Hometalk is where people share and help with everything home & garden

About Me:

avid gardener

Favorite area of home improvement:

anything to improve appearance of exterior; decorating the inside and making everything around me pretty

Recent Activity

Repurposing & Upcycling

Remodeling

Painting

Outdoor Living

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Followed 10 topics on Apr 30, 2013

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Followed 8 people on Feb 14, 2013

Pest Control: What is an ecologically responsible way to get rid of a yellow jacket nest?

This is on a hillside area where I am attempting to clean up the landscaping. I'm not sure if I can even find the "entry" hole in the ground to their nest, but I stirred them up ...»

BeckySue, Certified Maste... on Jul 15, 2012

We use traps sold at Home Depot - they are called "Yellow Jacket Traps" :) They work really ...»
well .. nearly eliminating the problem, but we do have to treat it every spring/summer with new bags. Basically they are bags of sweet stuff that they get in .. and cannot get out.

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Wildlife & Animals: Who is this visitor?

I had another good looking visitor to my office window this weekend. I have seen him a few times but this time had a camera nearby. I believe he is a falcon of some sort. A beautiful ...»

Commented on Jul 15, 2012
Kevin, it is either a sharp-shinned hawk or a cooper's hawk. They are similar in appearance, ...»
with the former being a bit smaller. The other hawks people are mentioning are more full-bodied than yours. Lucky you for seeing him!

Gardening: Does anyone know what this is. A neighbor down the street has this & not sure what it is?

This is the 2x it's bloomed this season. I want to get some of these! There's ton of these in between there side walk & street. But these where cut down one once. And have grown again.

Commented on Jul 14, 2012
Ann, I meant that if you have too much, just pull the ones you don't want out of the ground ...»
and add them to your compost pile. It will grow almost anywhere. No, pulling up a plant by the roots will not encourage it to spread. (with the exception of English Ivy, which will spread if you even look at it!) And, it will not get out of control if you pay attention to it a couple of times per year. Easy as pie to keep once established. One woman's weed is another woman's beautiful addition to the garden. Go for it!

Appliances: Which washing machine should I get?

I am looking at washing machines, Should I get a front loader or top loader? What brand do you like? Sears has this fun color! Boy have things changed.

Commented on Jul 12, 2012
I have had an LG front loader for about six months and LOVE it. To avoid odor problems with ...»
any front loader, 1. leave the door open when not in use, 2. use powdered detergent (as opposed to liquid), and 3. Wash a load with bleach now and then. I have all white towels and sheets, so I use bleach at least once per week. Also, mine is a floor model, which lowered the cost by almost 50%. It was still new, but much cheaper, so I splurged on the extended warranty. By the way, I researched this issue thoroughly and concluded that LG is the best, based on customer complaints, and Kenmore is the worst. Good luck.