For fruit trees harvested late summer into autumn, now is the best time to start preparing them for abundant yields next year. Here are 8 tasks for your home orchard ‘to-do’ list to keep trees in top condition for next harvest season.

Rake Up Leaves and Fallen Fruit

Discourage insect and animal pests by keeping the area around your tree debris-free during the winter months. After leaves drop, rake them up along with any fallen fruit.

Check for mummified fruits remaining on the tree and remove them. Be careful to avoid damaging spurs, which produce next year’s fruit. Disease-free debris can be added to the compost pile. Otherwise bag refuse for disposal.

Want more gardening tips? Sign up for our free gardening newsletter for our best growing tips, troubleshooting hacks, and more!

Water Deeply

Fruit trees need plenty of moisture to see them through the winter months. Wait until trees shed their leaves, then water deeply. Aim to moisten soil to depths of two feet or more. Continue to water regularly until temperatures drop below 45°F.

Fertilizing late in the season with nitrogen-based formulas stimulates new growth vulnerable to winter damage. Fruit trees benefit most from NPK fertilizers applied in late winter and early spring.

In most cases, it’s okay to apply micronutrients to foliage after harvest. If necessary, you can also make adjustments to soil pH.

Take soil and tissue samples to your local extension office for testing to find out if your fruit tree requires treatment.

Autumn pruning exposes fruit trees to winter damage. Open wounds heal slowly, increasing vulnerability to disease and insect pests. Fall pruning also stimulates new growth likely to suffer damage from cold.

Once leaves have dropped, it’s easier to identify diseased and dead branches, which can be removed. Limit any pruning to these problem areas and wait until mid to late winter to prune your tree for size and shaping.

Reinforce Stakes and Supports

Young trees and saplings benefit from staking to maintain straight, upright growth while the root system establishes. Autumn is a good time to make corrections to leaning trees and add, adjust, or reinforce staking systems.

Protect Against Sunscald and Animal Pests

Rabbits and deer target young trees, causing considerable damage. Male deer rub their antlers against the bark, shredding it and leaving behind open wounds. Deer also eat young, tender branches and leaves. Rabbits eat tender bark near the base of young trees.

Damage encircling the entire trunk is called girdling, which interrupts the flow of water and nutrients, often causing loss of the tree. Cage young fruit trees or use plastic or wire sleeves to discourage animal pests.

Winter sunscald occurs when sunlight warms bark on young trees, which then freezes when temperatures drop overnight. Temperature fluctuations cause rapid expansion and contraction, resulting in sunken spots and damage on the southeast side of the trunk. To protect against sunscald, whitewash the trunk or wrap it in light colored paper.

Mulch

Organic mulch protects tree roots, holds moisture and heat in the soil, discourages weeds, and adds nutrients. Many types of mulch are available, including some created particularly for fruit trees, but the most affordable are leaf mold and straw.

Add a layer 2 to 3 inches thick in a circle around the base of the trunk. Ideally, spread mulch out to the drip line, but 3 feet out is sufficient for larger, more mature trees. Leave 6 inches of open space around the trunk to prevent damaging bark and inviting disease.

Treat With Dormant Oil

Dormant oil protects fruit trees from insect pests and disease. It can be applied in late autumn into early winter and again in late winter/early spring. Sprays control a number of fruit tree pests by eliminating overwintering adults and eggs.

Wait until leaves have fallen in autumn. Apply dormant oil spray only when no rain is forecast and temperatures remain above freezing for the following 24 hours. Water well the day before. Coat branches and trunk thoroughly.

Diatomaceous earth (often called DE) is a naturally occurring, abrasive powder made from the fossilized remains of diatoms. It has a wide range of applications, but is most well-known as a natural pest control agent.

It works by damaging the insects’ exoskeletons, leading to eventual dehydration and death. Since DE requires a dry environment to work best, it is most commonly used in and around the home.

Food-grade diatomaceous earth can effectively control various crawling and flying insects, including ants, bed bugs, cockroaches, silverfish, fleas, and more. But is this natural solution just as effective at controlling pesky stink bugs in the home?

Want more cleaning and organizing tips? Sign up for our free daily newsletter for the latest hacks, expert advice, and more!

Diatomaceous Earth and Stink Bugs

While diatomaceous earth is an effective, natural pest control agent against various insects, the experts agree it is not the best option for managing stink bugs in the home. 

“Technically, DE can kill them, but don’t think about it as a magical means,” says Nicole Carpenter, President at Black Pest Prevention. “Stink bugs’ armor is much tougher than that of softer-bodied insects, so DE works slowly (if at all). The bug needs to crawl through it for a long time to get scratched up,”

Additionally, stink bugs are known for hiding in small cracks, crevices, walls, and baseboards around the home, meaning they may naturally avoid any DE treatments you set out.

So, can it work? Potentially. But it’s not a guaranteed solution. But if you want to give DE a try in your fight against stink bugs, there are a few things you should know. 

“For homeowners who want to try this solution, the key is to spread a thin layer of food-grade diatomaceous earth with a face mask in the right places—specifically around doors, windows, and other entry points that you feel could be entries into your home,” says Kris Bagnara, associate certified entomologist and Director of Service at All U Need Pest Control. 

While it may be tempting to leave large piles of diatomaceous earth in areas prone to stink bugs, Bagnara insists that more isn’t always better. Stink bugs are likely to avoid any obvious piles or barriers, so a thin, inconspicuous layer is best.

