Skunks Give Benefits Too!

First of all, despite the fact the skunks can be annoying, they actually give many benefits to us. Among these benefits are their habits of eating insects and rodents. They actually help us ‘control’ the number of grasshoppers, beetles and crickets, since these are their favorite food, especially during spring and summer. During winter, they are ready to help you ‘control’ the number of field and house mice.

Two Common Types of Skunks in the U.S. and Canada

There are two types of skunks commonly found in the U.S. and Canada:

1. Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis)
2. Spotted skunk (Spilogale putorius)

- A striped skunk -

- A spotted skunk -

They can discharge stomach-turning musk, which actually comes from their anal glands, and they can do this several times.

They like dwelling in clearings, meadows, and open lands which are next to forests. On grasslands, skunks like to hide in the groves, and woods along rivers. They use hollow logs and limbs to build dens.

Skunks are nocturnal, sluggish, calculated, and show great poise when they encounter enemies, or sense a threat.

Skunk Problems

Skunks can be annoying when their eating and snuggling habits are at odds with you and your family. A friend once asked me, “Hey Ed, how do you get rid of skunks under deck?” Yes, skunks can find foundation openings and snuggle under your deck or building!

Sometimes skunks mess with the garbage outside of your house, sometimes they dig holes – of course it won’t be a problem if they do this in the forest, but what if they dig holes in your beautiful garden, or perhaps in a golf course?

If you raise chickens, skunks can be a threat and attack your chicken coop. They are usually after the eggs though, not the hen.

Many people confuse a skunk’s attack with the one from other animals such as raccoons, weasles, mink, rats or dogs. Make sure you are certain that it’s really skunks that disturb you, before continuing to prevention steps.

How to Get Rid of a Skunk

So, how do you get rid of skunks?

Because skunks are one of the leading carriers of rabies in most states, your effort in getting rid of skunks -more often than not- will be supported by your city or county health departments. They might even help by providing you with trappers.

6 Ways to Get Rid of Skunks

1. Keeping Out

You can keep skunks out of your property with several efforts:

• Seal off all foundation openings. You can use concrete, sheet metal, or even wire mesh
• Bury your fences 1-2 feet deep, so skunks cannot dig underneath them
• If you raise chickens, it’s better to build a poultry building which you can close at night. Or, if you still want to keep them in yards or coops, make sure you use a 3-foot wire mesh fencing, with the lowest part (about 1 foot) buried. To make it even stronger, you can bend the 6-inches bottom part outward from the yard
• Protect wells and pits using wire mesh
• If you have beehives, then place them on stands. 3-feet high stands will be enough, because skunks can’t climb
• Protect your garbage cans with tight-fitting lids

2. Make Your House Less Attractive to Skunks

• Manage your garbage and food source smartly, so skunk won’t be invited
• Check certain places in your house that might keep rodents. Because rodents might invite skunks, you might want to control them first
• Look for certain spots that might be used by skunks as their dens. Clean these spots

3. Scare the Skunks Out of Your Yard

You can scare skunks using light and sounds. Although this only works temporary, but you might find it useful for immediate results

4. Use Repellents

If you are looking for registered repellents, forget it. There’s no such things for skunks. But you can utilize moth balls or moth flakes in a large amount. Put them in closed areas that might attract skunks, and replace them when necessary. You can also use cloths soaked with ammonia for this purpose. However, repellents can only show temporary results.

5. Use Fumigants

There are two types of registered fumigants. Using the toxic gases, you can suffocate the skunks under your deck, or wherever they snuggle. Please follow the instructions carefully.

6. Use Traps

There are two common types of traps for skunks:

1. Box traps
2. Leghold traps

- A box trap for skunks - illustration by the USDA -

Before you use each of these traps, I suggest you consult your state wildlife agency first. If you still want to create your own trap, then go for the Box-Trap type, because it’s very simple. You can set the traps near the entrance of the dens, and use cat food to entice the skunks. Fish-flavored food is very effective for this.

