Increase Your Home’s Curb Appeal

First impressions are very important when it comes to selling your home, especially in the extremely competitive real estate market we’re in this summer. Here are some simple things you can do in your front yard to make sure your home puts its best face forward to prospective buyers. These are also good tips if you are having a party or special event, like a wedding.

Set the stage on the front porch. Clear everything off, clean it well and decorate with flowers and plants showcased in quality pots. Stick to a color theme (for more ideas on creating beautiful containers, go to bayeradvanced.com). Even one beautiful plant in a great pot (think about a Japanese maple in a glazed terra-cotta pot) can transform an ordinary front porch into a friendly “welcome.”

Fill empty spaces. Plant flowers or foliage wherever you see empty spots, especially at the entryway. If possible, plant early so everything doesn’t look too “new.” Otherwise, use larger plants. Stick to the color theme you began on the porch.

Turn on the lawn. Make sure it looks its best. Edge it perfectly. Fertilize warm-season lawns (Bermudagrass, St. Augustine grass, etc.). Wait until next month to feed cool-season grasses (Kentucky bluegrass, fescues and ryegrass). Control weeds with Bayer Advanced™ All-In-One Lawn Weed & Crabgrass Killer Ready-To-Use (not for use on St. Augustine grass, Bahia grass, bentgrass, carpetgrass, centipede grass or Dichondra). It kills over 200 broadleaf and grassy weeds. To control weeds in Southern lawns like St. Augustine grass, use Bayer Advanced™ Southern Weed Killer for Lawns Concentrate.

Mulch everything. Fresh mulch makes everything look neat and tidy. Spread it over all beds, borders and open ground. Pull the weeds while you’re at it. Look for deals on large quantities of inexpensive mulch from tree services and recycling centers.

Clean paths and walkways. Scrub with a stiff broom or, better yet, rent a power sprayer and give all your hard surfaces a fresh look. Follow directions and use the sprayer carefully to avoid damaging any surface or hurting yourself.

Install night lighting. Who knows who could drive by in the evening. Night lighting really puts your house in the spotlight. Newer solar-powered kits are inexpensive and easy to install.

Prune. Open up overgrown trees and shrubs to highlight the lines of your home. Don’t overdo it – just thin plants, opening the interior.

State-of-the-art Pest Control

Controlling insect pests that feed on your lawn, while also taking care of those nuisance pests around your home, took a two-pronged attack in the past. If you had belowground pests, such as white grubs or mole crickets that feed on the roots of your lawn, there was one solution. If you had aboveground lawn pests like chinch bugs or cutworms that feed on grass blades, or even nuisance pests like ants, fleas and ticks, there was an entirely different solution.

But what if you had both aboveground and belowground pests – root-eating grubs and blade-sucking chinch bugs? It meant you had to buy two different products and make two separate applications.

Not any more. Bayer Advanced™ Complete Insect Killer For Soil & Turf Granules combines two Bayer ingredients, providing protection against both aboveground and belowground insects. In fact, it protects against soil insects for up to three months.

When used according to label directions, Bayer Advanced™ Complete Insect Killer For Soil & Turf Granules will effectively control the following insects within the indicated treatment areas:

To control pests in and around the lawn:
Annual Bluegrass Weevil (Hyperodes Weevil), Ants (including Fire Ants), Armyworms, Billbugs, Black Turfgrass Ataenius, Chiggers, Chinch Bugs, Cutworms, European Crane Fly Larvae, Fleas, Grasshoppers, Leafhoppers, Mealybugs, Mole Crickets, Mosquitoes, Sod Webworms (Lawn Moths), Ticks (including Deer Ticks), White Grubs (including larvae of Asiatic Garden Beetle, Black Turfgrass Ataenius, Chafers, Japanese Beetle, May or June Beetle, and Oriental Beetle).

For home perimeter treatment:
Ants, Centipedes, Cockroaches, Crickets, Digger Wasps, Earwigs, Millipedes, Pillbugs, Scorpions, Sowbugs, Spiders, Termites.

One Solution for Pests on the Ground and on Your Plants

Bayer Advanced™ Complete Insect Killer For Soil & Turf Ready-To-Spray is even more versatile, able to control insects, including Japanese beetles, on flowers, roses, shrubs, trees, ground covers and foliage plants, as well as soil pests.

When used according to label directions, Bayer Advanced™ Complete Insect Killer For Soil & Turf Ready-To-Spray will effectively control the following insects within the indicated treatment areas:

On flowers, roses, shrubs and trees, evergreens, ground covers and foliage plants:
Adelgids, Ants, Aphids, Bagworms, Boxelder Bugs, Clover Mites, Cutworms, Elm Leaf Beetles, Fungus Gnats, Grasshoppers, Gypsy Moths, Japanese Beetles, Lace Bugs, Leaf-Feeding Beetles, Leaf-Feeding Caterpillars, Leafhoppers (including Glassy-Winged Sharpshooters), Leafminers, Mealybugs, Midges, Pine Shoot Moths, Pine Tip Moths, Plant Bugs, Psyllids, Rose Midges, Rose Slugs, Sawflies, Scale Insects (Crawler Stages), Spittlebugs, Thrips, Weevils (including Root Weevils), Whiteflies.

On lawns and along foundations:
Annual Bluegrass Weevil (Hyperodes Weevil), Ants (including Carpenter Ants), Armyworms, Billbugs, Bluegrass Billbugs, Boxelder Bugs, Caterpillars, Chiggers, Chinch Bugs, Clover Mites, Cockroaches, Crickets, Cutworms, Earwigs, European Crane Fly Larvae, Fire Ants, Fleas, Flies, Grasshoppers, Japanese Beetles, Mole Crickets, Mosquitoes, Pillbugs, Sod Webworms, Sowbugs, Spiders, Ticks (including Deer Ticks), Wasps, White Grubs (including larvae of Asiatic Garden Beetle, Black Turfgrass Ataenius, Chafers, Japanese Beetle, May or June Beetle, and Oriental Beetle).

Just attach to your hose and spray for long-lasting protection. Keeping your garden free of pests has never been easier.

When Surface Control Is All You Need …

Bayer Advanced™ PowerForce® Multi-Insect Killer Granules is the solution. It kills insects like ants, roaches and crickets, and protection lasts for 30 days.

When Grub Control Is All You Need

Apply Bayer Advanced™ 24-Hour Grub Killer Plus Granules to control white grubs now. It will kill grubs overnight and also controls mole crickets, cutworms and sod webworms. Next spring, follow up with Bayer Advanced™ Season-Long Grub Control Plus Turf Revitalizer Granules with Merit®. One application will control grubs all summer.

For help identifying insect pests in your home, lawn or garden, visit the Bayer Advanced Problem solvers.