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How To Save On Energy Costs This Winter

. Posted by in • Corpus Christi
winter energy saving tips

Depending on the weather, your home, and your heating system, winter can be a time of year when your utility costs go up. When thinking about your energy bills in the winter, there are a number of things you can do to keep your heating (and in warmer parts of the country, sometimes your air conditioning) costs low throughout the season.

How to Save on Energy Costs This Winter

Read on to learn how to put winter energy saving tips to work to reduce your utility bills.

Maintain Your Equipment

Your HVAC unit needs occasional attention to make sure it’s running at peak efficiency. It’s a good idea to schedule an annual inspection with a licensed heating and air conditioning technician. Experts such as the ones we have at ABC Home & Commerical Services can take a look at the unit’s coils and connections. They will check your vents and test your equipment … Read Full Post »

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How To Improve Soil Quality In Your Lawn

. Posted by in • Corpus Christi
how to improve soil quality

A healthy lawn and garden begin with your soil. In fact, many problems with home gardens, trees, and an unhealthy looking lawn are caused by poor soil quality. Wondering how to improve soil quality on your property? Luckily, a simple switch is all you need to make a big difference.

How To Improve Soil Quality

One of the ways you can improve your lawn by is by incorporating more organic material into your soil. With countless amendments and enrichment products on the market, however, knowing which to choose can be overwhelming.

Read below to learn about soil improvement methods which can help improve the quality and health of your lawn.

Test It Out 

When thinking about how to improve soil health, one way to start is to conduct a soil test. Having a better understanding of the current nutrient levels in your lawn and what your soil is missing can help you determine what … Read Full Post »

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Fleas Driving You Crazy? Try These Natural Flea Killers

. Posted by in • Austin
Natural flea killer

In warm climates, fleas are a year-round problem. Even as autumn comes upon us with cooler temperatures, fleas will hold on until the first frost, and if they’re comfortable inside our homes, they might never leave.

What’s worse, fleas are difficult to control. To get rid of them for good, you’ll need to treat your pets as well as your house and your yard. You’ll need to adopt an approach which allows you to kill both adult fleas and their eggs, preventing them from returning.

Natural Flea Killers

There are some ways you can tackle a flea infestation without resorting to dangerous chemicals. Let’s take a closer look at how fleas can become a problem, how you can make your own natural flea killer, and how you can get rid of these pests, once and for all.

Why Are Fleas Such a Problem?

Fleas are small insects that live on mammals, including dogs, cats, and … Read Full Post »

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Wildlife Rescue Organizations In Orlando

. Posted by in • Orlando
wildlife rescue Orlando

Both humans and wildlife can agree on one thing: Florida is an excellent state in which to live. However, animals can become a nuisance in new neighborhoods. Unfortunately, in these areas, animals can become injured when they are hit by cars. In these cases, wildlife rescue and rehabilitation organizations serve an essential role.

Orlando Wildlife Rescue Groups

Rescue groups can help capture animals caught in bad situations, take care of their health issues, and, when possible, release them back into the wild in areas where they can live their lives safely.

Types of Wildlife In Florida

Florida is home to many wildlife because of our temperate climate and plenty of water and food resources. Below is just a handful of the many different animal species that we are fortunate to have in our area:

  • Bald Eagles
  • Florida Panthers
  • Scrub Jays
  • Manatees
  • Key Deer
  • Brown Pelicans
  • Read Full Post »

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What Temperature Should You Set Your Thermostat In Winter?

. Posted by in • Austin
What temperature to set thermostat in winter when away

Summer is over for another year, and that means that Austinites can finally unpack their sweaters and fuzzy socks. While we have a shorter and more mild winter than many of our friends to the north, that doesn’t mean we don’t need to keep our homes warm in the winter. A common question most people have is what temperature to set the thermostat when they are away, whether that means you are simply at work or if you are on a trip. It can be difficult to know what temperature to leave an empty house in the winter.

Temperature to Leave Your House in Winter

Below are some tips for saving energy while keeping your house comfortable year-round.

Ideal Temperatures for your Home

Setting temperatures for your home seems simple, but it can actually be a bit of a balancing act between comfort and HVAC efficiency.

