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Financing Home Improvements: Making Changes Without Breaking the Bank

. Posted by in • Austin

Making improvements to your home is a great way to boost its overall value while creating a more comfortable, livable space. For many Austin homeowners, remodeling also provides a great way to control energy costs and cut down on utility bills. Unfortunately, many homeowners feel overwhelmed by the costs associated with a remodeling project. If you’re considering remodels or upgrades but don’t know if you can afford them, take some time to explore your financing and savings options.

Exploring Financing Options for Home Improvements

It’s no secret that many home remodeling projects carry hefty price tags. Whether you want to put in a new air conditioning system or need to have a bathtub replaced, you’ll likely need to work with a professional who can complete the work on your behalf. While you will have to pay for the services of a professional, it’s important to remember that you do have great financing … Read Full Post »

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What Do Nocturnal Insects Do During the Day?

. Posted by in • Austin

What You Need to Know About Nocturnal Pest Control in Austin

Unless you’re a night owl, you might not spot many of the insects that infest your home and damage your garden. That’s because some of Central Texas’s worst insect pests are nocturnal critters that emerge from daytime hiding spaces to feed and cause havoc. Learn more about some nocturnal pests and their day-walking counterparts.

Common Nocturnal Pests and Their Daytime Activities

Several species of cockroach bedevil Central Texas homeowners. At night, they forage through indoor living areas and eat just about any organic matter that they can find. Their favorite foods include starchy foods, meat and sugary substances as well as “inedible” items like leather, wallpaper paste and certain types of glue. During the day, they may hide in natural habitats like garden beds and wood piles or artificial spaces like cracks and crevices within basement foundations. In general, their daytime hiding … Read Full Post »

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Battling Bed Bugs: A Pest Built to Reproduce

. Posted by in , • Austin

Until recent years, many homeowners and travelers believed that bed bugs were no longer a threat. Thanks to the use of DDT in the ’40s and ’50s, few bed bugs remained in the U.S. until recent years. Unfortunately, this troublesome pest has made a comeback. With the resurgence of bed bug infestations across the nation, many homeowners wonder what makes these pests so hard to eliminate.

What Makes Bed Bugs So Resilient?

Any homeowner who has dealt with a bed bug infestation knows that it can feel as if it’s impossible to get rid of these pests. If you’re facing bed bug problems, it’s important to understand this pest’s lifecycle. Though the bed bug lives a short life, it’s able to reproduce rapidly. This means that infestations can grow out of hand quickly, leaving so many bed bugs behind that it’s very hard to kill them all.

The bed bug’s life is comprised … Read Full Post »

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Replace or Repair Your Appliances: How You Can Decide What’s Best

. Posted by in • Austin

Every homeowner knows the feeling of trying to coax service out of an appliance that doesn’t quite work. Maybe your air conditioner is kicking out lukewarm air or your stovetop can’t maintain even heat. When it comes time to decide what to do with problem appliances, you may be unsure if you should replace them or have them repaired. Instead of stressing over the decision, use our simple guidelines to determine if it’s time to call in the handyman or make a trip to the appliance store.

Should You Choose Appliance Repair or Replacement?

It’s important to take several factors into consideration when deciding to repair or replace an appliance. First and foremost, you’ll need to look at the service life expectancy for the appliance. For example, most dishwashers are expected to provide about 10 years of service. If you’re at or past that mark, it’s probably a good time to replace … Read Full Post »

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Help Save Honey Bees from Colony Collapse Disorder

. Posted by in • Austin

Rest easy, Austin. Pest control measures and saving bees from impending doom can coexist.

Reports vary, but Colony Collapse Disorder kills between 30% and 90% of our bee population each year. The Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency recognize CCD as a serious concern, yet conflicting information results in public mass confusion. Pest control chemicals can affect bees when applied carelessly, but Austin residents can both live without pests and save the bees.

What is CCD?

Worker bees, those industrious workers that collect nectar, fly off to work and don’t return. They die away from the hive, which leaves the queen and young bees alone. Queens and baby bees can’t maintain the colony and the entire colony collapses. This is CCD, and it’s often mistaken for pesticide poisoning, which has a definitive cause resulting in many dead bees in and around the hive.

