KAUKAUNA, Wis. (WFRV) – As the days feel longer and the sun starts shining, it might feel tempting to start spring cleaning outdoors, but experts at the 1000 Islands Environmental Center warn people to put down the rakes for now.
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“We ask people to wait on that to help support the pollinators and emerge when it’s time for them,” Naturalist Brad Garrity said.
Garrity says that many insects spend their winter in the places that people commonly like to clear outdoors.
“They are in areas like leaf piles, like logs, leaves, and stems,” Garrity said. “We ask people to leave them as long as they can.”
Experts said warm days bring pollinators out, but when the weather changes, they go back to their natural shelter, and Garrity says it’s quite surprising just how many pollinators may be in your backyard.
“We saw yesterday it was a very warm day; pollinators were starting to emerge looking for some nourishment,” Garrity said. “Then on a day like today, when it’s cool, they are going to go back into those leaf piles, logs, stems and reeds.”
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Garrity recommends waiting until the weather is more consistent near mid-May when deciding when to spring clean, for example, nighttime temperatures over 50. Garrity says this small step can make a huge difference for those tiny backyard neighbors, many of whom face decline.
“The pollinators are in decline due to various reasons like pesticides, increased use of land, and loss of habitat,” Garrity said. “It’s important to let them thrive so we have a good population of pollinators.”