According to Consumer Reports, if you want to save … Read Full Post »

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How To Grow a Drought Tolerant Lawn

. Posted by in • San Antonio

Keeping your grass green and healthy can be a struggle in parts of the country which regularly experience drought. In these regions, there may be only small fluctuations in climate between seasons, and the summer months can be extremely hot. While the mostly steady climate is reliable and livable for residents, months of dry, rainless days can be taxing on your lawn and garden.

How to Grow a Drought Tolerant Lawn

For homeowners looking for ways to grow a more drought tolerant lawn, there is hope. Read below to learn what you can do to improve your lawn’s resistance to drought.

Water Effectively

It may seem counterintuitive, but overwatering your lawn can do more harm than good for your grass and plants. Watering your lawn several times a week—something many homeowners do—can prevent your lawn’s roots from growing deeper in the soil. In other words, overwatered roots only grow a few inches into the … Read Full Post »

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Fire Safety Tips To Keep Your Loved Ones Safe All Year Long

. Posted by in • Houston
fire safety tips

Cold winter nights call for warm beverages, movie nights, and of course, curling up by the fireplace.

Keep Your Loved Ones Safe With These Fire Safety Tips

Before you light the fire and cuddle up under a few blankets, there are a few things you should consider. Read our fire safety tips below to keep your family and home safe this winter.

Perform Regular Maintenance

Both wood burning and gas fireplaces are designed to keep your family safe. Still, though, it’s important to perform proper maintenance operations before lighting the first fire of the season.

One of the first things you’ll want to do is ensure your fireplace is clear of obstructions and creosote. This can be done by a professional chimney sweep. Do this annually, before you light your first fire. Your chimney sweep will share other fireplace safety tips with you which may be particularly relevant to your home.

Once your fireplace is … Read Full Post »

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The Best Way To Get Rid Of Moths

. Posted by in • San Antonio
best way to get rid of moths

Moths can be a mystery to homeowners. To determine the best way to get rid of moths, you’ll need to learn how to identify the types of moths and eggs you might be seeing in your home, how to prevent these bothersome insects from damaging your home, and how to treat your home to get rid of these common household pests.

Where Do Moths Come From?

Moths generally make their way into your home in product packaging you bring home from a store or warehouse. Some moths may hatch over time in items which you have stored for an extended period of time, like birdseed. Usually, an infestation in your closet can be traced back to a single article of clothing (so wash that sweater from the thrift store before you put it in your closet!)

Identifying and Treating Pantry Moths and Larvae

Some common moths you may have in your home are pantry … Read Full Post »

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Choosing An Eco-Friendly Fertilizer For Your Lawn

. Posted by in • Austin
environmentally friendly lawn care

It seems like everything is organic these days. No matter where you go—restaurants, soap shops, farmers markets, and even clothing stores—the word organic is used to describe the product being sold. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Time and time again, the benefits of buying organic have proven beneficial. When you buy organic products, you’re making an effort to avoid pesticides, genetically modified organisms, and growth additives. And while buying organic usually refers to the food we eat, its benefits can be noticed in other products as well, like your lawn fertilizer. More and more homeowners are choosing environmentally friendly lawn care over other alternatives.

Choosing An Eco-Friendly Fertilizer For Your Lawn

At ABC Home & Commercial Services, we strive to care for your lawn in a holistic way. This includes choosing the best products on the market. And while we’ve used a variety of products to care for lawns in the … Read Full Post »

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Strange But True: Our Craziest Pest Control Calls

. Posted by in • San Antonio
strange but true

As a company that’s been helping Austinites take care of pests for over 60 years, ABC Home & Commercial Services has made thousands of house calls. In most cases, our skilled and knowledgeable technicians quickly put homeowners’ minds at ease with a thorough inspection and a suggested course of action to get rid of pests. In a few cases, however, our pest control experts have run across some bothersome critters which necessitate a more creative approach. Over the years, we have collected a number of strange but true pest stories.

Strange But True: Our Craziest Pest Control Calls

As Texas’ largest independently owned pest control company, we’ve had our share of memorable pest control calls. We’d like to share a few of these strange but true stories with you.

Jake The Racoon Causes Trouble

One of our most memorable experiences in the pest control business involved a wily raccoon our technicians affectionately called Jake. … Read Full Post »

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