Around the Yard

Things to do this week:

* Cut back roses. As soon as flowers fade and petals fall, cut off old rose blooms before hips (seed pods) form. Hips will keep them from quickly re-blooming, which usually takes only six weeks. Don’t simply cut off the flowers, though. Take some stem too, making the cuts just above fully developed, five-part leaves, so the new growth will be thick and strong. Fertilizing right after flowering also speeds re-blooming.

* Keep after snails and slugs. These slimy creatures cause the most damage in gardens, and as the weather warms, they become more plentiful, hiding in ivy and in agapanthus by day and traveling 100 feet or more to eat at night. Barriers--from spiky liquidambar balls to special copper strips--can keep them out of certain areas, or use baits to lure and kill them. Common chemical baits cannot be used near edibles, but the new, nonpoisonous Sluggo can.

If you don’t use baits, you can try predatory decollate snails. Possums also eat snails and shiny black ground beetles eat slugs. Another effective control: Arm yourself with a long, snail-smashing stick and a flashlight, and hunt snails right after dark when they are on their way to dinner.

Citrus are a surprising snail hangout, and the L.A. County Common Ground garden program suggests tossing snail bait up into the tree so it lodges on leaves where snails hide and feed. Whatever bail falls controls those attempting a ground assault.

* Go on mosquito patrol. If you’re being bitten by mosquitoes out in the garden, chances are there is some standing water somewhere (though it may be next door). Even a little--left over from that last rain and sitting in a flowerpot or saucer--can breed quite a few mosquitoes in a week’s time. Make sure there is no standing water in the garden, unless it is patrolled by fish, such as goldfish or mosquito fish, which eat the larva.