A realistic plan for managing vegetative growth around your home should include the right native plant selection, where and when to mow, when to use herbicides and when to remove plants by hand.

Deer-resistant landscaping

Deer are a great challenge for the avid gardener. They often consume new plants that have been well fertilized and watered and are therefore tastier than their wild counterparts. Hungry deer will browse almost any plant but do not generally prefer grasses or ferns. Products like "Deer Stopper" can be used to effectively deter deer from consuming landscaping when an obvious browse line is noticed or there is evidence of deer nipping off the buds of blooming plants.

Groundcovers

Selecting appropriate groundcover plantings is an important part of the landscaping plan because they help to prevent undesired species from getting established. Groundcovers must grow quickly and be attractive in many seasons. They also should require little maintenance. Unfortunately, plants that meet these requirements tend to be aggressive and invasive.

Popular non-native groundcovers like English ivy (Hedera helix), large periwinkle (Vinca major) or Asiatic jasmine (Trachelospermum asiaticum) cover a lot of ground but can also overgrow other landscaping, natural areas, shrubs and trees. It requires a great deal of work to keep them under control. If you decide to use these species you should:

Landscaping that benefits pollinators

Plants can be pollinated by many species of wildlife, including, birds, bats, moths, bees, butterflies, wasps and beetles. Native plants that attract these pollinators contribute greatly to a diverse habitat and support many species. Non-native landscaping plants are often bread to be showy but sterile, which means that while beautiful, these plants do not benefit any wildlife so the Trust highly encourages the use of native plants where possible.

NOTE: Some stores now sell nectar plants like lantana that have been raised from seeds treated with neonicotinoids, an insecticide that contaminates the entire plant and is harmful to pollinators. Read the fine print on labels before buying plants in order to avoid using these plants in your garden.

Use of herbicides and insecticides in the yard

It is best to view the use of pesticides as a final resort to an intolerable pest problem. If used judiciously and applied appropriately at label-recommended rates, pesticides can be effective tools for control. The user must be sure to wear the proper protective equipment. Pesticide use is of particular concern when the homeowner hires a commercial company to spray regularly for weeds or mosquitoes. Since short-term customer satisfaction is the primary goal of the chemical applicator, there is more concern about over-reliance on pesticides.

Herbicides are a mixture of active ingredients and the solution in which the ingredients are dissolved. Generally, herbicides are safer to use than insecticides because the active ingredients in herbicides are molecules that interfere with chemical reactions that occur in plants but not animals.

In contrast, insecticides often target biochemical processes in animal nervous or respiratory systems, making their use a much greater concern. Read the label carefully before using any pesticide and follow the instructions. More is not better!

To learn more go to www.scpesticides.org. The pesticide application tool was developed by a partnership of the LowCountry Institute, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the University of South Carolina and Clemson Extension Service.