Pest control specialists say vinegar is a common household item and there is likely to be a bottle lying around your home somewhere, even if you didn’t know it was there. Most people buy vinegar for one specific purpose but don’t need a whole lot of it, thus creating a huge amount of leftover vinegar with no purpose. So, what can you do with all that leftover vinegar? Turns out, quite a bit according to Birmingham pest control experts!

Here are some great ways Birmingham pest control experts say you can utilize your extra vinegar and get some cleaning done at the same time!

Got the washing machine blues? Add two cups of white vinegar to a normal cycle set to warm. In order to get the full cleaning effect, make sure you do not have clothes in the washer. Pest control agents say this will get rid of any stale water smells and help eliminate the crud that has built up throughout many washes.

Looking for an all-natural way to clean your rusty, lime-crusted tea pots or stained coffee pots? Pull out that bottle of vinegar and pour a half a cup into the tea kettle or coffee pot along with a healthy dose of hot water. Pest control specialists say you should allow the mixture to do its magic for a half day then brush out any deposits that have come loose and rinse thoroughly with water.

If it’s good enough for your coffee pot, then surely vinegar is good enough to eliminate those tough stains in your bathtub, washbasin or sink. Add some cooking salt to the mixture and scrub onto the offending surface and watch stains disappear!

Next time you are looking for a more au natural method to do some basic house cleaning, Birmingham pest control technicians recommend just putting your trust in the tried and true method of vinegar!

So you’ve finally decided this is the season you will add an outdoor living space that will give you a place to escape to and take in the sounds, smells and sights of your gorgeous landscape, as well as provide a comfortable and convenient area to entertain great friends and family. Lawn care experts suggest adding a hexagonal gazebo might just be the perfect avenue to that destination!

Hexagonal gazebos are traditional in appearance, but add a style and sophistication to your landscape. And although you may choose a design and materials that exude luxury, lawn care specialists say hexagonal gazebos are quite affordable. Furthermore, your property value will increase with this beautiful addition!

Hexagonal gazebos do not have to be one-size-fits-all in style. Lawn care professionals say there are several different options, including whether or not to add benches inside the gazebo and different types of railings. When it comes to topping your hexagonal gazebo, you can choose from a canopy top, an ornamental cupola or more traditional roofing shingles, perhaps to match the roof of your home.

Hexagonal gazebos typically come in 8 foot and 10 foot sizes. Lawn care pros suggest a great way to accentuate your landscape gazebo is by adding garden lights and seasonal plantings around the gazebo itself. The plants and flowers will give you something beautiful to gaze upon as you relax the day away in your landscape and the garden lights will allow you to enjoy this outdoor living space even on cool, summer nights.

Contact your local lawn care company today to find out more about adding a hexagonal gazebo to your landscape this season!

Winter pruning allows Birmingham tree care experts to fully assess the health and structural integrity of the Birmingham tree without the interference of foliage. It is important to have this process scheduled early on in the winter in order to give Birmingham tree care specialists time to accurately diagnose any problems and devise solutions to keep your landscape looking beautiful.

Winter is the ideal time for pruning because the limbs can be fully assessed without the weight of foliage on them. Pruning is generally known to encourage growth, so when it occurs during the growing season, new tissue and bark are constantly being added to the branches. When the foliage is no longer on the Birmingham tree, proper pruning can take place to establish how much dead or decaying material is on the Birmingham tree.

Pruning during the growing season is encouraged, but can disrupt the Birmingham tree’s energy. Tree care authorities say that since leaves are the primary food source for Birmingham trees, the pruning that goes on during the summer actually decreases the amount of energy the Birmingham tree is getting. Obviously the Birmingham tree is capable of getting through the winter on reserved energy sources, so pruning does not have as much of an impact.

Another reason why winter pruning is ideal and beneficial is because the Birmingham tree is completely dormant, including disease and insect activity. Pruning sometimes makes Birmingham trees vulnerable to insect infestations and diseases, especially if the pruning techniques aren’t performed correctly and the Birmingham tree is wounded. If perchance the Birmingham tree is wounded during winter pruning, it will be able to seal before or during the early spring before insects and diseases become active once again.

For more information on winter pruning, contact your local Birmingham tree care company and schedule a consultation!

Ever wonder what to do with those scraps of food that shouldn’t go down the disposal, but create a terrible smell if left in the garbage for more than a day? Or perhaps you’re looking to enhance the growth of your landscape plants in a more natural and cost-effective manner? Lawn care experts recommend using your kitchen waste to make your own all-organic mulch.

