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August 3rd, 2009Categories: Georgia Mountain Home Tips

There are 32 million acres of “lawn” nationwide — enough to blanket New York in its entirety. It’s no wonder that lawns have become the most irrigated crop in the country.

It’s estimated that one-third of residential water use is directed to front and back yards, illustrating how watering a lawn can be expensive to both homeowners and to the environment.

Reducing these costs can be simple, however. All it takes is a working a rain-monitoring device. Rain monitors are basic hardware that typically install between a lawn’s sprinkler heads and its water source.

Using a built-in reservoir, the devices collect and measure natural rainfall, using the levels to determine whether the sprinkler system should be engaged on a given day. With one particular, low-tech model, if the reservoir is holding a half-inch of water or more, the monitor “locks” the sprinkler heads from firing.

If you’ve ever watched your lawn get watered through a rainstorm, you can understand the value of a device like this.

Rain-monitoring devices range in cost from $12 to several hundred dollars with the low-tech model referenced above closer to $12. Wireless transmitting devices are at the upper-end of the range.

Many lawn care experts recommend 1 inch of water per week.

Tags: backyard garden, Garden, Irrigation, Irrigation sprinkler, Lawn, New York, Rain, Water supply

Written by Chad Lariscy//Discussion: Please leave a comment.

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June 29th, 2009Categories: Georgia Mountain Home Tips

 

In between visits from the exterminator, it’s not uncommon to see the occasional ant, spider or roach or insect around the house.

But what to do about it?

One solution is Terminix SafeShield, a new, eco-friendly home pest control product introduced earlier this year.

Formulated by an independent pesticide company, Terminix SafeShield is a non-aerosol bug spray whose active ingredients are all-natural.  The formula is said to control 25 types of in-home pests and kills bugs fast.

Because of its natural composition, SafeShield is safe for use around kids and pets — a huge advantage over chemical-laden, off-the-shelf products.  However, this same composition is also the product’s weak spot. Its oils and ingredients are most effective as spot treatments — not long-lasting ones.

Although it’s meant to complement a professional Terminix treatment, SafeShield can be purchased by-the-bottle at the Terminix website.

Tags: Agriculture, Environmentally friendly, Garden, Home and Garden, Insect, Pest control, Pesticide, Shopping

Written by Chad Lariscy//Discussion: 2 Comments »

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