| How to Get Rid of Flies Outside Posted: 21 Jun 2020 01:00 AM PDT The average female fly has a lifespan of about 1 month, but in that time she can lay about 500 eggs. Obviously, even a handful of female flies around your patio could translate into thousands of flies in a very short time.[1]Because flies feed on garbage and feces, they transmit diseases, so you should do all you can to keep their population to a minimum. [Edit]Avoiding Attracting Flies - Keep your yard clean and get rid of trash or food. Flies are attracted to any strong smell, which often comes from trash or food left outside.[2] Flies have very short lifespans (only about two weeks), so if you eliminate anything that causes odors outside your house, the flies will leave or die within that period.[3]
- Pick up dog feces. Make sure you put it in sealable bags before you put it in the trash can.
- Keep garbage can lids tightly closed. If you are having a party, make sure the trash can be used for paper goods disposable has a tight-fitting lid, and ask the guests to replace the lid after they dispose of their trash.[4]
- Generally, flies are pretty much attracted to anything that we consider a horrible smell, and find practically no scent repelling.[5]
- Cut your lawn often. Flies love tall grass and piles of brush, so keep your shrubs trimmed and don't leave piles of cut grass, leaves or brush in your yard.
- Mind your compost bin. A compost bin is filled with decaying matter; which is like a smorgasbord to a fly.
- Don't keep your compost pile too moist.
- Keep the compost pile as far from your house as possible.
- Maintain your compost pile properly. Keep it "cooking" so that it is too warm to support fly larvae.
- Guard against stagnant water. Flies are attracted to moisture and standing water; keep the water in birdbaths fresh and don't allow buckets or other containers to fill up with rainwater. You should discard old tires or any debris in your yard that can collect rainwater.
- Keep fruit and fruit peelings out of your bird feeders. If you want to give your backyard birds fruit treats, be sure to locate the fruit or peelings as far from your house as possible.
[Edit]Repelling and Eliminating Flies - Make fly traps. Mix molasses and cornmeal and place it in a shallow dish or saucer. Put the saucer far from your patio—the flies can congregate there while you enjoy your meal in peace.[6]
- Buy predatory bugs that eat fly larvae or otherwise interrupt the life cycle. Try nasonia vitripennis and muscidifurax zaraptor in conjunction with each other.
- Place fly light traps out at night. A fly light trap is an electrically charged light that attracts flies and zaps them. Try hanging them around a recreational area - well above where someone could run into them.
- Be careful setting these up. Light traps could never seriously injure anyone, but it's still quite painful to be zapped by them.
- Alternatively, try a UV light trap. Flies have compound eyes, and thus find the spectrum of UV light attractive. The UV light attracts the flies, and when they go to investigate the light they get stuck to the glue board built into the light.[7]
- Hang vodka bags. Flies avoid the smell of vodka. So, try hanging bags of vodka around your porch or any other recreational outdoor area.[8]
- Quarter gallon freezer bags, tied with string to a gutter, work well.
- Any cheap vodka will work.
- You can also try putting small amounts of vodka on your skin, although beware of the pungent smell and your skin drying.
- Landscape with carnivorous plants. While some plants simply repel flies, others actually eat flies: Venus Fly Trap, Pitcher Plant, etc.
- Landscape with fly-repelling plants. Flies are deterred by the scents of some plants, so keep potted plants on your patio or near your doors that repel flies: Basil, Elderberry, Lavender, Mint, and False Indigo.
- Don't destroy all the spider webs outdoors. Spiders eat flies, but if you destroy their webs, the flies lose a natural predator.
- Set up outdoor fans. Flies don't like a breeze. It may seem silly to put a fan outdoors, but if you are entertaining, a small house fan on your deck or patio may deter flies.
- Avoid leaving meat out. Flies are strongly attracted to the smell of meat and will swarm your barbecue grill the minute you bring meat outside to cook it.
- Keep all meat covered tightly when it is not on the grill.
- Keep the barbecue grill lid closed while the meat is cooking.
- Protect your grilling tongs and utensils—flies will smell the meat and land on them. (If you see flies have landed on your grilling utensils, take them inside and wash them before you pierce or turn the meat with them.)
- Place cloves around an outdoor dining area. The smell of cloves repels flies. Decoratively placing cloves on an outdoor dinning table can deter flies from landing on food.[9]
- If you want to make a fly trap that sticks to the flies feet mix peanut butter, school glue and honey. You will be amazed!
