Designing and Installing Landscapes that Minimize Pests

Landscaping around a home offers numerous benefits—boosting curb appeal, increasing property value, and creating relaxing outdoor spaces. Strategically placed trees and shrubs can also provide shade and energy savings. However, dense vegetation, mulch, and moisture-retaining features can attract pests like ants, termites, rodents, and spiders. These pests may eventually find their way indoors, especially if plants are too close to the foundation or entry points. While good landscaping enhances your home, it’s important to maintain it carefully to prevent unwanted guests from tagging along. 

About the speaker

Barb Neal is a retired horticulture and agriculture educator from CCE Tioga. She had many roles as a horticulturist during her career: owner of a design/build landscape company, horticulturist for a company that maintained the federal buildings in Washington, DC, consulting arborist, and adjunct professor at George Washington University for the Sustainable Landscape Design Master’s Program. She loves to talk about landscape design, trees (especially urban trees), and soil assessment and management. 

About the Cornell IPM Annual Conference

This session is part of the Cornell IPM Annual Conference: Pests at the Perimeter – How Landscape Design Influences Indoor Pest Intrusion. The 2025 conference focuses on how landscape composition and management around buildings influence the intrusion of pests. Experts will share science-based strategies to manage environments around buildings, reducing pest intrusion. This event offers practical insights for landscape and pest management, ideal for Master Gardener Volunteers, educators, pest management professionals, and community members.

Learn more about the full conference lineup on the Cornell IPM Annual Conference page.