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Pool Maintenance For Beginners

Pool maintenance for beginners

What do many prospective homebuyers look for in a backyard? A swimming pool! Whether you’ve just moved into a new house with a pool or recently had one installed, you know that having a pool requires regular time and attention. First-time pool owners can easily feel overwhelmed with all the details, including what chemicals are needed to maintain a pool. Once you learn the basics, you’ll feel more confident understanding how to maintain your pool yourself.

Pool Maintenance For Beginners

The three Cs of pool care are circulation, cleaning and chemicals. Pay attention to each of these areas on a consistent basis and you’ll be able to prevent any issues before they become costly problems. Before we explore each of these areas, let’s talk about the tools you’ll need to get the job done.

What Equipment Do I Need?

The first thing you’ll want to get is a pool cover. A cover is effective in … Read Full Post »

How To Get Rid of Armadillos

how to get rid of armadillos

It’s too big to be a rodent, but it’s not a raccoon or possum. What could it be digging up your yard or garden? If you are in the southeast part of the United States, one possibility—if you have ruled out your own dog—is the armadillo. Although these small mammals have a cult-like following in some parts of the country, armadillos can cause real damage by digging shallow holes all across your property in search of food, uprooting your ornamental plants and even waking you up in the middle of the night as they rub their shells against your home. As with most other types of pests, taking the time to learn more about the animal, what attracts them to your yard and what risks they pose helps better understand how to get rid of armadillos.

How to Get Rid of Armadillos

The armadillo made its way to the United States from … Read Full Post »

Grass Mites on Humans: Are Lawn Mites a Problem?

lawn mites

Grass mites are tiny lawn pests that can difficult to see with the naked eye. Mite is actually a collective term, as there are many variations of this insect-like organism, some of which are known to feed on wild and domestic animals, including humans. Homeowners may know mites as tiny creatures that can feed on plants, but are grass mites on humans a problem? Let’s take a deeper look into these microscopic lawn mites to learn more about them and how they might impact you.

Lawn Mites: Are They A Problem?

There are a variety of mite species that might be on your property, but the types of mites most likely to bite humans are more commonly known as chiggers. Although these species of mites live in grass and are sometimes lumped together with other bugs that are called grass mites, these animals do not feed on plant matter as lawn pests … Read Full Post »

What You Should Know About the Aedes Triseriatus Mosquito

Aedes triseriatus

Summer. Mosquitoes. These two things go together like chips and salsa, although we can all agree that we’d prefer our warm weather without the mosquitoes. One of the most common mosquito species you are likely to encounter in the southern states of the U.S. when it’s hot outside is the Aedes triseriatus

What You Should Know About the Aedes Triseriatus Mosquito

Your next question is most likely: how can I identify this type of mosquito? Where does it breed? What risks does it pose to me, my family and my pets? Perhaps most importantly, how can you protect against these biting pests? Let’s learn more about this pesky pest.

Aedes triseriatus Identification and Habitat

When you’re sitting in your backyard, enjoying time with friends and family or just listening to the quiet, you’re not likely to pay attention to which type of mosquito is biting you; you only know you’re getting bitten. So how do you … Read Full Post »

Cankerworms: What Are They?

Cankerworms

Have you heard of cankerworms? If you haven’t, you’ve undoubtedly seen them, especially in the spring, swinging from tree to tree as they defoliate large groups of trees at a time. What are cankerworms exactly? What does it mean for you as a homeowner? And how can you protect yourself and your trees against these creatures if they are causing a problem?

Cankerworms: What Are They?

Cankerworms, or “inchworms,” are spring caterpillars that are light green to brown. They’re different from ordinary caterpillars in that they have fewer legs than most, with only two feet on their abdomens, resulting in odd movement.

Cankerworms hatch just when the trees are starting to bud in the spring. They feed on broad-leaf trees like elm, oak, boxelder, maple, and ash. They can defoliate a large swath of trees, but you’ll only notice it if the trees they’re attacking are stressed by drought or disease.

