Super Handyman: Tips to keep fleas at bay

One of the first tunes I learned to play on the piano was a little ditty called “My Dog Has Fleas.” Cute, but not as cute if it’s true about the fleas.

Dogs and cats can have a real problem with fleas, not to mention that they can bother us, too! Here are the best tips we’ve collected to rid your home and yard of fleas.

You need to make sure to treat the pet, the house and the yard at the same time. This is critical for getting rid of the fleas. You may have to repeat the whole process, depending upon the chemicals you use. Read the labels, as some affect only adult fleas while others kill only the eggs.

Check with your vet for his or her opinion on treating your pet. There are shampoos, collars, pills and systemic treatments. The choice is up to you and your vet, and depends upon the health of your dog or cat.

Flea treatments for the house can be powders or liquids sprayed on the carpet and furniture. There are flea “bombs” that also can be used.

You must treat the yard as well. You can use a granular chemical application or use nematodes, a biological option. Used correctly, these can be quite effective.

After treatments, keep your yard mowed, carpets and floors clean in the house and your pet well-groomed. These steps can go a long way toward preventing this problem, and as fun as the treatments are, we’re sure you don’t want to have to do them two or three times a year!

Get a handle on itMilk and juice jugs are great for corralling tools and hardware if you make a few minor alterations. But what about their larger cousin, the extra-large water-dispensing jug? It#146;s huge and very strong. Set it on your workbench with the handle on top, and cut the top portion off both ends. You#146;ll still have the handle, and the ends will hold lots of tools. You can carry the whole thing to your worksite or just use it as super storage.Screwdriver shelfWe love the idea of using the space between wall studs in an unfinished garage for storage. It#146;s a great way to store lots of items so they don#146;t take up any valuable floor space. One way to create a storage space for screwdrivers is to cut a scrap of hardware cloth (galvanized wire mesh) that is a little longer than the space between the studs. Bend up the ends, and nail or staple them to the studs, with the wire #147;shelf#148; set horizontally. Now you can stick the screwdriver shafts down into the wire, and the handles will keep them from going all the way through. You can store all you have in just one spot now.Super hintsŸ Reflective tape is a super tool to keep in your car for roadside safety and protection. Put a roll in the trunk of your car and use it to show off your jack, trunk, gas can or even yourself, should you have to stop on the side of the road in an emergency.Ÿ Want to identify your home using address numbers with flair? Put your numbers on a line of flowerpots on the front porch #8212; one extra-large number on each pot. Or put address numbers on large rocks along the front sidewalk. Your address numbers don#146;t have to be like everyone else#146;s. Get creative, and have some fun.Ÿ Use a leaf blower to blow the insulation off your soffit vents from the outside of your home at the fascia. If your vents are blocked, air can#146;t flow through your attic like it needs to.Q. Our picnic table once was stained, but most of the stain has worn off. Unfortunately, the stain has worn unevenly. We aren#146;t sure how to apply the stain so that it will look even. What do you recommend?A. The stain is going to penetrate more in the worn areas and less in the stained spots, so if you use the same color, you should get good results. Practice on the side or end just to test this on your table.Q. My washing machine is doing the tango, or maybe the fox trot. Seriously, the machine moves all over the place, and I have to move it back after every wash. What#146;s the deal?A. It probably just needs to be properly leveled. The front feet can be screwed one way or the other to either raise or lower the front. Use your level in all directions to try to get it exactly level. If that doesn#146;t stop the problem, then it#146;s probably something more serious.Q. We plan to build a deck in our backyard. Currently we have a small concrete patio. The deck will cover this patio and extend out another 10 feet. Do I need to put something between the wooden members that will be stacked on top of the concrete, or will they be OK that way? I am trying to avoid any mold or deterioration of the wood.A. Make sure to use pressure-treated wood when you do this, and also lay the wood members on top, perpendicular to the wall, so that any moisture