Jeez, that’s a lot of set up for one paragraph stating, “Stop mowing your lawn so often and let it stay shaggy. Don’t rake and bag your leaves this fall. Quit d

Jeez, that’s a lot of set up for one paragraph stating, “Stop mowing your lawn so often and let it stay shaggy. Don’t rake and bag your leaves this fall. Quit deadheading flowers and cutting back dead stalks. This creates refuges for insects. If your neighbors ask why you’ve let your yard go, tell them you’re saving the planet — for bugs and humans. “Probably the most important thing is to have a messy yard,” Grames counsels. Of course, stop the pesticides.” Headline is a bit misleading with the Greta-ish admonition, this article is largely about the author’s incompetent mosquito eradication efforts, a move to the country, more bugs, better biodiversity, and then launches into some good prescriptions for how you can manage a yard to help improve biodiversity. Not much beyond the pull quote there. I’m one of the few in my neighborhood that doesn’t take the leaves up over winter, but I think since our house is otherwise above the average in curb appeal we’ve never had anyone gripe about it. If you’re going to leave the yard “shaggy”, make sure you compensate in other areas of the exterior so it doesn’t look like you’re just letting the whole place go. Oh, and buy a few of those bug zapper tennis rackets for your social sessions outdoors. They’re fun and effective for bugs in arm’s reach without systemically destroying the ecosystem.