But the other day my daughter came running inside screaming, "The patio is swarming with ants!" I went out to see what was going on and I see a ton of ants making a line across the lawn and headed directly for the pomegranate tree. They were climbing up the trunk and crawling all over the leaves! By nature, I'm the "live and let live" type when it comes to insects outdoors. So I left them alone, assuming they could do no harm. But this morning I noticed that many of the tree's leaves have shriveled up and I'm afraid that ants will kill the tree or at least ruin the fruit.

Does anyone have any information that can help me?

First of all, why are the ants suddenly attacking this tree?

Can they do real damage?

If so, what is the simplest way to get them to stop and keep them off of the tree?

I prefer a natural remedy to using chemicals, but if only chemicals will help I'm willing to go that route.

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/equipment/energystar/...

http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/re...

We have actually made two of them – the first we built from pallets – the second from some old shipping crates and pallets. But for both – the only tools we used were a Sawzall, Nail Gun, Construction Adhesive (liquid nails heavy – duty), 3″ coarse drywall screws and a drill with a Phillips #2 screw bit (for drywall screws)

For the canning cupboard, we started by tearing apart about 4 pallets to use for the sides and shelving boards. We learned early on to not waste time trying to pull the nails from boards and remove every little speck of everything. It's time consuming, you damage way too many boards and it takes forever!

We use a sawzall with a long demolition construction blade and simply slice through the nails. Leave all of the remnant flat nails in the boards, not only does it add lots of character – its super quick. If you place the pallet up on end you can slice through all of the nails in about 15 seconds. Just repeat the process until you have cut them all and you end up with 15 to 25 single boards to work with for every pallet. (depending on pallet size and make-up – you usually get boards about 3 to 5″ wide by 30 to 48″ long). With shipping creates – we just disassemble the sides with the sawzall and then you have ready-made building panels to work with. Whatever you use – pallets, shipping crates or old barn wood – the important thing is to have simple straight boards to build with.

Anytime we make anything with pallets – whether it's the canning cupboard or the buffet hutch – we will then use the left over 2 x 4′s that make up the pallet's inside rails to build the carcass structure. They are durable – and although heavy – they are free and make the structure strong. Speaking of the structure – we always use coarse drywall screws and heavy-duty construction adhesive to assemble. The screws hold tight and the adhesive holds forever. Don't worry about anything other than the framing being straight. Once again if there are some left over bits of nail that have been sawed off smooth – let it be – it just makes for a great patina when stained or painted over.

Once we have the structures carcass built – we just simply use all of the straight boards cut from the pallets to cover. For this we will use the nail gun for speed and looks – but you could just as easily use a hammer and nails. Once you have trimmed it out to your liking – you can paint, stain or leave natural – and you have a unique conversation piece.

The biggest piece of advice – don't sweat the details! The biggest mistake people make when using reclaimed lumber or pallets is tot try to make it too perfect. It's far better to not try to sand everything super smooth - or take out every little crack or dent in the wood. Let them be - it just makes it look that much better.

If you like this - please visit our little blog (oldworldgardenfarms.com) for more of our projects. And if you can -help us spread the word about our farm and site and make sure to like us on Facebook! Thanks so much, Jim and Mary

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I used 5 pallets and some wood scraps to make these two and that part was free. If you want to paint or add cushions (recommended!) that will be extra but all in all this cost me $10 for the red paint and that's it!

The basic idea of how to make these is to take two pallets of the same rectangular shape and stack them on top of each other, do the same with the second lounge chair. Then take the last pallet, divide it in half and add some wood scraps to construct two backrests that you attach to the stacked pallets with two screws. Minimal sanding and some paint and you're done.

I must warn you that the idea is simple but deconstructing the 5th pallet is pretty hard physical work but can be made easier if you have the proper tools and/or a muscular guy to help :)

Check out my blog for more photos and detailed instructions on how I went about it:

http://shoestringpavilion.blogspot.com/2010/...

Working with pallets – the first thing we realized early on is it is nearly impossible and too time consuming to worry yourselves with pulling out the nails. It is too easy to damage the wood with the claw and hammer or pry bar.