that gets to the concrete will flow out and away from the deck and house. You wouldn#146;t want to trap water under the deck.Q. I have an older water cutoff in front of my home. It#146;s really just a curved piece of steel. Unfortunately, it has rusted and broken off. Is there any way to replace this?A. You should be able to buy a replacement handle. Check your hardware store for this. Just get a shovel and dig down to where the piece has broken off. You will find a set screw holding the steel rod, or what#146;s left of it, in place. Remove the set screw and pull the rod out. Then just install the new one. If you can#146;t do this, or if it#146;s too badly damaged, you really ought to consider having a plumber install a cutoff. You never know when you might need it!Reader tipsŸ I cleaned out my home office and have created more of a home library and game room. I went through the old office supplies to make a pile for our next garage sale and ran across a cool thing to use in my workshop. It#146;s a small box that holds paper clips. It has a built-in magnet on the side to hold the paper clips. I figured it would be great for holding hardware, and the magnet would work on nails or screws, too. It#146;s sitting right on my workbench now.Ÿ I use my dolly a lot for moving things around the house. I#146;ve customized it to make it more functional. I wrapped the metal bars with foam pipe insulation to prevent them from scratching things. This also seems to prevent some things from sliding. I have attached bungee cords to the sides so that I can secure the items as I move them. I also have a large plastic box that I can attach to the dolly to put smaller, loose items in.Ÿ Our backyard is surrounded by a concrete wall. After scraping off all of the vines and cutting back some of the bushes, we decided to clean it up. We used a scrub brush and some mild detergent to keep from hurting the plants, but one stain just wouldn#146;t come out. I decided to use some bleach on it but wanted to let it sit, which was hard to do on a wall. I soaked a towel with bleach, then slapped the towel up on the wall. I covered it with a trash bag and taped that to the wall. I let it stay up there overnight. When I pulled it down, the stain was almost all the way gone. I cleaned the wall, and when it dried, it all but disappeared. Ÿ My wife has to use a walker right now. Fortunately, it#146;s not going to be permanent, but I have tried to make things easier for her. She loves to garden, so I made raised beds for her garden this year. She can sit down and garden now. I even made a rolling garden from an old trash can with wheels on it. I just cut off the top half of the trash can and filled it with soil and veggies. I can pull it around when it needs to be moved into or out of the sun.Ÿ I#146;ve used vinegar for lots of things around my house. Now I use it to clean odors out of the air, too. It#146;s great after frying fish for dinner, and even works to get rid of the smell of my husband#146;s friend#146;s cigars. Just pour some in a bowl and let it sit on the counter for a few hours. It doesn#146;t leave a vinegary smell behind, either.ShoptalkŸ One of the best adhesives is a contact adhesive. It#146;s a little more difficult, and can be rather messy, but it does a super job. DAP has a fantastic alternative to liquid contact adhesive in its ContactStik Adhesive Repair Strips. Just peel and press the strips onto almost any surface, indoors or out, for an instant bond that can#146;t be broken. You don#146;t have the long wait time that you would with a regular contact adhesive, and you even can use this stuff underwater. There#146;s no mess, no odor and you can cut the strips to fit any application. You can buy the tape in 1-by-2-inch strips or 1-by-3-inch strips. It#146;s the perfect adhesive for heavy-duty, quick repairs around the house and garden. Check them out at your home center or hardware store. For additional information, go online to www.dap.com.Ÿ Krylon has a super spray paint made just for plastics. With Fusion for Plastic, you don#146;t have to sand, prime or do much of anything else. Now they make the same formula in a can so you can do more custom work on plastic items. It dries fast, in only one hour, and is fully chip-resistant after seven days. It also works on wood, metal, ceramic, resin and other surfaces that are hard to bond paint to. Check it out at your paint store, home center or hardware dealer. For additional information, visit www.krylon.com.Ÿ Write to Al and Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or visit the Carrells#146; website at thesuperhandyman.com.$PHOTOCREDIT_ON$© 2011, Cowles Syndicate Inc.$PHOTOCREDIT_OFF$