The first step in this journey toward a more eco-friendly way to fertilize your Birmingham lawn and landscape is by choosing the right type of composter. Many Birmingham lawn care experts recommend using worm bins. Filling the bin with live worms, your kitchen waste will be broken down by the worms and voila! You have a nutrient-rich fertilizer for your Birmingham lawn and landscape! Using a worm bin is also beneficial because you can keep it inside your home if you wish for easy access. The only rule when it comes to worm bins is to not leave it in direct sunlight.

If you’re not sure how to use a worm bin or where to get the materials (or the worms), check with your community’s Department of Water and Power; they may offer worm bins as well as instructions on how to use them.

So what can you throw in the worm bin? The ingredients that make up worm bin mulch can range from fruit and vegetable rinds and pieces to most Birmingham lawn and landscape debris, according to Birmingham lawn care experts. So instead of throwing your kitchen scraps in the trash, or even to the dog, think about creating your own personal brand of all-organic mulch.

If making your own mulch is too much of a hassle but you still want to bring a more organic approach to fertilizing your Birmingham lawn or landscape, call your local Birmingham lawn care company and ask about their organic fertilization program.

Because Leyland Cyprus Birmingham trees are coniferous and not deciduous, they are resilient to most diseases and insect infestations that are devastating to other Birmingham trees. However, because they are coniferous and not deciduous, some of the insects they do attract are among the most harmful when it comes to a Birmingham tree’s health.

Leyland Cyprus Birmingham trees still have a few environmental enemies that are capable of severely damaging, if not altogether killing the Birmingham tree, including bagworms and spider mites. One of the ways to prevent these infestations, as well as the damage that occurs along with the presence of these Birmingham tree pests, is to engage in helpful Birmingham tree care practices. As with all plants, correct pruning procedures must be engaged in order to keep the Birmingham tree healthy. According to Birmingham tree care experts, if proper techniques are not followed, the Birmingham tree can become severely and irreparably injured.

Tree care specialists say Leyland Cyprus Birmingham trees will greatly benefit from bi-annual shearing. Over-shearing, which means shearing more than twice a year, can actually weaken the Birmingham tree and leave it vulnerable to fungal infections. Tree care authorities recommend spaying the Leyland Cyprus with fungicide immediately after it has been sheared. In addition to fungal infections, the Leyland Cyprus usually only suffers from four other diseases: Seiridium cankers, Botryospaeria, Cereosporidium and Phytopht, also known as root rot. The good news is that with the right preventative Birmingham tree care, the Leyland Cyprus may remain unaffected by these diseases.

To find out more about proper Birmingham tree care procedures for the Leyland Cyprus, call your local Birmingham tree care company and schedule a consultation.

All grass types are susceptible to diseases and weeds, however, there are ways to prevent, deter and combat these issues through proper Birmingham lawn care techniques. But even with the absolute best care, you cannot guarantee that disease or insects will never be a problem with your St. Augustine Birmingham lawn.

St. Augustine grass is a sturdy type of turf and is able to assert itself over weeds as long as it is healthy and is receiving adequate care. If St. Augustine grass is left to fend for itself, it may become weak, at which time opportunistic weeds will stop popping up throughout your landscape. This is especially true if the Birmingham lawn is already infested with insects or has been infected with a disease. St. Augustine turf is usually found to have broadleaf and grassy weeds, however, chickweed, clover and henbit have also been found by Birmingham lawn care specialists to be a menace to this type of grass. These weeds respond best to hormone-type herbicides that are applied in the early spring. Other weeds such as fescue, crabgrass or annual bluegrass require a different type of treatment that includes precise applications of pre-emergent herbicides.

In addition to fighting off weeds, St. Augustine grass is also susceptible to a number of turfgrass diseases including Helminthosporium, brown patch, SAD, Pythium, gray leaf spot, rust, downy mildew and more. Most of these diseases are caused by the presence of fungi and can be easily controlled by a knowledgeable Birmingham lawn care company. SAD is a virus disease for which there is no chemical solution, which means only defiant types of St. Augustine grass are resistant to the disease.

Brown patch and gray leaf spot are the most severe diseases caused by fungi infecting St. Augustine turfs. Although these diseases seldom destroy St. Augustine, they weaken and thin the grass to the degree that the Birmingham lawn is extremely unattractive. Precautionary treatments of fungicides are most effective against these diseases.

To keep your St. Augustine Birmingham lawn primped and pristine, call your local Birmingham lawn care provider and ask about their weed and disease control programs.

Insect activity is a serious problem for Leyland Cyprus trees, according to Birmingham pest control experts. Because this tree is a conifer and not a deciduous tree, it makes it an uninviting host for most insects. However, it is not altogether out of harm’s way when it comes to insects. Bagworms and spider mites are two of the most menacing bugs. Their presence can cause discoloration, defoliation and sometimes even death if they are left untreated and allowed to continually feed and breed on and within the Leyland Cypruss.

