Avoid throwing animal products in your compost bin. Almost nothing attracts rodents and pests more quickly than easily accessible meat. However, you should also refrain from composting any dairy products, leftover bones, oils, or foods that include a lot of fat. It’s helpful to make your compost bin less obvious to wandering rodents and pests. Use soil and dry leaves to create a layer over any food sitting in your bin. This makes the organic materials inside harder to smell for rodents and pests. Another great pest control method is building obstacles out of rocks, wires, bricks or other materials so that nothing can get into your bin from outside.

Pill bugs and slugs are among the insects that are actually beneficial: they’ll boost your compost pile by adding natural fertilizer and aerating the organic material. However, they have a tendency to expand their feeding to the fruits and vegetables in your garden, too.

San Diego’s warm spring is perfect for pests to become more active as the reproduce. Most busy during this time of year are earwigs, ants, cockroaches and spiders. Earwigs lay eggs when spring brings moisture to the air. Spiders, such as the black widow and desert recluse, like to hide in storage areas that haven’t been opened all winter.

Bees and wasps are a problem for anyone trying to enjoy the outdoors during summer in Southern California. And ants can seem like they’re everywhere during the hot, dry weather. Watch out for rodents, including rats, moles, voles and gophers, who can damage gardens and lawns.

Though relatively mild, San Diego’s fall signals some pests to look for winter nesting spots—and this can mean indoors. Rodents are a pest that you’ll definitely notice if they find a way into your home. Brown widow spiders are still active during the fall, commonly hiding around patio furniture and on playground equipment.

Even small drops in temperature drive some pests indoors. Spiders are particularly unwelcome in homes but they like to build webs in dark corners and cluttered storage areas. Crickets, when they find a way into a house, snack on clothing and other things made of fabric.