USDA and EPA researchers have strong leads regarding the … Read Full Post »

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If You Love a Good Kite Festival, Thank the Twidwells

. Posted by in • Austin

It Wouldn’t Be Springtime Without Them

Early March means kites—hundreds of them soaring high in the Austin skies. This sight is a joy for all, but those who come to this annual springtime tradition may not realize how many times in recent years the popular Zilker Kite Festival, a favorite since its inception in 1929, came close to being discontinued.

The Springtime Place to Be

From its earliest days, the festival has consistently grown in popularity. Today, it ranks among the top five festivals across the nation, drawing over 20,000 visitors every spring. The colorful kites, great food and numerous vendor booths do more than bring joy to the hearts of Austin residents. The festival is also pivotal in raising money for the benefit of local charities across the city. Could something so constructive and well-loved ever have been in danger?

Sadly, the answer is yes.

A Festival at Risk

The festival may be free to … Read Full Post »

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Art from an Anthill?

. Posted by in • Austin

New viral videos spring up all the time, but one involving fire ants has really managed to capture people’s imaginations. Instead of showing the pests swarming around a field or invading someone’s home, the video shows an artist pouring molten aluminum into an anthill to create an incredible sculpture of sorts. It’s called anthill art, and it’s creating a lot of buzz. Some folks are enthralled by the gorgeous sculptures, which look a lot like metal Christmas trees, while others are upset that entire fire ant colonies are destroyed in the process (even though fire ants are technically an invasive species). No matter how you feel about the subject, there’s no denying the awesome artistic results.

What’s Under There?

Have you ever seen an anthill and wondered what lies below the surface? There are obviously tunnels and chambers where the ants carry on their day-to-day business, but what do they really look … Read Full Post »

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Lower Your Heating Costs with These Fail-Safe Tips

. Posted by in • Austin

Winter expenses like home heating and holiday gifts tend to pile up quickly, and so there’s a chance that, like most people, you’re running a little low on cash this time of year. By following these tips, you can lower your heating costs immediately and with little effort.

Have Your Furnace Inspected

For safety reasons and to save money, it’s important to have your system carefully inspected before using it. A qualified technician will clean and inspect your motor, blower, fan and other components of your system to ensure that it works correctly and efficiently.

Hire Someone to Inspect and Clean Your Ducts

There’s a good chance that your ducts have leaks and holes in them, which result in wasted heat and higher bills. Ducts also get dirty and clogged, which can cause them to operate less efficiently. Arrange to have your ducts inspected and cleaned by an HVAC expert to lower your bills, … Read Full Post »

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Interior Paint Finishes: Do They Matter?

. Posted by in • Austin

If you’re planning on painting the walls inside your home, you’ve probably put a lot of thought into choosing the perfect paint color. Although the color is important, you should also take your time in choosing a paint finish. The finish that you choose will have a major impact on the final result, so consider the best uses for different paint finishes to make your home look exactly the way you want.

Flat

Flat paint is one of the more common choices for interior painting. It has a matte finish, so it doesn’t have any shine to it at all. Flat paint is great for walls that have a lot of imperfections, but it can be almost impossible to clean and isn’t suggested for high-traffic areas or households with children.

Eggshell

As one of the best options for many homes, an eggshell finish has a slight sheen to it but isn’t as glossy as … Read Full Post »

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When Should Your DIY Warrior Surrender?

. Posted by in • Austin

If you love doing your own work around the house, you might not like the idea of hiring a professional handyman to help you with an upcoming project. To save money and keep yourself safe, however, it’s important to ask yourself these essential questions before tackling a big job on your own.

Do You Have the Necessary Skills?

If you don’t have the necessary skills to complete a job well, you might be unhappy with the results, and you could have to spend a lot more money and time redoing the job or hiring a professional to redo it for you.

Does the Project Require Costly Equipment?

Although it’s certainly possible to save a lot of money by doing some of your own work, this isn’t always the case. If an upcoming project requires costly tools and equipment that you don’t have, you’re probably better off hiring a pro instead of spending hundreds or … Read Full Post »

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