After a thorough inspection, keep pests outside, where they belong

If your home is warm and cozy, then everyone wants to come inside, including the pests. But most of us draw the line at squirrels, mice and bugs! Here are some great ways to keep them outdoors and away from your home.

First of all, you should assess your vulnerability. Do a walk-around outside your home and look for gaps in the exterior that might offer access.

Caulking and weatherstripping are used primarily to keep out cold air, but bugs and small rodents can squeeze into very small gaps, so these methods can be a great way to seal out pests, too. Make sure to replace loose or missing pieces of weatherstripping as soon as you find them.

Use wire to cover large gaps, and then cover them with trim or siding. The wire will keep the pests from chewing through and getting inside your home. You can fill smaller gaps with steel wool and then cover them with trim or caulk. Expanding foam is a great way to fill in larger gaps, like the type where utilities enter the home.

Wood piles, vines and leaves piled up too close to the house make great nesting areas for pests, so clean and relocate them away from your home.

Don't leave pet food outside. Pick up your dog or cat food as soon as your pet has finished eating, and feed the birds a good distance from the house. You can feed one creature without feeding them all!

Keep bird feeders away from your living spaces. Place them out in the yard, where any fallout that attracts pests will be well away from the house.

If you need to, cover vents, including chimney caps, with wire hardware cloth to prevent pests from getting in. Just make sure you leave them open to let exhaust, heat and air flow as they need to.

It's hard to keep all critters out, but if you are diligent, you can have some success. Perhaps the others could be charged rent!

Paint roller/duster

Did you know that if a ceiling fan is moving fast enough, you can't see the dust that accumulates on the blades? Of course, if it's running slow or not at all, you sure can! And whatever you do, don't run it in reverse until you have cleaned it, or the dust will fly. One super-quick and easy way to clear off the dust is to use a paint roller. Attach it to an extension pole if you need to. You even can spray a little cleaner on the roller if you want to. One or two swipes on the top of each blade usually will take care of the dust!

Super-duty dolly

Did you know you could move a trailer with a dolly? Just drill a hole in the foot plate of your dolly and install a trailer ball right on the dolly. Now you can lift the tongue of the trailer with the dolly and push it to the right spot - no truck required! When you have finished with the move, you can remove the ball, and your trailer dolly turns back into a standard dolly. You can't haul the boat to the lake, but you can move it over a little bit or turn it around, and it works on all sorts of small items. Keep it in mind.

Super hints

• Wallpaper is easy to hang, with a little practice. It helps to have a large tray full of water to wet it in. But if you don't have one of the specialized trays available at the wallpaper-supply store, just use an ice chest. It works just as well.

• Small nail holes in a wall are easily filled with plain white toothpaste. It fills up holes and doesn't even show. If you do paint over the area, it doesn't show through.

• I finally got a china cabinet for my dining room. It's older and looks great with my older table and chairs. I did add some lights to it to show off some of my things. I didn't want to cut any holes for wiring, so I just use some small clips to hold inexpensive twinkle lights to the underside of the shelves. They plug into the wall and light up the glassware nicely. It sure was easier than the alternative.

Q. I am having a problem with my dryer. It is shutting off too early, and the clothes don't get all the way dry. Can you explain what the problem might be and what we might be able to do to repair it, other than replacing it?

A. It's possible that you might have a clog in the exhaust vent. See if you can use a shop vac or some other means to clear it out. If you can't get to it easily through the wall, maybe you can get to it through the outside vent.

Q. Sometimes I can hear my water heater making a banging noise, even when nobody is using hot water. What gives?

A. The banging is probably just caused by the tank expanding as the water is heated. Even if hot water isn't being used, the tank will reheat the water inside in order to keep it ready when you do need it. If the water heater is in a cold area, like the garage, you might install a special water-heater blanket to insulate it and help keep the water hot longer so that less heat is required. It also might help to drain it periodically.

Q. My cedar closet seems to have lost its cedar smell. Short of replacing the walls, what can I do to get the cedar smell back?

A. Most of the time, you can just sand the cedar walls to open the pores of the wood back up and release the cedar oils. Just make sure to clean away the dust before putting your clothes back into the closet. Do this every few years to keep the smell alive.

Reader tips

• We don't need much air conditioning during the winter, but living in an apartment means we leave our window unit in place all year long. We insulate it by wrapping it in foam insulation and then putting a vinyl cover over that. The cover ties on and stays put, and the extra insulation protects it from the rough weather during the wintertime. I think it also has prevented some of the rusting that I see on my neighbor's unit.

• When we remodeled our house, we enlarged the bathroom my sons use. Now they have a bathtub, a shower and two sinks. To keep their tub toys and shampoos under control, I hung a double hanging basket inside the enclosure. It has two wire baskets; one holds the toys, and the other holds the bottles. They almost always put their stuff inside the basket; it drips into the tub, instead of onto the floor, and keeps the debris to a minimum.

• We have radiators as the heat source in our condo. They are the older, large size. They work pretty well, so we have not replaced them. We did, however, install some inexpensive sheets of aluminum behind each one. They don't show much, and they seem to do a great job of reflecting more of the heat back into the room. They aren't attached to the wall, so we can remove them easily when we do upgrade the radiators.

• I think I've reglued every chair in our dining set back together. Each one, over time, has loosened and, as you know, once it starts, it just spreads throughout the whole chair. It's best to take all of the joints apart and reglue them. I have found that I can soak the more stubborn glued joints with vinegar to loosen the old glue. It is much better than using too much force on them, because they can break if you are not careful. The vinegar works well, and pretty quickly, in most cases.

• Our house must have settled, and now the kitchen doors close all the time. I wouldn't care, except that the cat gets trapped in or out and starts hollering. I fixed it by putting a small piece of Velcro on the door and the wall behind it. When I open the door and push it all the way back, it catches on the Velcro and stays open. When I want to close it, it's easy to pull loose. It's the same color as the wall, so it doesn't show, and it was a quick and easy fix - my favorite kind!

Shoptalk

• When masking for painting, FrogTape is a good choice. This tape is the only one treated with PaintBlock Technology, which gives you the cleanest paint lines you can get. This saves you time and money, because there will be fewer touch-ups. The special design actually uses the paint to create an improved barrier to prevent bleeding. It comes in a variety of widths and has a reusable plastic canister to help protect it in storage. Look for it at paint stores and home centers. To learn more about FrogTape, visit the company's Web site, frogtape.com.

• Acoustic Ceiling Products has come out with a series of ceiling panels that look just like the old tin tiles, but they are quick and easy to install. They come in a variety of styles and finishes, including wood-grain, and install with glue or use traditional decorative grids. Better yet, if you already have suspended ceilings, you can replace old tiles with these for an easy upgrade. They can be cut with snips or scissors. Made from composite thermoplastic, the panels are waterproof and corrosion-resistant. To take a closer look at these panels, visit the company's Web site at acpideas.com, or call (800) 434-3750.

• Write to Al and Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006, or visit the Carrells' Web site at thesuperhandyman.com.

© 2009, Cowles Syndicate Inc.