the Lawn
For many rental homes, a thriving green lawn is an essential part of the landscaping. By creating some simple changes, you can also support pollinators with your lawn. For example, if you allow the grass to grow a bit taller (about 3 inches) and develop seed heads, it will not only retain moisture in the soil but also entice pollinators to your yard. You could also consider mixing in some low-growing plants with your grass, such as white clover or violets. These non-invasive plants may be able to boost local pollinator populations without damaging the health of your lawn.
Use Alternatives to Pesticides
Spraying the lawn or other plants with pesticides is a common practice for a lot of property owners. Regardless of what kind of insect you intend to kill, you could also be eliminating beneficial pollinators. If you must use a spray to manage harmful insects or other issues, consider using the more environmentally friendly ones. A couple of oils and soaps can repel pests without killing off pollinators. Cornmeal will sometimes ward off troublesome ant colonies, while garlic, pepper, and even beer can keep certain biting insects at bay.
If your tenant wants to add pollinator-friendly details to your rental yard, you might consider allowing them to do it. Of course, you’ll primarily want to make sure that you and your tenant know what updates will be made, who will do the work, and who will pay for the improvements. In the event that your tenant wants you to pay for the plants and other elements, it still may be a good investment and worth saying yes to since it could add value to your property or make it further attractive to future tenants.
Designing a pollinator-friendly yard for your rental that will also boost your property values is a possibility. But it may be a challenge to know exactly what updates will add to your property’s appeal. You may want to consider consulting expert Shaw property managers for answers and advice about this and any other queries you may have about managing your property. To understand all of the great services that Real Property Management DC Metro has to offer – including landscaping advice – contact us online today!
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