Household tips and tricks! - Are you having trouble getting the wine stains out of your carpet? Do you clean your cookware with something extraordinary? Come share!

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rotpocket said:
Anyone have advice for what to use to get rid of ticks in the yard? My area gets them bad, I mean, really bad. I won't delve too far into details so as not to give away where I live, but you can't even go outside without getting them literally swarming up your legs in the middle of summer, especially after a rain. My house doesn't have leaves/debris/flowerbeds/hiding places for them to be under, the yard gets raked to avoid them, and malathion is not working. Flea and tick medicine barely does anything to keep the damn things off dogs either, indoor dogs just carry them indoors- even if the ticks aren't biting on them and getting attached, they're still being carried inside. The ticks here do GREAT indoors. If I have to go through another year of ticks I'm going to just move somewhere new, I don't think I can continue to deal with them, which is a shame because other than ticks I live in a lovely area, it's just gotten that bad. It isn't just my place either, everyone around me is also struggling- the last two-three years have been much worse, before it was just a nuisance and you may find one on you every now and then when you showered at night, but now it's a genuine 'I can't believe I don't have lyme disease yet'.
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Try planting a shit-ton of rosemary, lavender and/or garlic.
You can also put out a bunch of pots of catnip.
 
I found a toilet cleaner liquid that is amazing for hard water stains. Zep. It's main ingredient is hydrochloric acid, so be careful with it. But it works in five minutes. I found it on Amazon, I haven't seen it in local stores. It was pretty cheap for a huge bottle.
 
What can I do to permanently reattach a button to some pants? I have this pair that both my MiL and I have attempted to rebutton multiple times and it will only last a day before popping off.
 
SlaanyChaser said:
What can I do to permanently reattach a button to some pants? I have this pair that both my MiL and I have attempted to rebutton multiple times and it will only last a day before popping off.
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When you're done stitching the button on, are you wrapping/weaving thread around the threads that go through the base of the button? This makes it a little more like a toggle, and makes the threads between the button and the pants more secure.

I did a bad job describing that. Here is a lady explaining it well; she calls it a "thread shank."

I have had good luck securing a button to another button in weakened/thin fabric. Put a button on the other side of the fabric exactly parallel to the functional button, and sew them both on at the same time.

Final option: tack buttons. AKA "replacement jeans buttons." The ones you attach with a hammer.
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rotpocket said:
Anyone have advice for what to use to get rid of ticks in the yard? My area gets them bad, I mean, really bad. I won't delve too far into details so as not to give away where I live, but you can't even go outside without getting them literally swarming up your legs in the middle of summer, especially after a rain. My house doesn't have leaves/debris/flowerbeds/hiding places for them to be under, the yard gets raked to avoid them, and malathion is not working. Flea and tick medicine barely does anything to keep the damn things off dogs either, indoor dogs just carry them indoors- even if the ticks aren't biting on them and getting attached, they're still being carried inside. The ticks here do GREAT indoors. If I have to go through another year of ticks I'm going to just move somewhere new, I don't think I can continue to deal with them, which is a shame because other than ticks I live in a lovely area, it's just gotten that bad. It isn't just my place either, everyone around me is also struggling- the last two-three years have been much worse, before it was just a nuisance and you may find one on you every now and then when you showered at night, but now it's a genuine 'I can't believe I don't have lyme disease yet'.
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Around here, people get chickens for that since they’ll supposedly eat them. I don’t have much of a problem with them, but my yard wasn’t bad for them before I got chickens either.

The woods though? Infested with ‘em
 
Mr. Confederate Man said:
Around here, people get chickens for that since they’ll supposedly eat them. I don’t have much of a problem with them, but my yard wasn’t bad for them before I got chickens either.

The woods though? Infested with ‘em
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Clearly the solution to the woods is roving bands of feral chickens. I'm not saying you shouldn't unleash a horde of them but I'm not not saying it. (Seriously, just kidding. Lots of things that would eat chickens live there too)

My in-laws live on land with tons of grasshoppers. You walked up to the porch through clouds of them. They got chickens and Guinea hens and they completely took care of them.

Plus the price of eggs is insane lately. Recently I saw Aldi selling them for $5/dozen!
 
rotpocket said:
Anyone have advice for what to use to get rid of ticks in the yard?
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I had fantastic results using nematodes for a hellishly similar flea and tick year when we lived next to a big ass "meadow"/poorly groomed park. It looks like the same guys I got the flea ones from have a tick blend, if you're at your limit it might be worth trying.

Here's a different retailer (that I can't vouch for personally) that has more information about how they murder the ticks, satisfying af to picture little good guy microchiggers burrowing into a tick to kill it.
 
Adjustable pot lids kick ass. They're these big pot lids with dips at certain widths so you can fit them with different pots and pans. I never had any lids that really fit my skillets until these. My covering and simmering has gotten much better because of them. You can get a set of 2 on Amazon for like $27 bucks. Worth the money in my book.
 
@rotpocket I have read about people using diatomaceous earth for all sorts of gardening things, as well as flea/pest control. Coincidentally, it came up in conversation with a family member over the weekend. They've used it for mites and lice on their chooks, and dusting plants for aphids. They said it works really well. Apparently it also works for ticks, and people take it for gut health and intestinal parasites.

It looks like powder, but it's like super fine glass, and scratches the body of whatever thing you're trying to get rid of, and it dies in a day or so.

I don't know where you live, but some landscape/ag. supply places sell in bulk. Food grade would be from a health store.

It might be worth looking into since it's not a chemical and kinda just hangs around not really hurting anything else.

I don't want to be a dick and say “Google it”, but there's so many articles about how/how much to use, you're probably best having a quick look yourself.

(Sorry for long comment, brain is tired and words are hard)
 
Oscar Winner said:
I don't know where you live, but some landscape/ag. supply places sell in bulk. Food grade would be from a health store.
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In the US, a lot of hardware stores and some department stores have diatomaceous earth in the gardening or pest control section, but for some reason the container will have a less-descriptive name like Flea Away and you have to look at the ingredients.

I enjoy using it for kitchen ants, because you make a little line of powder across the doorway like you're trying to keep out evil spirits.
 
Aunt Carol said:
In the US, a lot of hardware stores and some department stores have diatomaceous earth in the gardening or pest control section, but for some reason the container will have a less-descriptive name like Flea Away and you have to look at the ingredients.

I enjoy using it for kitchen ants, because you make a little line of powder across the doorway like you're trying to keep out evil spirits.
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Someone explained it to me as "It's dust to us, but from their perspective it's basically broken glass."
 
My grandmother used borax and honey for ants inside, I've read that ants often come in for water if you see them around taps in the kitchen etc. Assuming you don't have food laying around.
I've had ants nest in the bottom of large garden pots, and saucers, as well as a good soaking usually gets them to move out. Never had a problem otherwise, thankfully.
I've read that people use diatomaceous earth for ants, but maybe it depends on the type of ant?
I had bull ants in the garden at my last house, but didn't care because they only came out in the evening. I don't think they'd GAF about much because they had a very tough, shiny carapace. Plus, they eat Redback spiders, so... yay.

ETA- other stuff
 
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Anyone have tips for cleaning the corners in tiled areas?

I've been working on deep cleaning my shower, and it's got wall to wall tile. And getting something down in jtnti scrub the grout is a real pain.
 
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