Category Archive

insects

Start your own colony: 8 benefits of keeping exotic invertebrates as pets

Whether you want something short-lived, cheap-to-buy and easily looked after by your kids, or you want something clean, silent and scent-free to brighten up your home, you could do a lot worse than diving into the wonderful world of pet invertebrates. You might even discover a new passion that you never realized you even had!

Learn how to kill lice while keeping calm for your kids

I checked her hair again and there they were — disgusting bugs eating my beautiful daughter’s poor head…

And also my own head… And also my roommate’s head. Basically three out of four people in our co-living household.

As I came to this realization I really wanted so badly to freak out. But I looked at my daughters little trusting eyes, and I realized that I didn’t have that luxury.

What are your favorite ways to fight fleas once they’ve found your pets?

We’re recent transplants to Austin, Texas and boy-oh-boy are the fleas some resilient little fuckers down here. I’ve always given monthly flea/tick spot treatments to my cat and my dog, but that doesn’t do the trick here like it did in colder, dryer climates. There’s lots of information on how to prevent flea infestation, but what to do once you’ve got ’em?

Do I have to surrender my backyard to the spiders?

Our lovely Portland, Oregon backyard has transformed into a spidery wonderland during the past year. Spiders are awesome and super important for the environment, but we need our personal space! What can I do to de-spider the back yard, short of spraying with pesticides?

Using dung beetles to keep poop in check and other backyard hacks for your dogs

In our post about composting pet waste Homie Maria told us how she used dung beetles in her backyard to keep her dog’s poop in check. Of course we were all very intrigued, so Maria was kind enough to let us in on the dung beetle details. Including some other brilliant backyard hacks thought up by her gardening genius late husband…

How can we mosquito-proof our windows on a budget?

We have cats, which means our window screens have little tears here and there. Whenever we open the windows at night to cool the house down, we get eaten alive with mosquitoes slipping inside! Short of buying new window screens, how can we mosquito-proof our windows on a budget?

How do you weather/bug proof a rental apartment?

My husband and I live in an apartment that we love, except for the bug problem. We have a large gap in our door where they keep coming in. I’ve done some research about sealing the gaps, but it all seems geared to people who own their home. Any advice for bug and weather proofing for the renting Homies?

How to moth-proof your yarn collection AND kept it pretty

My yarn stash was sitting in wicker baskets or boxes on the floor. Why not just lay out a moth banquet? So, I decided to see this is an opportunity to re-do the “knitting corner” in my living room.

So here some of my anti moths in yarn techniques…