Super Handyman: Reclaim the outdoors this summer with these pest-control tips

Summer living goes outdoors in most parts of the country. Flowers are in bloom and the sun is shining and your hammock is waiting for you. Of course, so are the bugs! Here are some of our favorite tips for ridding your backyard of pests.

The first step in pest control is to hit them where they live. In other words, get rid of their living quarters. Most bugs like a cushy pad, so remove nesting materials like bags of mulch, brush and grass piles. Mow your yard as it grows, and keep plants tidy, removing dead leaves, flowers and fruit. Get rid of old birds' nests and piles of wood and other decaying materials that tend to pile up in one's backyard.

Bugs also need food and water, so make sure you remove any sources of water, like the standing water in trays under flowerpots, empty containers that collect rainwater and other standing water. Clean out gutters, which can clog and provide nesting materials and water for bugs.

Bug-repellent candles, torches and incense are one way to keep the bugs at bay. They also add to the ambience of the area.

There also is a wide variety of sprays that can be used around your backyard entertaining area that will get rid of bugs and keep them away while you are having your barbecue.

Flies can be deterred by hanging clear bags of water or mirrors on your patio. For some reason, the flies can't stand these items and will stay away.

Certain plants, like the citronella plant, give off a scent that repels bugs.

You can buy specially made bracelets and even clothes that have a built-in bug repellent. They actually work and will last for several months or washings, whichever comes first.

Remember to be safe with pesticides and that some bugs are actually beneficial … as long as they are not bugging you!Avoid a sticky situationThe same thing that makes tape so great #8212; the stickiness #8212; also makes for a lot of frustration if you aren't careful. The end of the tape can be hard to get a hold of once it's stuck on the rest of the roll. It's easy to prevent this, though. Just peel up the end or grab it before it sticks on the rest of the roll, then fold the end over about one-quarter inch. Now you have a little tab to hold on to. Always do this before putting down the roll, and you'll never have that sticky situation again!Enlarge your levelLeveling a project can be vital to its success, in many cases. Some of us have a variety of levels. But if you don't, try this way of turning a small level into a long one: Attach the smaller level to a piece of wood or pipe that you know is straight. You can use tape or rubber bands. With the level attached to a long piece of material, you will have a long level. And when you have finished using it, you can remove the smaller level, knowing you can do this again if you need a long level later on.Super hints#376; Never throw away a battery, whether it's rechargeable or not. Most tool dealers, hardware stores and home centers will allow you to return dead batteries for proper disposal. Check out yours so you'll know.#376; If you need a really heavy-duty rug for a high-traffic area, consider making one from a scrap of vinyl flooring. You can cut it to fit, and the edges won't fray. You can paint it with primer and latex paint. Apply a clear sealer for even more protection. You even can add tassels with a hole-punch and yarn or string. #376; You can make a quick funnel from just about any plastic bottle. Just cut off the bottom of the bottle and use the top as a funnel. If you only need it once, then you can recycle what's left of the container.Q. I have several concrete pieces in my garden. I am starting to notice that they are getting black mold on them. What can I use to clean them?A. You need to carefully remove the mold with a 50 percent bleach-and-water mixture, being careful not to get any on the surrounding plants. Apply a water seal to the surface to prevent moisture from getting into the concrete. This should clean and protect it for another year. You probably ought to do this once a year to keep the pieces looking good.Q. I have three awnings over my front door and windows. They are starting to get some mold on them. How can I remove this without damaging the colored canvas?A. Try cleaning them with some salt and lemon juice and letting them dry completely in the sun. Then you might try a brush if you have any mold left behind. Make sure to re-treat them with water repellent after you are finished cleaning them in order to deter mildew from coming back. You also might check with your original canvas dealer to see if it has a special cleaner that it recommends for its canvas.Q. We have a wet bar with a marble top. It has stains on it. I'm not sure how to get rid of the stains, but would like to try. What do you recommend?A. A lot of common stains can be removed from marble by making a compress of folded paper towels soaked in peroxide bleach. There are some marble cleaners available at floor dealers that sell marble. Once the stains are gone, you can restore the shine by using a marble-polishing powder and a buffer. Use a cutting board and coasters on the bar top to avoid any future damage.Reader tips#376; I've had a garden cart for many years, and it's stood the test of time, until recently. The wheels had started grinding, and I had to replace them. I started looking around, and had a lot of trouble finding a good substitute. I ended up with some bicycle tires. They were the correct size and the only ones that I thought would be tough enough to handle the loads I like to haul around. They were fairly inexpensive, too.#376; We live in a newer home with tall ceilings. The house feels a lot larger, and I like that, but my wife says it's also a lot harder to clean. She put me in charge of getting the cobwebs off the ceiling. It sounded easy, until I realized that we had no tool to reach them. That's when I invented my own. I call it the #8220;tall duster.#8221; The tall duster is really just a strong PVC pipe section that is about 10 feet long. I have taped a feather duster to the end, and the tall duster gets at all of the cobwebs very easily. If you want one, I'll make one for you for a small fee! It's worth every penny.#376; I had been having trouble with my lawn mower the past few times I've used it. It just wasn't doing the job like it used to. I pulled the spark plug to replace it. Before putting in the new one, I took a look under the mower deck and discovered a huge buildup of grass. I cleaned it out and checked the blade. Everything was fine; it was just clogged with grass. I did install a new plug but was sure, after seeing the buildup, that it was running poorly just because of that. Clean that deck if you start having problems. It sure helped me.#376; Sometimes I find myself working in the shop with a pencil that needs sharpening, and so I have a sharpener in the shop that I use. I found it dull the last time I needed to use it, and I wrapped a scrap of fine sandpaper around the pencil tip, rough side out, and turned it in the sharpener a couple of times. This seemed to sharpen the blade on the sharpener, so I did it a couple more times. It's like a new sharpener now.#376; My window screens are made of vinyl of some sort. I've worked with it before and know that if you heat it, it will melt. So when I found some holes in the screens, I decided to try to patch them. I had some vinyl scraps, so I cut these to fit over the holes, then I used my iron to seal the deal. I put a scrap of paper between the iron and the screen, and melted the scrap to the screen. This sealed the holes, and we can now keep our windows open and save some money on our cooling costs. That sure was easy to do, and fast.Shoptalk#376; Adding more attic insulation is a great way to cut down on the cost of heating and cooling your home. And treating for bugs can protect your investment. Now you can take care of both in one application from a qualified installer of TAP Insulation. This loose-fill material is made of recycled paper and is shipped from nearby manufacturers, making it very #8220;green,#8221; but best of all, it has been treated with a boric-acid insecticide to repel a wide variety of bugs, including termites. Check it out at www.tapinsulation.com and find out more. You also can get the name of a local trained installer.#376; Pressure washers make cleaning lots of things easier. Now they can be used on clogged drains, too. The Clog Hog is an attachment that can be added to a standard pressure washer to blast out the clogs that you get in toilets, sinks and other drainage lines. You can buy the 50-foot or the 100-foot length, and you'll like it or get your money back. Check it out at www.cloghog.com.#376; Write to Al and Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or visit the Carrells' website at thesuperhandyman.com.$PHOTOCREDIT_ON$© 2011, Cowles Syndicate Inc.$PHOTOCREDIT_OFF$