Life Hacks

Out of all the pests that homeowners are forced to confront, termites are certainly the most destructive and expensive to treat. Regardless of whether or you have ever dealt with pests before, it’s worth knowing how to get rid of termites as you can never fully prepare for an infestation. Termites can destroy both the interior and exterior of your home, and if you fail to spot the early warning signs, the damage can become extensive.

This guide will give you some helpful techniques on how to keep termites away from your home and get rid of them quickly and effectively:

Vinegar

Vinegar is a valuable solution to store in your cupboards. While it is useful for cleaning your bathroom and kitchen fittings, it has also been proven to destroy termites almost instantly, providing they come into direct contact with the substance.

Mix vinegar and lemon juice and pour into a spray bottle, to make it easier to distribute into the disturbed areas. Then, spray the solution into any gaps or cracks where termites may be present or even on any wooden surfaces or furniture that they may be likely to infest. It would be best to do so regularly to kill any termites still lurking which may not have been targeted the first time around.

Pest control service

Ideally, it would be advisable to hire a pest control service to take care of a more severe termite infestation. If your house has become overridden with termites, you’ll start to notice significant damage – particularly around wooden surfaces. It can be challenging to tackle the situation without a professional if it has reached this extent. Local Pest Control Houston company Gulf Coast Exterminators are highly effective in dealing with the most severe termite cases, by using advanced technology and years of experience in the field which should give you the peace of mind that the pest issue will be dealt with efficiently.

Sunlight

Sunlight can instantly kill termites. Therefore, if you have a piece of furniture or a wooden object that is infested, you can simply leave it for several hours outdoors during the hotter months of the year, and the termites should start to die off. If there are specific sections of the home that have become termite-infested, you can simply place UV lamps over them which should hopefully achieve the same result.

Orange oil

Oranges contain a type of oil named ‘d-limonene’ which is an active ingredient that kills termites quickly. It is typically used within home cleaning products and as a food flavoring but can also be bought by the bottle as a form of pest control. Do be aware that this treatment is only effective in exterminating dry wood termites, rather than subterranean termites.

Prune trees and bushes

As a preventative measure, it would be sensible to prune trees and bushes around the perimeter of your home and on the exterior of your property. This ensures that there are no moist areas which may otherwise attract termites to gather and will also allow you to spot any damage with immediate effect, rather than months later when the problem has escalated.

 

With levels of CO2 emissions rising globally, and congestion in cities continuing to rise, cities are becoming ever-more toxic environments. Fewer cars on the road equal lower carbon emissions and congestion. Here are five ways you can leave the car at home to help reduce carbon emissions.

 

 

Using public transport

Due to the continuing coronavirus pandemic, you might dismiss public transport as an unhygienic hotbed of germs. However, there are steps you can take to make your journey on public transport as comfortable as possible. Wear a face mask and cotton gloves, which will keep you safe from any germs in the atmosphere or lingering on surfaces. Use antibacterial gel once you have disembarked from any public transport and keep antibacterial wipes handy—these are a lifesaver if you are sat on a seat that seems less than sanitary! By following these tips, you can reduce your carbon footprint while safe in the knowledge that you are protecting yourself.

Scooters

Scooters, being smaller than cars, are more fuel-efficient and produce fewer carbon emissions. They have the added benefit of generally being more affordable and cheaper to run. Being compact, lightweight, and more easily maneuverable than a bulky car, with mindful driving scooters can help you to beat the congestion. With plenty of scooter brands and dealers for you to check out, for instance, Peugeot scooters dealers, you are sure to find a scooter you like that fits in with your lifestyle.

Carpooling

Carpooling is sharing car journeys with other people going to the same location, reducing the amounts of cars making the same journey. This works particularly well when commuting to and from work, and in fact, many employers have now introduced carpooling schemes for their employees. Additionally, websites such as BlaBlaCar are building a global network of carpools. So why not give carpooling a go? You might make some new friends!

Bikes

Want to have your daily workout without paying for a gym? Cycling is the perfectly good method of transportation, ensuring that you arrive at your destination without producing any carbon emissions while also getting a rigorous free workout. With cities such as New York, who have dedicated to building more than 250 new bike lanes, focusing on improving road safety for cyclists, using a bike could soon become one of the most common forms of transportation.

