Clayton Directory 2025

2025 | Clayton Community Directory 34 Sustainable Landscaping and Native Plants (Information below comes from the city of Clayton’s website regarding sustainability. Visit claytonmo.gov for more detail and resources.) As environments develop they can experience declines in insect populations, which can hinder the pollination of plants, decomposition of organic matter, and other processes that benefit the ecosystem and foster biodiversity. The following tips and resources outlined below can help the community modify urban landscapes and residential yards to help conserve insects, improve plant production/yield, and benefit the overall health of the local ecosystem. LEAVE THE LEAVES Leaves left on lawns create habitats for insects and provide protection for their larva. The vast majority of butterflies and moths overwinter in the landscape as an egg, caterpillar, chrysalis, or adult. Bumble bees, spiders, snails, worms, beetles, millipedes, mites, and more also rely on leaf litter for protection. These animals, in turn, are food for chipmunks, turtles, birds, and amphibians. Leaves play an important role in building a strong ecosystem. Here are some tips for effective leaf-leaving. • Leaves should remain whole for insect protection. Mulched or shredded leaves don’t provide the same protection level to eggs, caterpillars, and chrysalis. • The process of mulching all leaves can remove these protections. • If leaves are mulched, use them for gardening. • Turfgrass can tolerate approximately 10-20% of leaf coverage and remain healthy. • To avoid full coverage of turfgrass, collect some leaves and deposit them in a pile in your yard to provide greater ecosystem benefit. AVOID PESTICIDES AND HERBICIDES The term pesticide covers insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and rodenticides. Agricultural practices, such as the use of herbicides, reduce forage and nesting opportunities for insects, especially pollinators. A more direct threat to insects is the use of insecticides to eliminate populations. continued on page 36