Bagworms are a real problem because with each generation, the infestation becomes larger and larger. A female bagworm lays between 500 and 1,000 eggs before she dies. When the bagworm larvae emerge, they either remain on the host tree or they will spin a silken thread and “fly” to a nearby tree or plant. Because of their ability to transfer to other plants, bagworms not only pose a threat to the Leyland Cyprus, but to all nearby trees and shrubs. Unfortunately, only a few generations of bagworms can annihilate an entire landscape. While the larvae cocoon in the bags they create, they feed on the surface of the leaves, stripping the leaf of its epidermis, or the skin of the leaf.

As they develop into caterpillars, entire branches of the Leyland Cyprus can become completely defoliated. Pest control experts say it is easier to control bagworm infestations by manually removing the bags they form in the early spring or fall before the larvae have hatched. However, if the Leyland Cyprus is too large for this to take place, the tree can be sprayed with an effective insecticide to eliminate current populations. If the bagworms have already hatched, they are more difficult to control with sprays, which makes preventative care so important.

Call your local Birmingham pest control authority for more information on protecting the Leyland Cyprus from bagworms.

Any recipe is only as good as its ingredients and that goes for Birmingham lawn care too.  If you don’t have good flour and shortening (soil and pH level), it doesn’t matter how much frosting (or fertilizer) you add, your recipe (lawn) isn’t going to turn out well.  That’s why it’s important to get a soil test and start with a good foundation.

A soil test can measure many things like soil fertility.  Elements like phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sodium, sulfur, manganese, copper and zinc are removed from the soil to determine nutrient and contaminant content.  One of the most important things a soil test measures is pH.  Experts say if a soil is too acidic or too alkaline it can be toxic to plants.  The acidity in the soil can limit plant growth to such extremes that the plants won’t be able to utilize any fertilizer applied.  So, the soil test can help determine the best lime and fertilizer recommendations.  It’ll help save you money in the long run and help the environment by limiting the over-use of fertilizers.

Basically soils in moist climates tend to be acidic while those in dry climates are generally alkaline.  A soil pH lower than 7.0 is an acid soil, anything higher is alkaline.  The soil has to be adjusted to fit the needs of the particular plants planted in the area.

There are do-it-yourself testing kits available in many areas at reasonable prices or you can hire a company to do the testing for you.  Either way you’ll be getting important information that will help your Birmingham lawn and garden grow and will make you look like the expert with the green thumb without all the effort.

Mowing might seem like the simplest of Birmingham lawn care tasks, but it is actually quite important to know how to properly mow your Birmingham lawn to ensure the best results. Over-mowing or mowing at the wrong times or height can have detrimental effects on your Birmingham lawn. Here are some Birmingham lawn care tips on proper mowing procedures.

Most Birmingham lawns are dormant during the winter months, so once spring rolls around, it is time to drag the mower out and get back into the routine. But when you should begin mowing? Lawn care technicians recommend keeping the mower stored away until the ground is thoroughly thawed. Once the ground is soft, that means that grass is growing and mowing it will not cause any damage to the crowns or the shoots.

Most people know that allowing the excess clippings to remain on the Birmingham lawn is beneficial because as the clippings deteriorate, they become natural fertilizer for the soil below. However, for the first few cuts, attach the bag and gather the clippings. Allow your Birmingham lawn to grow and breathe without the weight of clippings on top of it.

Lawn care professionals recommend mowing your Birmingham lawn at a slightly shorter height than you may typically have your mower set. If you normally mow at three inches, take it down to two. This will allow your Birmingham lawn better stimulation to get the season started off right.

If you have any questions about spring mowing, contact your local Birmingham lawn care professionals.

Japanese Beetles are a common landscape Birmingham pest, affecting both Birmingham trees and lawns alike. While these Birmingham pests cause issues for your lawn by laying eggs underneath the soil, the affect they have on Birmingham trees comes from their own feeding. A perfectly healthy Birmingham tree can be seriously damaged if corrective action isn’t taken by a professional Birmingham tree care specialist.

Japanese Beetles are often found in clusters because their scent attracts more beetles to the area. So even if you see only a few beetles here and there at the beginning of the season, don’t be fooled; over time this population will rapidly increase.

Tree care experts say the best way to protect your ornamentals is by placing a fine netting material over the foliage. However, this obviously is not feasible when you are dealing with a larger Birmingham tree. If this is the case, professional-grade insecticides need to be utilized to eliminate Japanese Beetle populations. Most Birmingham tree care companies will employ insecticides that are injected into the soil around the Birmingham tree in order to get the formula directly into the root system. This will cause the Japanese Beetles to die after they consume the treated foliage.

If Japanese Beetles are common to your area, it is important to implement preventative care to ensure your ornamentals remain protected. Call your local Birmingham tree care company and have an expert give you the best Birmingham tree care possible!