Preventing Insects from Invading Your Home

As the weather changes in fall, many outdoor insects, including multicolored Asian lady beetles (ladybugs), boxelder bugs, ants, cockroaches and spiders, decide they would rather be indoors. The rest create problems outside, just when the weather's perfect to be outside. Luckily, Bayer Advanced™ PowerForce® Multi-Insect Killer Concentrate can prevent the invasion and help reduce outdoor pests, now and next spring. Containing the proprietary active ingredient cyfluthrin, PowerForce kills bugs fast. What's more, PowerForce is available in several convenient formulations designed to meet any of your lawn and garden needs.

Here's how to use Bayer Advanced PowerForce to keep insect pests to a minimum outdoors and prevent them from coming indoors:

TREAT THE PERIMETER OF THE HOUSE. One of the best ways to keep insect pests like ants, cockroaches and spiders from entering the house is to create a protective barrier around the outside. Do so by applying Bayer Advanced™ PowerForce® Multi-Insect Killer Granules, also available in liquid form, around the foundation of your home as described on the label. Using the liquid form around windows and doors will further protect key entry points. One application lasts up to 30 days.

TREAT YOUR LAWN. Many insects, including ticks and fleas, thrive in your lawn. To protect yourself and your pets, apply Bayer Advanced™ PowerForce® Multi-Insect Killer Granules with your lawn fertilizer spreader, or use Bayer Advanced™ PowerForce® Multi-Insect Killer Ready-To-Spray with a hose-end sprayer (the convenient ready-to-spray bottle comes with its own sprayer). PowerForce also controls many lawn pests including armyworms, chinchbugs and sod webworms.

TREAT AROUND SHRUBS AND OTHER VEGETATION. Apply Bayer Advanced™ PowerForce® Multi-Insect Killer Granules around the base of shrubs and in nearby tall grass or weeds. This will help reduce mosquitoes, grasshoppers, flies and other insects that congregate in vegetation.

TREAT ANT MOUNDS. Bayer Advanced™ PowerForce® Carpenter Ant & Termite Killer Plus Concentrate kills the queen and the entire nest. To kill wood-destroying insects, apply Bayer Advanced™ PowerForce® Carpenter Ant & Termite Killer Plus Concentrate.

TREAT INDOORS. If intruders do make it indoors, use Bayer Advanced™ Home Pest Control Indoor/Outdoor Insect Killer Ready-To-Spray. One application lasts for up to 9 months. Always read the product label and follow all directions.

Fall is for Planting

Whether you're working on a whole new landscape or just sprucing up one small part of the garden, fall is a great time for planting. On the Bayer Advanced Web site, there's a wealth of information to help you on your way to a beautiful, healthy lawn and garden. Check out the video tips on shrub care hosted by Lance Walheim where you'll find out the advantages of using quality organic matter. You'll also find out how to protect your new plantings from insects for up to 12 months by applying Bayer Advanced™ Tree & Shrub Insect Control Concentrate this fall.

Ground Covers for Deep Shade

It's hard to grow almost any plant in dense shade. In addition to the lack of light, there’s intense competition for water and nutrients from tree roots. Still, some plants are better adapted to these conditions than others. If you are looking for some ground covers for shady conditions this planting season, here are some of the best:

• Barronwort (Epimedium species), USDA zones 4–9
• Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), zones 3–6
• Cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior), zones 8–10
• English ivy (Hedera helix), zones 4–11
• Ferns, zones vary
• Hostas, zones 3–9
• Lilies-of-the-valley (Convallaria majis), zones 3–9
• Pachysandra, zones 4–9
• Sweet woodruff (Galium odaratum), zones 5–9
• Wild ginger (Asarum species)

Sweet Peas are Better than Ever

It's hard to imagine flowers more lovely than sweet peas. The glorious pastel colors are reason enough to grow them. But the fragrance - the wonderful, sweet fragrance - is like no other. It sweeps through the garden in spring but becomes almost intoxicating when the flowers are brought indoors in bouquets. Nothing says spring like a fresh bouquet of sweet peas.

Sweet peas come in more forms than ever before. Heirloom varieties, such as the Old Spice Mix, produce less showy flower clusters but have the most intense, heady fragrance. There are also early-flowering varieties, like the Early Spencers, which bloom over a long season, especially in mild winter climates. Summer-flowering types, like Galaxy, are heat-resistant and bloom longer into summer. Compact types like Knee High and Bijou can be grown without the support of a trellis.

In mild winter areas where the ground doesn’t freeze, sweet peas are best planted in the fall. In colder areas, wait until spring to plant. Sweet peas are easy to grow from seeds planted about an inch deep and 3 to 4 inches apart. Plant in full sun. To speed germination, soak the seeds overnight in water before planting. Most varieties will need a sturdy support to climb, such as string trellis or wire fence. To protect young seedlings from slugs and snails, use Bayer Advanced™ Dual Action Snail and Slug Killer Bait Granules. It attracts and kills slugs and snails, and is safe to use around pets and wildlife.