Be careful handling the trapped skunks, as they can discharge the stomach-turning musk. That’s why traps are better used at places rather far from your house. You can also cover the trap with canvas to minimize the risk.

What to do with the trapped skunks? You can release them somewhere far from your residential area (at least 10 miles away), or you can kill them.

How to Get Rid of Skunks Under Deck

To get rid of skunks under your deck -or under buildings- you can follow these steps:

1. Look around and find all possible entrances
2. Seal those entrances, and leave open the main entrance where the burrow is located
3. Use flour and spread it on the ground, just in front of the opening. Create a circle with the flour, about 2 feet in diameter
4. Wait and see. After dark, observe the flour for tracks. If you find tracks of skunks, that means they have left to find food. If you don’t find tracks, wait again and recheck for every hour
5. When you are certain that the skunks have left, temporarily seal the entrance as soon as possible
6. To make sure all skunks have left the den, re-open the seal on the day after. Wait until dark, and open it for about an hour
7. Seal the entrance permanently when you are sure there’s no skunk left in the den
8. It’s better to do this between September and June, so you can be sure that there are no skunk babies trapped inside after you seal the entrance permanently

I know how annoying ants can be. Of course, ants play an important role in nature, but having ‘too much’ ants in the house -especially in the kitchen- is driving me nuts.

Lately, my house has been invaded with this tiny ants (later on, I found out that they are grease ants, or thief ants). I left the house for a one week holiday with my entire family, and when we got back, we saw so many grease ants lining on the wall, on the floor, and all over the place!

Since then, whenever we left a little food trace, ants would gather within minutes. My youngest always leave his milk bottle wherever he wants to, and within minutes, we would find ants covering the spot. It’s terrible.

That’s why I spent some time to find out the best way to get rid of ants, and I thought I share it with you here.

Identify the Ants in Your House

I’m not asking you to be an ant expert or myrmecologist, because there are somewhat 28,000 species of ants out there! Still, to answer your question, “How do I get rid of ants?”, it’s always better to start with identifying what kind of ants you are dealing with.

- click to enlarge -

Because not all kinds of ants invade your house, you can at least learn what household ants look like and their types. Download this report – it contains the most common types of household ants in California. Other states might have different types of ants, though.

How to Get Rid of Ants in the House

Remember, the key is to prevent more ants from entering your house. Most ants come from outside. Instead of trying to eliminate all ants in your house area (which is impossible of course), you should make effort on preventing them to come into your house.

3 Tips to Prevent Ants from Entering Your House

1. Cleaning up food sources
2. Caulking entryways
3. Baiting

Caulking Entryways

• Examine your house for entryways of ants. Entryways can include cracks and crevices in walls or flooring, that provide entry into the house.  Windows and vents should be examined too
• Before caulking, make sure you clean the areas around the outside entryways. Don’t forget to dry them completely afterwards, so the caulk can seal the area
• Caulk the edges of windows and any outside entryways, and let it dry for 3-4 hours. See the instructions if you want to be sure

How to Get Rid of Ants in the Kitchen

The next step is to clean up food sources, and this mostly involves cleaning your kitchen.

• Find any food attractive to ants, and store them in closed containers
• Clean up grease and spills
• Apply sticky barriers to your kitchen garbage pails, just under the lip. You can use petroleum jelly for this purpose
• Pet dishes should be placed using water defences

If you have fruit trees next to your house, make sure they don’t worsen the condition by ‘inviting’ more ants to come to your house. Manage them well, or remove them if necessary.

To prevent ant nesting, grass and plants should be kept about one feet away from your house foundation

Ant Bait

Baits are the most effective control for most types of ants. It can destroy the whole colony when done right.

The idea is to make the annoying ants to find the bait (containing the killer ingredient), eat it greedily, and take it back with them to the nest, to where the queen is. The most effective active ingredients for this task are boric acid and hydramethylnon. Other popular ones are fipronil, avermectin, sulfluramid, and arsenic trioxide.