- Some people swear that hanging shiny objects around their yard deters flies. There is no concrete evidence to support this, but you can try hanging strips of aluminum foil or anything else that has a reflective surface, near your patio or in your garden.
- Flies too have their place in the ecosystem, so it's not prudent to try to eradicate them completely. Next to bees and wasps, flies pollinate the most plants and flowers. Flies also help control other insect pests.
- By removing material in which the larvae develop, the life cycle of the fly can be broken, preventing subsequent production of adult flies. While chemical pesticides may be effective for suppressing adult fly populations in some situations, they are not a substitute for proper sanitation and aggressive elimination of fly developmental sites. Flies can quickly develop resistance to insecticides and house flies are now resistant to many of the pesticides registered for their management. Use insecticides only as a last resort to obtain immediate control of adult flies [1]
[Edit]Warnings - Flies can spread typhoid fever, malaria, yellow fever, sleeping sickness and dysentery.[10]
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| How to Smoke Ribs Posted: 20 Jun 2020 05:00 PM PDT Ribs. Just like baseball and the 4th of July, smoked ribs are an American institution. Nothing beats a backyard barbecuing session with smoked ribs amongst friends and family. Thankfully, smoking ribs is an easy task, even if you don't have an expensive smoker. With a beautifully-smoked rack of ribs, you'll have your guests begging for seconds and your secret recipe. [Edit]Trimming the Ribs and Making the Rub - Select your cut of meat. Food safety is important when cooking raw meat, so find a fresh pink rack of ribs at your local grocery store. Many people choose to smoke with St. Louis style (spare) ribs, which come from near the belly on the pig.[1] They are substantial and tasty — very easy to cook. If you like, you can also select baby-back ribs, which come from the backside, near the loin.
- Since baby back ribs are a little less substantial, they're harder to smoke while still keeping them juicy and tender. Adjust this recipe if you do decide to use baby back ribs; the cooking time will lower significantly.
- While you can smoked prime rib or standing rib roast, that cut contains more meat than spare and baby back ribs do, so you'll need to follow slightly different instructions to cook it properly.
- Remove the thick, sinewy membrane on the back of the ribs. With a fingernail or a knife, work your way under the light membrane on the back of the ribs. Grab ahold of the loosened membrane with a paper towel and pry it from the ribs. Much of it should come off in one fell swoop. Discard.
- Spot-check the ribs for any substantial bits of fat and remove. With a sharp knife, remove any excess fat that's still clinging to your ribs. Although a little fat is fine and will probably render off during the cooking process, eating a chewy hunk of fat when you're expecting a tender morsel of meat is not the most pleasant experience. A little bit of extra preparation during this step will make the eating experience a lot nicer in the end.
- Make your rub. A dry rub is a spice mix that coats the rack of ribs and provides a complimentary flavor to the meat's natural taste. Dry rubs can be made any number of ways (dehydration, spice-mixing, etc.) and using any number of recipes.[2] Explore different recipes and variations to suit your tastes, or use this very basic dry rub[3] as a springboard for your invention:
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup paprika
- 3 tablespoons black pepper
- 3 tablespoons coarse salt
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 2 teaspoon celery seeds
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Apply your rub generously over the entire rack of ribs, coating it evenly. Don't be stingy with your dry rub. Even if you're planning on smothering your ribs with a wet sauce later on in the cooking process, it helps to have the ribs nice and coated early on in the process, when the bulk of the cooking happens. Use 1-2 tablespoons of dry rub at least per pound of meat.
- Let your ribs come to room temperature while you set up. After applying the rub, let the meat start to soak up some of the delicious spices you've acquainted with. (Meat, meet spice; spice, meet meat.) This does two things in particular:
- It allows the dry rub to start penetrating the meat, permeating it with flavor.
- It allows for a juicier rack of ribs. When salt hits meat, it brings moisture out to the surface. If you apply your rub and cook right away, the moisture brought out to the surface will leave your precious pork. If you apply your rub and let the meat rest, however, the moisture journeys back into the meat through a process called osmosis.[4] This process produces consistently juicier meat.
[Edit]Smoking the Ribs - Start your smoker. If you have a smoker, heat it to about 225° F (107° C) along the cooking surface, and validate it with a standard cooking thermometer. It may be hotter in the core of the fire, but ensure that the surface is set as close to 225° as possible.
- To get your fire going, you may use charcoal and any sort of a variety of wood. Some people prefer different types of wood for different types of flavor, so find what works for you.
