Mulch and pest control

Hi all I was wondering if using mulch on my in ground plants was a good idea to retain moisture and keep roots cool. Also I need to nuke my backyard of pests after the super wet winter we had. Is the granules I put on the ground from lowes ok?

Mulch is fine and a good idea but try not to get one that is from a particularly acidic stock, fir bark is an example of a bad one, however that is only if it's begins to leach its acidity into your soil. As for the granules I have no experience with them. However for pest control I personally use diatomaceous earth and sevin dust for bad cases in veg.

Alfalfa straw is a good mulch.