If you use residual insecticide sprays, the ants will possibly die before they take the bait to the nest.

Homemade Ant Baits

Based on the food they eat, we can divide ants into two categories:

1. Sweet Feeding Ants
2. Grease and Protein Feeding Ants

1. Sweet Feeding Ants

These ants are the easiest to control. What you need:

• Masking tape
• Jelly
• Boric acid or hydramethylnon

Place baits near ant trails, nest openings, and also around water sources and window ledge.

2. Grease and Protein Feeding Ants

What you need:

• Masking tape
• Peanut butter (4 tablespoons)
• Honey (6 tablespoons)
• Boric acid or hydramethylnon (3/4 teaspoon)

Place baits near ant trails, nest openings, and also around water sources and window ledge.

You can also use these registered baits:

• Terro® (OTC) – gel (boric acid/sugars)
• Pic® liquid (OTC) – gel (boric acid/sugars)
• Drax® Ant Kil Gel – gel (boric acid/sugars/apple/mint for sugar-feeding ants)
• Drax®-FP (PRO) – gel (boric acid with peanut butter/oil  for protein and grease-feeding ants)
• MAXFORCE – gel, granules (hydramethylnon)

It usually takes 5 to 10 days to see significant results.

How Do You Get Rid of Bed Bugs?

Even though bed bugs problem is a worldwide issue, the good news is that you can control them. You can choose either chemical or non-chemical techniques, but one thing you should remember is that there is no such thing as a quick fix. You have to be patient.

Identify the Bed Bugs

In order to get rid of bed bugs yourself, first you have to be able to recognize them. Bed bugs feed essentially on human blood. A newly emerged bed bug has a different appearance from an adult one. ‘Baby’ bed bugs are rather transparent, light-tan colored, with the size of poppy seeds. The adults are rusty-red colored, with flat, oval bodies, about the size of an apple seed. Don’t confuse them with other small insects!

The first sign of bed bugs infestations is the bites. If you or other family members have bite marks while sleeping, then great chance bed bugs are already spread in your house. The marks could be on your face, neck, arms, legs, or other parts of your body.

Other signs of bed bugs infestations at home:

• Dark spots – this is a bed bug excrement
• Eggs or eggshells – white, the size is about 1 mm
• Exoskeletons – shed after molting
• Stains – red, or rusty and can be found on sheets or mattresses, caused by crushed bed bugs
• Odor – sweet and musty

Control the Bed Bugs by Yourself

In most cases, controlling bed bugs by yourself is a very complicated and time consuming task. You have to move furniture, household goods and other belongings. Next, you should determine and prepare a clean area where you can collect all clean objects. Treated furniture and objects should be gathered here also, and after the respective room is treated, you can put those objects back to where they belong.

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs by Yourself #1 – The Primitive Way

You’ll need:

1. Flashlight
2. Old credit card
3. Clear tape
4. Plastic bags
5. Hot soapy water

Move the old credit card along cracks and fractures to push out the bed bugs. Use the clear tape to trap them, and finally use the hot soapy water to wipe up infestations. Wipe up also all bed bugs, stains, droppings, shed exoskeletons and eggs that you find. Use the flashlight to spot them.

Captured bed bugs can be crushed, or disposed. Do this over and over again. After all, it’s a numbers game!

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs by Yourself #2 – Vacuuming

Vacuuming is also not 100% effective, but it can help, especially to get rid of clustered bed bugs. But be careful, if you do it the wrong way, you can spread the infestations all over the place, instead of eliminating them. Here are some tips on vacuuming bed bugs:

• Set the suction at maximum power
• Use a crevice tool attached to the vacuum
• Concentrate on cracks
• Try not to press the fabric too hard to avoid making the bed bugs jump to other places
• Vacuum do not kill bed bugs, so you must seal the vacuum bag and dispose it in the trash
• Do repetitive vacuuming at spots where you find many clustered bed bugs
• Combine vacuuming with other non-chemical techniques

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs by Yourself #3 – Steaming

Studies show that if you heat bed bugs through to at least 113 ºF (45 ºC) for 60 minutes, they can be killed in all stages of development. If you use higher temperature, you can kill bed bugs at all life stages, faster.