- If you don't have a smoker, improvise. Use a gas grill set on 225° F as your improvised smoker. First, set a pan of water 3/4 full underneath the grate on which you'll be cooking your ribs. This helps with cooking and helps keep the temperature down.[5] Next, make a smoker pouch by wrapping wood chips in aluminum foil and then puncturing the foil several times with a knife to let the smoke escape. Place this at the bottom of the grill but not directly underneath the ribs.
- Remember to soak your wood chips for at least 30 minutes before creating your smoker pouch. Wet chips will release their signature smoke better and longer than dried-out chips.
- Choose from any number of wood chips for smoking. Choose from among applewood, cedar, hickory, maple, mesquite, oak, pecan, and many more.[6]
- Smoke your ribs at 225° F for 3 hours. It normally takes about 6 hours to fully smoke a rack of ribs, so if you want to just smoke them, leave them in there for about 6 hours, giving them a liquid spray (apple juice, beer, even water) about every hour. Otherwise, this is only the first step in the process. During these first 3 hours, what you're trying to do is imbue your meat with some smoky flavor and get the cooking process started.
[Edit]Finishing the Process - Remove the ribs from your smoker or grill and baste generously with barbecue sauce. You can use any store-bought barbecue sauce you'd like, or you can decide to make your own. Whatever you decide, slather the barbecue sauce onto the meat-side of your ribs generously.
- Wrap your rack in aluminum foil and add some liquid. Many people choose to add beer to their ribs — flavorful beer, not light or watery beer — but if you don't want to use beer, you can also add a bit of apple juice instead.
- Seal up the ribs and the accompanying liquid as airtight as possible while still leaving room for the meat to breathe. Ideally, you don't want moisture leaking out of your aluminum foil enclosure, so make sure it's wrapped securely.
- Cook your ribs at 225° F for approximately 2 hours. This part of the cooking process begins to break down the collagen present in the ribs, leaving you with ribs that are fall-off-the-bone delicious.
- Remove the aluminum foil, baste the ribs (if necessary) with barbecue sauce, and cook uncovered for 30 minutes to an hour. Check on the ribs after 30 minutes, though they may need longer. (Remember though, you can always cook the meat longer, but you can't take doneness away.) This final stint in the oven will firm your ribs up and should leave them ready to be devoured.
- Enjoy. Enjoy your ribs next to some corn on the cob and coleslaw for a hearty dish that screams summer.
- Try to avoid keeping the smoker door open too long. This and any sort of wind, while you are cooking, may cool the smoker off or even exterminate your fire.
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| How to Choose the Size of a Dehumidifier Posted: 20 Jun 2020 09:00 AM PDT Dehumidifiers are helpful for removing excess moisture from indoor spaces, thus reducing water damage and harmful mold and mildew growth. However, these appliances come in a wide range of sizes and capacities, so you may be having a hard time figuring out which dehumidifier is the right size for your space. To pick the right dehumidifier, you'll need to assess how large and damp your space is. You can also save energy and get the most out of your dehumidifier by choosing a unit with a higher capacity than what's recommended for your space. [Edit]Figuring out the Type of Dehumidifier You Need - Measure the dimensions of your room or home. When choosing a dehumidifier, you'll need to take into account the size of the space you're trying to dehumidify. If you don't already know how big the space is, use a measuring tape to measure the length and width of the floor. Multiply those measurements together to find the size of the space in square feet or meters.[1]
- For example, if you're working with a room that is by , then the area is .
- Get a whole-house dehumidifier for a space larger than . If you need to dehumidify an entire house, it might be worthwhile to invest in a whole-house dehumidifier. You can get a unit designed to attach to a pre-existing central heating or air system, or opt for one that can be installed by itself. Whole-house dehumidifiers are designed to work in spaces as large as .
- While these units are expensive to buy initially, they can save you money and energy in the long run by helping your air conditioner work more efficiently.
- Pick a desiccant dehumidifier for a cooler environment. Dehumidifiers come in 2 basic types: desiccant and refrigerant. While desiccant humidifiers tend to have lower capacity ratings than refrigerant models, they operate much more efficiently in lower temperatures.[2] In general, it's best to use a desiccant dehumidifier if the temperature in your space will fall below .
- Desiccant dehumidifiers use a hydrophilic material like silica gel to draw moisture out of the air. Many residential units contain single-use cartridges. They're usually more expensive to run, but they're preferable in cooler spaces.[3]
- Desiccant dehumidifiers also have the advantage of being quieter than refrigerant models.
