Don’t Clean?

Hold off on that spring yard clean up! These warm temps may have you tempted to start bagging that brush you left out in your yard all winter with the plan to take care of it in the spring. However, our pollinators and many other forms of wildlife rely on those brush piles, leaf litter, thatch, and standing plant litter to ride out the cold months either for food, shelter, or both!

Check out this photo of a polyphemus moth cocoon – would you recognize it as a cocoon? One of our staff members found one just like it in their yard recently. Unique in their wrapping of their cocoons with leaves, these native moths blend in remarkably well with that leaf litter you’ve been eyeing in your front yard. All the more reason to leave it be for the time being.

You may be thinking, “Ok, I get it, but when CAN I clean up my yard?” and the answers to that vary. A general rule of thumb is when soil temperatures and/or evening air temperatures reach around 50 degrees. Check out this article from the The Xerces Society on when it’s safe to pitch or compost that yard waste.