How to Control Stinkbugs in the Home

If you’re looking to control stink bugs quickly and effectively in your home, Carpenter and Bagnara agree that DE isn’t the way to go.

Instead, focus on perimeter treatments to prevent these sneaky pests from making their way inside your home. Stink bugs are attracted to light, warmth, and food, so if they can find a way inside, they always will. 

“Sealing up cracks and entry points, removing debris around your home, making sure your garage door is sealed and windows are shut tightly, and removing any standing moisture around and in your home are always the most effective ways to prevent stink bugs from getting inside in the first place,” Bagnara says.

So, what about the ones that have already set up camp inside your home? For these unwanted residents, Bagnara says that vacuuming them up is the best way to get rid of them. It’s quick, effective, and practical. 

If you find yourself vacuuming up a never-ending parade of stink bugs in your home, and you’ve already tried tackling perimeter treatments, that’s when it’s time to get a professional involved.

A licensed pest control specialist will be able to quickly identify potential entry points, apply effective perimeter treatments, and offer customized, year-round treatments to help prevent and manage stink bug infestations.

Having a well-stocked pantry is every home chef’s dream, and there are plenty of clever pantry organization ideas out there to help keep cooking efficient while also maximizing space in the rest of your kitchen.

But proceed with caution, because there are a few surprising items you should never store in the pantry—especially if you want to keep food quality at its best, and prevent potential pest infestations and food-based health issues.

Here are seven items you should never store in your pantry, and where to store them instead.

Want more cleaning and organizing tips? Sign up for our free daily newsletter for the latest hacks, expert advice, and more!

Let’s be clear: Raccoons aren’t inherently bad. However, their presence can have an unwanted impact on your yard, as they may tear up your lawn, rip open your garbage, or damage your property in pursuit of a new nest. In these cases, the raccoon is only doing what it knows—looking for food, and finding shelter.

Fortunately, there are ways to make your garden less appetizing for a wayward raccoon. Here, we spoke to wildlife experts about the best, most humane methods for deterring these animals, as well as the tactics you should never try and implement.

Secure Your Garbage

One of the most appetizing food sources for a foraging raccoon is a garbage bag that’s been left unprotected. Instead: “Store [it] in a wildlife-proof container with a secure, tight-fitting, or lockable lid, and keep the bin in a garage or shed,” says Brad Gates, owner and president of Gates Wildlife Control.

Timing is also important. Raccoons and many other foragers are most active at night, so it’s best to only put your garbage out for collection in the morning.

Check Your Bird Feeder

“People love to feed birds, but bird seed will tip out of the bird feeder, and that’s going to attract raccoons, skunks, foxes, and coyotes,” says Bill Dowd, president and CEO of Skedaddle Humane Wildlife Control.

However, that doesn’t mean you have to get rid of your bird feeder altogether. Like most forms of raccoon prevention, it all comes down to maintenance. “Make sure you’re out there on a daily basis cleaning up any of those spilled seeds,” adds Dowd.

You can also add a steel raccoon baffle to your feeder pole to stop raccoons from raiding the seed supply.

Maintain Your Lawn

Grubs are another food source for raccoons, and will attract these animals to your yard. Worse, once they arrive, they’ll dig up your grass looking for the critters. Fortunately, good lawn maintenance can help prevent grubs through practices like deep, infrequent watering or introducing beneficial bugs that serve as natural predators.

Keep an Eye on Your Produce

Your tomatoes and apples are delicious and will look beautiful on a plate, but raccoons love them too. Staying on top of your harvest will help reduce this food source, but you may want to look into other preventative methods as well.

“One tool that does consistently delivers results is a motion-activated sprinkler,” says Gates. “When an animal enters the detection zone, it triggers a sudden burst of noise and water, which startles them enough to make a lasting impression.”

Monitor Potential Den Sites

Raccoons will often nest under decks or within sheds. “Homeowners need to be diligent, and check to see if there’s any digging [marks] or animals living under there,” says Dowd. Anything without a foundation is fair game.

If a raccoon has taken up residence beneath your home, then it’s time to consult the professionals. A humane wildlife control service can help safely relocate the animal.

Don’t: Trap Them

What you shouldn’t do is try to relocate a raccoon on your own. Trapping these animals can put them in real danger, and it won’t solve the problem either.

“When people see a raccoon in their yard, they’ll panic and think, ‘Why is that animal in the city? It should be trapped and taken out to the country, and live happily ever after,'” says Dowd. “That’s just not the case.”

If an animal has been foraging for food from garbage cans, then it won’t know how to hunt in the wild or how to interact with other species. As a result, many relocated animals die. Traps can also be inhumane, as trapped raccoons can die from heat exhaustion during the summer or freeze to death in the winter.

Traps can have the opposite overall effect as well. “[They’re] actually going to attract more animals, because you’re putting bait in that trap,” adds Dowd.

Additionally, trapping an animal is illegal in many states—so it’s a bad idea all around.

Don’t: Use Scents

Raccoons are highly adaptable, so while there are plenty of prevention methods circulating online, they won’t all be effective in the long run. “[They] easily avoid targeted scent areas, like ammonia-soaked rags,” says Gates.

Mothballs are another common solution that many might try after seeing it online. “They’re not only ineffective, but they’ve also been proven to be carcinogenic, and should be avoided entirely,” he adds.