Our home is filled with traditional, double hung windows. Several are original to the home, which was built in the 1930’s (that’s prehistoric by California standards). One of the first things I did when we bought the home was to remove all the aftermarket screens. They were ugly, hard to clean, in rough condition, and I like a clear view not obstructed by unsightly mesh. Fast forward about a decade (yes, I said decade), and much to my wife’s dismay, we still didn’t have screens on our windows. My attitude was always, “We’re in San Diego, we don’t have bugs!” However, last summer, I was seen running around our bedroom at 3:00 am, hunting a mosquito that was tormenting me. Since my tolerance for late-night wakings has never been good, and because my wife is convinced our family is an ideal target for the Zika virus, something had to be done. I had seen adjustable window screens online a couple times, and it was time to give them a shot. Read More
Pest Control
How to Keep the Rascals OUT of YOUR Garden
Awww! So adorable! Right? Wrong! Don’t be fooled! This sweet little hippity-hop-bun-bun is one of the most notorious scoundrels to ever descend upon the gardener’s plot. It’s the reason you need garden pest prevention done right. The dinky darling and his gang of miscreants can and will wreak havoc on your flowers and your veggies, turning your hard effort into a nibbled up knoll of nothing in no time. In addition to the bunny troubles, to make matters even worse for me, two of my very favorite varmints in life are on Team Bunny Foo Foo too – my puppy love and my whippersnapper toddler. Together, these three have an incredible offense based on cuteness and innocence. They are a constant force working against me when it comes to gardening. Along with the inappropriate munching, one gleeful romp from the dog turns my well planned and identifiable veggie patch into an oversized tossed salad come harvest time. And you can only imagine what a Tonka truck in the hands of the two year old can do. It’s a tomato plant’s worst nightmare. Please read on for a few basic tips on garden pest prevention. Read More