This makes steaming a very effective technique, if done correctly. Here are some important tips when using a steamer to get rid of bed bugs:

• Use a commercial steamer with a minimum capacity of 1 gallon
• A steamer with a steam volume control is better
• DO NOT use carpet cleaning machine, the temperature is not enough
• To effectively kill bed bugs, the surface temperature should be 160 – 180 ºF. You can use a non-contact thermometer to measure it, right after the steam brush has passed
• Test the steam first before applying it to certain places, because the heat can damage some fabrics
• DO NOT use a pin-point steam nozzle, as this can blow bed bugs away from the spot, instead of killing them
• The best nozzle to kill bed bugs is the triangular one. It works well for most usage
• It’s OK to moist fabric that you want to steam, but don’t get it wet, because it can ruin the steam’s temperature
• You might have to repeat the process a couple of times to achieve better results

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs by Yourself #4 – Laundering

Washing and drying bedding and clothing at high temperatures is a simple and cheap technique to kill bed bugs completely, and this should be done too when you hire a professional pest control company.

The first step is to sort clothes. Put them in plastic bags, according to their conditions. Separate dry-clean-only clothes from others, and use dryer to kill the bed bugs on them. Don’t forget to seal the bags.

Wash and dry clothes on the hottest temperature they can afford. Fold empty plastic bags and collect them in another plastic bag, then seal it for disposal. For dry-clean-only clothes, use medium to high temperature setting for the dryer, and run for at least 20 minutes. Because drying only kill the bed bugs, afterwards, you should take them to a professional cleaner for cleaning.

Cleaned clothes should be immediately stored in a new, clean plastic bag. Once your home is treated, you can take the laundry out of the bags.

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs by Yourself #5 – Freezing

You can also kill bed bugs using cool temperature, but it can take days to complete. With cool temperature below 0 ºF (-19 ºC), most bed bugs will be eliminated in 4 days. If you use lower temperature, it will be faster.

Some tips on freezing bed bugs to death:

• Use a chest freezer
• DO NOT use a freezer attached to a refrigerator, because the temperature is not stable
• Put infected objects in sealed plastic bags
• Most dry household items can be frozen (new books, shoes, clothing, jewelry, toys, etc)
• DO NOT freeze electronics, old books, and items that contain liquids
• For chest freezers using a 0 ºF temperature, it takes 7-10 days to complete the treatment
• Bulky items might need longer time
• DO NOT put your stuff outside in winter, as this will mostly not kill the bed bugs, due to the variations of temperature, sunlight, and humidity

All of the above are non-chemical techniques to get rid of bed bugs. To help notice infestations, use mattress covers, box spring, and pillow encasements. They can help trap bed bugs and make it easier for you to identify the presence of bed bugs.

Chemical Technique

One of the most effective chemical ways to control bed bugs is by using pesticides. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has listed over 300 products, and most of them can be used to get rid of bed bugs at home. I also found a very useful Bed Bug Product Search Tool. You can use it to find a product that suits your needs.

Another way to find a pesticide you can use at home, is by checking with the Cooperative Extension Service in your area. If eventually your chosen product doesn’t work in getting rid of bed bugs, then I suggest you consult a pest management professional.

Be careful when using pesticides, and make sure you always follow the directions for use. Don’t use outdoor pesticides for indoor usage, as this can harm your health

Learn More About Bed Bugs to Prevent Infestations

To effectively prevent bed bug infestations, you should get to know this creature!