Another type of … Read Full Post »

How to Puppy Proof Your House and Yard

how to puppy proof your house

Tomorrow’s the day–your little bundle of joy is coming home! You’ve got the bed, the toys, and the food. But have you prepared your home? Knowing how to puppy-proof your house can protect your belongings from risks associated with a precocious pup. Your new addition needs to be protected as much as your home.

How to Puppy Proof Your House

There are not a lot of differences between preparing for a baby and preparing for a puppy, but forgetting to take those steps could cost you both in terms of broken keepsakes and injuries to your furry bundle of joy.

Why Puppy Proof?

You don’t have to watch hours of Animal Planet to know puppies are little balls of energy. They spend their days playing and playing, then drop into a deep sleep without warning. Before long, they’re up again, playing-playing-playing…and then drop again.

Puppies, like babies, have no self-control. Everything goes into their mouths, … Read Full Post »

How You Get Bed Bugs

how you get bed bugs

The last line from a children’s rhyme,“Don’t let the bed bugs bite!” can become all too real when bed bugs infest your home. Bed bugs are becoming more common as populations grow, travel increases and the bed bugs spread to new areas. Learn how you get bed bugs and what you can do to prevent them. 

How You Get Bed Bugs

You may have only heard of bed bugs from the children’s rhyme, or from recent new reports about bed bug infestations in cities across the country. It may not seem like a big problem, but several U.S. governmental agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), have declared bed bugs as a public health concern, even though bed bugs do not spread disease the way ticks and mosquitoes do.

So, what should you know about these pests? Where do they live? … Read Full Post »

5 Air Conditioning Problems and Solutions

Air conditioning problems and solutions

In the southern parts of the U.S., there’s really no escaping the heat. You either find a place to cool off or you learn to deal with it. Thankfully, many of us can relax in our homes, which provide a safe haven with a cool, comfortable temperature. When something goes wrong, however, our living environment (and mood) can quickly change. 

5 Air Conditioning Problems and Solutions

Air conditioners use about 6% of all the electricity produced in the U.S., which represents over $11 billion in energy costs nationwide. This means that problems with a failing air conditioner could cause you not only the annoyance of uncomfortable living conditions, but also more money in the long run if you have to deal with unexpected repairs. Do you know what the most common AC problems and solutions are? The good news is that every problem has a solution, so let’s take a deeper look … Read Full Post »

Everything You Need to Know About Texas Ticks

texas ticks

There are many reasons we love living in Texas. The unfortunate reality, however, is that we share this great state with a small, but potentially dangerous pest: ticks. What types of ticks live in Texas? Where do they live? How can you prevent tick bites? Perhaps most importantly, how do you get rid of ticks? Read on to learn everything you need to know about Texas ticks.

Everything You Need to Know About Texas Ticks

The four most common types of ticks found in Texas, in order of frequency, are the:

  • Brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineous)
  • American dog tick (Dermacentor veriabilis)
  • Lone star tick, also known as the northeastern water tick or turkey tick (Amblyomma americanum)
  • Deer tick (Ixodes scapularis)

All four types of ticks are hard-shelled, meaning they have a hard covering over their body. Interestingly, the shell covers more of the body in the male tick than the female.

Ticks go through four stages during their … Read Full Post »

The Kissing Bug in Texas: Friend or Foe?

Kissing bug Texas

You’re out one night sitting on your new back porch and enjoying the stars when you notice a strange-looking bug with a cone-shaped head. Curious, you trap it in a jar and show it to neighbors the next day. Their eyes immediately widen, and they tell you that you need to watch out–it’s a kissing bug.

Kissing Bug in Texas: Friend or Foe?

Slightly amused, you ask what that is, even making a joke that it sounds kind of cute. After hearing their answer, you no longer feel that way.

What is a Kissing Bug, Anyways?

If you don’t know what a kissing bug is, you should. Despite the friendly-sounding name, this small insect is a potential disease carrier, and it can pose a threat to you, your family and your pets.

Not convinced? Perhaps you’d be more inclined to agree with us if we used the bug’s other nickname–the assassin bug. Sounds a bit … Read Full Post »