Instead, we opt for our sawzall method – which can disassemble a pallet in less than two minutes into 10 or more pieces of great usable wood. Besides – the left over embedded nail fragments actually add a ton of character to pieces when either stained or painted.

So – 1st Tip – Invest in a sawzall. They are the key to quickly destructing a pallet – and without damaging or splintering the wood. Yes, it's an expense – but the inexpensive ones will work just fine with pallets.

2nd Tip – forget about the little 5″ blade that comes with your sawzall. That will only frustrate you. Buy a couple of 12″ construction blades (trust me – the few bucks are worth it – and they last forever).

3rd Tip - How to disassemble. Set it on its side and simply slice through the nails on each end. Then – head down the middle row doing the same thing and in no time you have a lot of pallet wood great for all of your crafts! (we have a step by step pictorial on our blog post below to take you through it.)

Floating ledge shelves are great because they allow you to change pictures, candles and decorations without the need to remove nails, screws or hangers each time. Big pictures, small pictures and everything in between will fit on them without ever worrying about more holes going into your walls. The best part – this shelf can be made in less than an hour with just 3 ordinary pallet boards, 8 screws and a little wood glue.

A few weeks back – we had a short tutorial on how to quickly disassemble a pallet to get a nice stash of ready-to-use boards. (http://oldworldgardenfarms.com/2012/09/18/building-with-pallets-how-to-disassemble-a-pallet-with-ease-for-great-wood/) With that wood close at hand – we were ready to get building.

This is actually a very simple piece, consisting of just 3 pieces of wood. A main center shelf (3 1/2″ wide by 36″ long), a front ledge (1 1/2″ wide x 34″ long), and a back ledge (2 1/2″ long x 36″ long)We used about 1/4 of the wood from one pallet – so depending on the size of the shelf you wanted – you can make several from a single pallet. You could also just as easily use old barn wood or pine boards to build.* we include a full pictorial to take you through our building process step by step on our blog post if you follow the link below. The How To:Main Shelf Board:

Using one of the three wider boards taken from the back of the pallet – we cut the board down to 3 1/2″ wide with a quick run through the table saw. The boards were already 36″ long, so the length was good to go. To add a little dimension to the piece – we tapered the front edge of the board 1″ on each side and cut off with a jigsaw.Front Ledge Board:Taking one of the smaller slat boards from the top portion of the pallet – we once again ran it through the table saw to get the desired width of 1 1/2 inches. I then used the jig saw to trim off 2″ to make this piece 34″ long (allowing for the angled front taper). Next – I used a drill to pre-drill 4 small pilot holes in the lower half of the slat board – one at each end, and 2 more spaced evenly towards the middle.Back Ledge Board:Taking another one of the smaller slat boards – we make the back ledger board. We trim it down to 2 1/2 wide with a quick run through the table saw - and kept it at the existing 36″ length. I repeat the same pilot hole process at the bottom of the board that we did with the front ledge board. With that – it's ready to assemble!Assembly:Starting with the front ledge board and the main shelf board – apply a small bead of wood glue or construction adhesive to the front edge of the main shelf board. Line up your front slat board until it's even, and using the pre-drilled holes – assemble by drilling the screws in from the front side. You can use any wood screw you like – but I find it easy to use basic 1-3/4″ coarse black drywall screws. They go in easy, are inexpensive and hold great.With your front shelf ledge board attached – now its time to assemble the back board. Repeat the same steps as before. Apply a thin bead of glue or construction adhesive to the back edge, and screw the back slat into the back edge of the main shelf board- screwing from the rear side towards the front.At this point you can either leave your shelf rustic, or apply a coat or two of stain or paint to the wood. (One quick tip – if you want to leave rustic – it is amazing what a little pressure washing can do to old wood to make it look great again – no sanding needed!After it's all dry - your ready to hang.Hanging is a snap. I use a stud finder to locate a couple of studs in the wall – and then drill out two holes in the front top portion of the back ledger board. Place the shelf up against the wall and using the 2 pre-drilled holes, attach with 3″ coarse black drywall screws or wood screws into the studs.That's it! In less than an hour – we have our shelf cut, assembled and hung!

You can see the full tutorial at http://www.eastcoastcreativeblog.com/2011/10...

-Monica and Jess (East Coast Creative Blog)

#Bestof2012