Bed Bug’s Life Cycle

- image property of CDC -

It takes approximately 2 to 4 months for bed bugs to grow from eggs to adults. A female bed bug may produce up to 500 eggs during its lifetime (which is about 1 year). These eggs are usually found in clusters of 50 or less, and hatch in 7-14 days.

In order to molt, the nymph must consume blood, and most of the time they do this ‘blood hunting’ when we sleep. Most people don’t feel the bites and sometimes it takes days to realize they have been bitten by bed bugs.

To reach adulthood, the nymph usually molts 5 times, which can be completed within 3 weeks in warmer temperatures, or many months in cooler temperatures. Most adult bed bugs can live up to 10 to 12 months.

Preventing Bed Bug Infestations

Bed bugs are hitch-hikers. They can travel around using clothing, furniture, pipes and wiring as the media. Here are some tips to prevent bed bugs from entering your home:

• Be careful when buying used items
• Be careful when bringing anything you find on the street into your home
• Be careful when renting furniture
• It’s always wise to check for bed bugs when you stay at a hotel room
• Use caulk to seal cracks and crevices in your home
• Perform a regular inspection for the signs of an infestation

Hiring a Pest Management Professional

Make sure you identify them correctly as bed bugs. You don’t want to hire a professional only to find that you have cockroach nymph, for example

• Hire an expert in the specific field of bed bug control
• Be careful of exterminators who come to your home univinted, even though they offer a free service
• Hire a qualified and licensed professional. You can check with the State Department of Agriculture, the state Attorney General, or Better Business Bureau
• Check for feedbacks from previous customers
• Prioritize quality over price
• What to emphasize in the contract:
  • The condition of the bed bug infestation
  • The work plan
  • How many treatments needed to achieve best results
• A credible professional will do these things:
  • Inspect your house before quoting a price
  • Inspect your house before starting any pesticide application
  • Inform you with a written report of the inspection
  • Has a complete plan for treatment and prevention
• Ask whether the company has liability insurance that protect your home and furniture from damage
• Ask for a guarantee and what it covers

Good luck getting rid of bed bugs!

Walk around your backyard and pick the location with the best view. You can expand the patio for a better view, or perhaps you want the backyard patio to wrap around the side so you can experience views from several directions.

If you want to add electrical and plumbing features, then don’t forget to include them in your plan. See whether the location you have chosen won’t cause you any trouble adding these features.

Your patio project will be limited by 3 factors:

• Available space
• Budget
• Local building codes

For small lots, you can build an elevated deck and use the underneath space as a patio, for example. For small backyards, you can build a paved patio with garden and water feature.

To start with a complete plan, you should draw your house an backyard on a piece of paper. Graph paper will do it. Include everything that exists in your backyard. This includes trees, fences, sheds, and other important things.

the Concept

You can build a backyard patio which is out in the open, or a patio where you can hide from the crowd, or perhaps somewhere in between. Determine the concept before building your backyard patio. If you want the patio to be out in the open, then the best trick is to pick a location which is away from your house and maximize the wide open space.

If you prefer the patio to be your private retreat, then you can choose a secluded area, surrounded by woods, a fence, or even tall plants. You might want to use those things too to block the view from your neighbor’s house, or annoying noise from the street.

the Shade

Don’t forget that the sunlight intensity to your backyard space changes throughout the day. Add this factor too to your patio design. I usually take pictures of the location at different times to see how much sun it receives.

Next, decide what you functions you want to add to the backyard patio. Do you want it to be a dining area with cooking facilities? Or perhaps you want a simple patio where you can read books and that’s all. Add this to your plan.

Ready-To-Assemble Gazebo

Anyway, if you want backyard patio ideas on a budget, here are some ideas that can help make your backyard patio a comfortable spot…

You can construct a ready-to-assemble gazebo on your designated patio site. Before the gazebo is assembled, make sure the ground is level and has an adequate patio flooring material. It could be simple pea gravel, concrete blocks, or cement. After the gazebo is up, your patio area is ready to be furnished and decorated with accessories such as containers, hanging plants, lighting, and wind chimes.

