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Homemaker's Journal |
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Just Kill Them! You work your fingers to the bone to make your home a sanctuary, a place to escape from the world, a place that's safe and wonderful for your family and friends. Then it happens... you're invaded! The intruders destroy the things that you've worked so hard to nurture and develop. How dare they? How can this be right? What do you do now? Kill them! That's right... just kill them! I recently went a few rounds with some intruders that fully intended to eat me out of house and home... with no invitation, manners or sense of decency. They meant to leave me absolutely homeless without caring about where I would live or how I would survive. They were merciless. If they were here to tell you the tale they would tell you not to mess with a menopausal woman. Uh-huh, that's right. My first invaders were (the drum roll please....) termites! Arrrgh! I was mortified, what an opponent, how do I fight them? There were hundreds of them swarming out of a tree stump... flying gracefully up in a cloudy wisp of total destruction... 5 feet outside my window! They were leaving their home to eat mine! Then it happened, a strange calm came over me as my anxiety subsided... no it wasn't a religious experience. It was temper! Going to eat my house?! I think not. I'll destroy yours and your children too, you nasty little house eating bugs! My plan: Make the environment uninhabitable for the termites and they will leave or die trying. BUT I mustn't hurt the environment for the rest of us and plants. With my plan in place, I run to the kitchen to prepare for battle. The first thing that I had to do was stop the swarm, so I rummaged through the cupboards looking for anything that I could spray at the swarm to make them unable to fly. I came up with a can of spray starch, that ought to do the trick. I'll just starch those little wings and they'll plummet to the ground. Next, I need to render their home uninhabitable.... Ah-ha! There was cooking oil in the fryer from the night before. That should do the trick. Armed with a can of spray starch and a deep fryer full of used cooking oil I'm ready to stage my attack. I run to the swarm cloud briskly shaking my can of starch.... ready.... aim.... fire! Hey, it worked. The little critters dropped like tiny
rocks and were promptly danced on by their conqueror... that would be
me. Next, to prevent others from emerging from the stump castle that seemed to be housing them. I slowly poured the oil over the stump and roots allowing the stump to absorb the oil. On to the next stump to repeat the process until all stumps are treated. What's that? You have other types of problems in your yard? Here are some home-made solutions to help your problem areas: Rid your garden of snails and slugs. Add crushed eggshells to your soil. To them, it's walking on glass, so snails and slugs will tend to avoid the area entirely. If slugs are a continuing problem, a few pinches of salt will make quick work of them. Rid your plants of fungus. When fungus has invaded your plants, mix a few drops of
dishwashing liquid and water and wipe down the plant. You’ll be
surprised how quickly this will rejuvenate sickly looking plants! Nutrient-rich soil is one of your best defenses against
common garden ailments. Adding organic mulch around trees and flower
beds, and add a layer of organic soil to your lawn every spring. The
nutrients help keep plants fresh and act as a shield to protect your
plants from parasites. Call in the infantry! Walk around your garden or landscape often and inspect your plants for any signs of damage. Early action is the key.
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