Only using a car for essential journeys

If driving remains your preferred method of transportation, a meaningful way to reduce your carbon footprint is to assess the way you use your car. Do you jump in the car for every journey? Could some of those journeys be made using other transportation methods, like walking or cycling? After assessing your car use, make an effort to use your car only for essential journeys. So, use your car when you are stocking up at the supermarket, but cycle to your local shop to pick up a few essentials. Simple lifestyle changes such as this will reduce your carbon footprint while increasing your overall health.

 

No two divorces are the same. Each one has unique circumstances that cause each couple to end in divorce. Because of this, there is no one right way to go about a divorce. There are all sorts of variables that can throw people for a loop and cause them to make mistakes.

Unfortunately, some of these mistakes can lead to serious problems down the road. It’s in your best interest to learn from others’ mistakes so that you can avoid them yourself. Here are some of the biggest mistakes to look out for if you’re going through a divorce yourself.

Failing To Hire The Right Lawyer

 

Many couples make the mistake of believing that they don’t need a lawyer to help them through the process of divorce, or it doesn’t matter who they hire. However, the truth is that even if you plan on divorcing amicably, a good lawyer is necessary to help you navigate the ins and outs of the process.

Hiring the right attorney for the job can completely change your experience of divorce. It’s not necessary to hire the most expensive attorney out there; however, you should hire one that specializes in family law and has your best interests in mind. Hire an attorney because you know that they’re the right person for the job. Don’t hire an attorney based on price alone.

 

Taking Unsolicited Legal Advice

 

During the divorce process, you’ll hear all sorts of advice coming from friends and family. Perhaps they have a friend who did things one way or they think that things should be carried out another way. However, it’s important that you listen to your lawyer first and foremost. Don’t take legal advice from people who are not professionals. Even though friends and family may be well-meaning when they give you advice, unless they’re a professional, it’s only hearsay.

 

Allowing Anger To Be Your Guiding Force

 

Divorce is incredibly emotional, whether it was your choice to divorce or not. It’s easy to let your feelings get the best of you, and in many cases, allow anger to be your guiding force.

Litigation can bring out the worst in people, and lead you to take actions based on revenge. However, all this will do is hurt you in the end, particularly if you have children. The longer that you drag out a divorce, the more money and energy it will cost you.

Rather than allowing anger to be what guides you, focus on resolution and moving on in your life. Think about what it is that you ultimately want to accomplish and focus on that rather than shortsighted ambitions of revenge. Focus on the right details rather than the petty ones.

 

 

 

Talk about a magical place of flavors and aromas which give the tongue a distinctive sensation, and you’d be talking about the kitchen. Just as it takes a lot of talent, expertise, and inspiration to make magic, creating magical sparks in the kitchen, too, also requires a lot of inspired creativity.

Dinnerly is a place where magic and creative juices flow from an utmost level of expertise and enriching original sense. Therefore, it is one thing to know how to cook; it is another thing to know how to stay on top of your game in the culinary department. The steps right here will not only help you tap into your creative side but also unlock the genius in you.

The following are the ways to help you reach within and spark your creativity in the kitchen: –

1. Make the kitchen your shrine

A shrine is a place where to make things happen. As you are in the bid of creating your magic within the kitchen, try as much as possible to make the kitchen breathe you. For your creativity to come out to play as the master chef, you need to feel at home in the kitchen. You can do this by taking in the furniture or flower that inspire you. You can also do as little as getting your favorite cutleries into the kitchen. Do whatever will inspire you, as well as make you stay inspired enough to create magic.

1. Mix things up

For you to ensure creativity, try as much as possible to be flexible in the kitchen. Flexibility here means that you should not stick to just one recipe or method of cooking a particular meal. Try to spice things up a bit. If there is a popular method of preparing a meal, try to mix things up in the kitchen – skip a step, add a new one. The bottom line is that you should not stay rigid to ideas or methods in the kitchen. Mess things up and start again. Just be unpredictable and creative with your dishes.

1. Create a culinary notebook

For creativity sake, try to get a cookbook where you will write out ideas and methods of preparing different dishes. Having a journal will make it easy for you to refer back to the concepts and techniques you have once known.

1. Make your ideas real

It is not just enough to think about plans for the kitchen; implementation is very crucial. Therefore, to bring out that creative spark in the kitchen, you have to bring your ideas to reality.

1. Use others’ recipes to inspire yours

No one is an island of knowledge or creativity. Hence, it is not a crime to tap from other people’s wealth of creativity. Ask questions, read books, watch videos. Anything that will keep you inspired and creative in the kitchen.

