By Emily Buehler, Contributing Writer
It’s that time of year: time to “break the seal” of lawn mowing. You put it off, knowing that once you start, you’ll be mowing every one-to-two weeks for the next seven months. Plus, your neighbor hasn’t mowed yet, so there’s no neat, trim lawn to which to compare your own. But the clover forests are towering taller, the weeds spraying their seeds into your flower beds, and you wonder where the inevitable baby snakes have taken up residence. The cats stalk through the backyard like tigers in a jungle. Should you break down and mow?
Here’s how to justify putting it off a few more weeks: in all that tall grass are happy crane flies, socializing and finding mates. Crane flies (aka, those giant mosquito things) don’t bite, but alas, they also don’t eat mosquitos as commonly thought. They are just some nice, nectar-sipping insects. If you mow all the tall grass, they won’t have anywhere to go. (And there may be other beneficial insects hiding out in there.) Plus you are saving energy/gasoline by waiting a few more weeks.
So give the crane flies a break and let the spring weeds reign. And when you do mow, move slowly to give the snakes a head start.
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