Click the images for more details…

I just studied and tested out this one vacuum cleaner, Swiffer on my hardwood floors and it’s truly amazing. I first heard about it from my neighbor actually, and decided to find out more about the vac. Surprisingly, the Swiffer vacuum cleaner received so many great testimonials on Amazon, that I read through several pages of them.

There was this guy who lives on a dirt road, and have a Husky Mix that sheds horribly bad. The Swiffer did a great job for him for 1 year straight, and the vacuum never got clogged with his dog’s hair. Interesting.

I checked out Amazon for this Swiffer and saw that the price was only $37.97 per kit, with free shipping. Excellent. You can check the current price here.

I mean, compare the vacuum cleaner with the Miele Universal Upright vacuum that currently sells for $289!

The Miele is made in Germany, and also popular for its durability, but it’s almost 10 times more expensive than the Swiffer.

Other alternatives I found which are light and easy to operate are the Electrolux 12v Ergorapido and Kenmore Magic Blue™ Canister Vacuum, but they are also more expensive, and I discovered that the feedbacks for the last two vacs are not as good as the Swiffer.

Sure, Rainbow and Kirby always do a great job for hardwood floors, but they are too big in size and too heavy for my wife! Since I was looking for a light, cheap, yet powerful vacuum cleaner for my hardwood floor, then I decided to go for the Swiffer.

Hence, I bought the vac from Amazon and tried it out. For safety of the floor and getting the job done, it is as good as I’ve found. My wish though for the vac is a larger easy-to-empty canister, and a long lasting battery. Another way I found to save more money is by using a small handheld broom to brush the filter clean after each time I empty the debris from the vac.

Check the current price for the Swiffer Vacuum Cleaner on Amazon.

P.S. Forget Eureka and Dyson for your hardwood floors, as they don’t pick anything up. Instead, they can scratch or gauge the hardwoods.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy are working together to create Energy Star, a joint program that helps people like you and me save more money, and help the environment at the same time. They continuously publishing energy efficient products that we can use.

This time, I’d like to share with you the most energy-efficient dishwashers, and surprisingly, 6 of them are Bosch dishwashers! They show a 49% better annual energy use than the Federal standard. Here they are:

1. Bosch SHE68E05UC

check price at Amazon

2. Bosch SHE68E15UC

check price at Amazon

3. Bosch SHE8ER55UC

check price at Amazon

4. Bosch SHE68E05UC

check price at Amazon

5. Bosch SHX68E15UC

check price at Amazon

6. Asko D5893XXLHS

check price at Amazon

7. Bosch SHX98M09UC

check price at Amazon

The Asko D5893XXLHS and Bosch SHX98M09UC each show a 47% and 46% better annual energy use than the Federal standard.

These dishwashers use less energy and water, hence it can save you up to $50 per year compared to using standard models. If you are still using an old dishwasher (built before 1994), then you should consider altering it with one of these Energy Star dishwashers.

Rattan is well-known to last for many years, because it’s exceedingly unaffected by bad weather (unlike wood or metal furniture that decay and corrode).

There are so many beautiful designs of rattan garden furniture, which include sofas, armchairs, dining chairs, dining tables, nests, and more. I discovered a few designs that caught my attention, and here they are for you to see…

source: Stemik Living

So, the first step would be to ask them what they want. You should talk to them to get the right idea of their favorite colors, hobbies, habits, and other preferences. Combine these with basic principles in interior design, such as bright colors for wall painting, etc.

Now to get your ideas flowing, here are some beautiful kids room design by Stemik Living…

source: Stemik Living

Welcome to the new DosaDosa.com!

We are very happy to announce that Dosa Dosa has changed its concept. We will share so many useful information and write about many interesting topics.

Stay tuned!