- Buy a refrigerant model for a hot and humid space. If your space is consistently hot and humid, a refrigerant dehumidifier may be your best bet. These dehumidifiers tend to have higher capacity ratings and operate more efficiently at high temperatures than desiccant models.[4]
- A refrigerant dehumidifier uses a heat exchange coil to extract moisture from the air. You can choose a portable refrigerant dehumidifier for smaller spaces, or for a whole-home option, you can choose one that will connect to your central air system.[5]
- If the temperature drops below in the space where you are running your refrigerant dehumidifier, ice may form on the evaporator coils and prevent the unit from functioning properly.[6]
- You can also use a dehumidifying ventilator if you want to move the humid air outside. These are most suitable for crawl spaces, basements, and attics.[7]
[Edit]Choosing Your Dehumidifier's Capacity - Look for signs of dampness to figure out how wet your space is. While you can measure the exact humidity level of a space using a humidity meter, it's usually not necessary to do precise measurements when choosing a dehumidifier. To get a general sense of how damp your space is, look for clear indicators of humidity, such as condensation inside the windows or damp spots on the walls. For example:[8]
- Your space is moderately damp if the air feels clammy or damp or you notice a musty odor when the weather is humid.
- A very damp space always smells musty and feels damp. You may also notice damp spots on the floor or walls.
- If the space is wet, you may notice water beading on the walls or floors, or moisture seeping in around the edges of the room. The room will feel and smell damp all the time.
- An extremely wet space will have obvious standing water on the floor.
- Get a dehumidifier with a capacity of for a moderately damp space. The "size" of a dehumidifier actually refers to its capacity—that is, how much water it can pull out of the air in a 24-hour period. If your space is only somewhat damp, you won't need a super high-capacity dehumidifier. The total capacity you need will depend on how big your space is. For example:[9]
- For a space that's , a dehumidifier with a capacity should work.
- If your space is , get a dehumidifier.
- For a space, get a dehumidifier.
- For a space, get a dehumidifier.
- For a space, get a dehumidifier.
- Choose a dehumidifier for a very damp space. If your space is very damp (e.g., always musty and with damp spots on the floor and walls), opt for a slightly higher-capacity dehumidifier. You'll need to take the size of the space into account as well as the level of dampness. For example, choose a dehumidifier that's:[10]
- for a space that is .
- for a space that is .
- for a space that is .
- for a space that is .
- for a space that is .
- Buy a dehumidifier for a wet space. For wet spaces (e.g., where there is seepage or sweating on the walls and floors), you'll need a more powerful unit. Select your dehumidifier capacity based on the size of your space. For example, get a dehumidifier that is:[11]
- for a space that is .
- for a space that is .
- for a space that is .
- for a space that is .
- for a space that is .
- Go for a dehumidifier for a very wet space. If your space is wet enough to have standing water, purchase a high-capacity dehumidifier based on the size of your space. For example, get a dehumidifier that is:[12]
- for a space that is .
- for a space that is .
- for a space that is .
- for a space that is .
- for a space that is .
- Purchase a dehumidifier with a higher rating than you need to save energy. While larger dehumidifiers are more expensive to buy initially, you may ultimately save money and energy by choosing a machine that's a little higher-capacity than necessary. A higher-capacity dehumidifier won't have to work as hard to keep a space dry as one that's exactly the recommended capacity for the room.
- For example, even if you're only dehumidifying a small room—e.g., a bedroom—it might be worthwhile to invest in a dehumidifier that's rated for in a similarly damp environment.
- You can get large portable dehumidifiers with a capacity of up to per day.
- While a dehumidifier can help keep a room or home dry, you'll get the most out of it if you make an effort to keep excess moisture out of your space in the first place. You can keep your home drier by using vents and extractor fans in kitchens and showers, opening the windows and doors when the weather is cool and dry, and keeping your space well-insulated and heated in cold weather.[13]
- Many central air conditioning systems have built-in dehumidifiers. If you have central AC and your space is still humid, have a technician look at your air conditioner to make sure it is functioning properly.
- In general, there is no need to do elaborate calculations (such as the rate of airflow in your space or the exact volume of the area you want to dehumidify) to determine what kind of dehumidifier you need. Simply look for a dehumidifier that is rated for the size (in square feet or meters) and dampness level of your space.
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