Patio should be the place in the house where you can relax and stay worry-free after a long day at work, or to enjoy a holiday after a whole week.

If there are any pests or unwanted visitors in the area, you wouldn’t even want to sit there for long.

Here are a few tips on how to keep bugs, spiders, birds or even cats off the patio furniture. Follow them and ensure that you get to see a clean and private patio!

The use of chemicals or harmful pesticides may be considered a way to repel insects, but it isn’t the best environment when you are trying to set up a spot where you can rest!

This means that the more you spray repellents or place diffusers that might get rid of bugs and spiders for a short while, you will be making the air, and even the furniture smell, and if it does not bring on incessant coughing, it certainly wouldn’t bring on a pleasant either!

Follow the ways shared here and you will be amazed at how easy it was to keep all the unwanted visitors from enjoying your patio more than you!

Tips to avoid Bugs, and Cats

Here are a few things that you can do to make your patio insect-free and cat-free. Follow these and share your views on how effective each of the m were!

• Add screens

Screens are not only a great way to avoid the peeping neighbors but it can also reduce mosquito, flies and bug traffic.

When you install a screen, these insects see an obstruction and while there may be openings here and there between gaps, the insects will see it as a cordoned off area since their major ‘passage’ is now obstructed. 

When you begin looking for screens, be sure to select the white, perforated ones that do not block your view or even keep the sun from shining on the patio! We need that too so the bugs and flies stay away!

• Is the patio floor dry at all times?

Ensure that your patio is dry and there are no water puddles anywhere. These pools of water are the breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Larvae flourish in these water puddles and the mosquito population will be thriving! Try and keep the patio area absolutely dry and free from moisture. Even the furniture, fabrics and decorations like flowers or artificial grass should be dry so that mosquitos and other insects do not breed in them.

When it rains, you can wait for the sun to come out, and once it does, even if it takes any human effort to dry out the places, do that! That applies for all your bar stools, chairs and table tops and table bases.

• Outdoor fans

The use of fans, whether they are standing in a corner or installed on the roof, is an excellent idea to keep the wind stirring and hence, not allowing any bug to settle on the outdoor furniture.

Even birds and other passersby like cats avoid places where there is any commotion or sign of human presence. It is nice to have bird baths and many of you might have even kept one in the patio.

Make sure that it is far from the sitting area, and the fan will make sure that even if a bird or cat strays into your sitting space, it moves away quickly.

Fans are a great way to keep the place dry as well. You should have a fan in the patio because when you are there it will be keeping you cool, and if there are pests, it works as a good repellent!

• Leave incense or an air freshener around

Sometimes clean air, and fragrance can be good repellents too! Be sure to use a fragrance that is not floral, because that attracts pests.

However, if you use sandalwood, or even one of the strong woody scents that are freely available in incense, the mosquitoes, flies and other bugs stay away! Keeping insects can be easy, and pleasant too. You can use air fresheners that have spicy scent notes as these scents keep insects away.

Moreover, if you get the spray that is set on auto diffusion, cats, squirrels and other passerby will also be wary as they would suspect that there are humans around.

None of the pests or animals like to come in your way, it is only when they feel that you are not around, do they try and come to enjoy the soft seats, and the homely environment that you have created.

• Use insect lanterns

Insect lanterns and electrocuted wires are a successful way to kill mosquitoes that invade your patio area. Moreover, at night when the light is low, flies get attracted to these lanterns and as soon as they sit on the wires around it they get a shock and die.

These lanterns can be a nice addition to your patio area. You can place a lantern high up on the wall, or hang it to the roof. This helps many trespassers disappear! Of course, you will have to clean it regularly.

• Plants help

There are many kinds of plants that help with the mosquito and fly population lurking around! Try to keep these plants around the patio area.

These include lavender, rosemary, basil, mint and other small bushes that have strong aroma. These plants not only add some greenery and look beautiful, you can use them in your kitchen too!

Now this is a bonus tip because while your food will be more delicious, your patio will be all clean and ready for you to settle down there and enjoy a good meal!

• Keep your patio clean

When the patio area is clean, there will be lesser insects and pests. Even the trespassing squirrels and stray cats will reduce in number.

By clean patio furniture, we mean that the cushions must be dusted, vacuum-cleaned and washed regularly. The more dirt and still air exist between the rolls of cotton or even between polyester fibers, the more homely environment is created for bugs and insects.

All these tips will help keep your patio furniture free from bugs, birds and cats. When you ensure that the area is clean, and looks inhabited, various pests and animals tend to get the hint: they are not welcome!

Conclusion:

The best ways to keep your patio furniture clean from insects like bugs, flies, mosquitoes, and trespassers like cats and squirrels, is to keep it looking as if humans are around somewhere.

The clean furniture, fragrant air, and a dry floor will help keep all kinds of insects and pests away forever. Occasionally you will need to use repellents, incense, and insect lanterns to ward off any kinds of insects.