Conclusion

Now that you know that creativity is the soul of every food prepared in the kitchen, you should also understand that serving the dish also requires a level of creativity and discretion.

 

The key to your cat to live a long, healthy life is proper nutrition. Being pet owners, our main aim should always be to fulfill their nutritional demands in the best possible way.

Here, we will discuss the nuances related to feline nutrition using which you can do right by your cat.

Figuring out the best kind of cat food

You will find two types of cat food that you can choose from – wet cat food and dry cat food. In general, cats can be picky eaters so the need to select the right type of cat food becomes very important.

Out of everything, your main lookout should be to ensure that the cat food is balanced. And, to ensure this, you need to focus and carefully inspect the ingredients used. It’s important to have a product that is the perfect combination of protein and fat. Having a higher content of carbohydrates and grains are something that you must avoid.

It should be interesting to know that the Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) issue a statement that is printed on the container for cat food that is balanced. You can take this as a holy grail and hence, only select products that feature this statement.

Decoding the frequency – how often and how much?

Being natural hunters, cats like to hunt and catch their prey by themselves and they usually do this at dawn and dusk. So, even you should try to feed them during this time.

Considering the quantity, you can take the age of your cat as an effective guideline. but still, you should try to give nearly 200 calories to your cat every day.

The only thing that you should avoid? Overeating.

An obese cat is more susceptible to developing various health conditions such as heart disease, joint disease, and diabetes. Then, of course, is the fact that the calorie count will always be different from one food item to another. You just cannot assume that your cat is a good judge and hence, can make reliable decisions when it comes to the quantity of food that they should consume.

A good way out would be to contact the vet asking them to formulate the right diet plan for your cat. Another tip would be to provide your cat with food that has lower calories. This can be done for a feline that likes to eat larger quantities of food.

Cat food mistakes commonly made by people

Human beings make mistakes. When it comes to our own nutrition, we are often committing blunders like eating too much sodium or straightaway going on a crash diet. There is a natural possibility of us making mistakes when we are feeding our cats too.

Since we have already discussed giving cats too much food, we will move on to the other ones here.

Nearly 60% to 70% of the total body weight of an adult cat comprises water. You need to be extremely careful to ensure that your cat is properly hydrated and consuming sufficient water throughout the day. When the water levels of a cat severely diminish, they can suffer from fatal illnesses or even death.

To overcome this issue, develop a routine where you constantly keep filling the water bowl of your cat.

A proper combination of dry cat food and wet food is how your cat’s diet should be designed. Feeding their felines’ dry cat food only is one of the biggest and commonest errors made by cat parents.

Giving the feline pet wet cat food ensures that, along with the essential nutrients, they are also getting access to some amount of water. These creatures have been designed naturally to get their water with their food. But, when you give them dry canned food, they get only 5% to 10% water.

This, in turn, makes it important for you to give them wet cat food as well. Yet, solely relying on that food to fulfill your cat’s hydration needs is wrong. Make sure there’s a bowl filled with water at all times.

While we are at it, we would also like to address the growing trend of forcing our cats to go vegetarian or maybe vegan. I’m sure that you will agree that even reading this aloud sounds cruel.

Your cat’s diet must include animal organs and meet for them to thrive. They need a healthy dose of amino acid taurine which is important to facilitate their day to day functioning. Nevertheless, you should take steps to balance the meat content in your cat’s diet with other essential nutrients as well.

The correct way of reading cat food labels

Now that the basics of cat nutrition are covered, we have also included some tips using which you can locate the best cat food for your pet below.

Learning the Lingo

The US government has made it important for cat food manufacturing companies to provide the same type of information on their labels using which cat owners can easily compare different brands.

The key lookout areas here are the type of cat food, the ingredient list, feeding instructions, and the statement of purpose.

Understand the Difference Between Cat Food and Kitten Food

Cat food is different from getting food and vice versa. In other words, you should not feed your kitten cat food and your cat, kitten food. This is an important tip because cat food and kitten food are designed to fulfill the nutritional needs of an adult cat and kitten respectively.

Not Giving Ingredients Our Complete Focus, Considering Nutrients As Well

While checking the ingredient list is important, and the focus should be on the nutrients provided by the cat food. You may already be aware of how a cat needs protein, carbohydrates, water, vitamins, and minerals. Each one of these nutrients is essential to ensure a longer life for your cat. So, depending on their age, try to find a cat food that could meet their nutritional needs in the most optimal manner.