Do It Yourself: Not a fan of bug repellents? Here’s an idea
Q. We have a nice deck, patio and backyard barbecue area, but are always bothered by mosquitoes when we use them. We don’t like to keep putting on bug repellent, and electric zappers don’t seem to work well. What’s the answer?
A. At some point, I’m sure you’ll want to try and eliminate the basic problem by destroying the mosquito breeding places, but there are a few short-term solutions besides repellents.
One ingenious strategy that should let you use your outdoor areas is to literally blow the mosquitoes away from you. This is best done with an oscillating fan – the type that swings from one side to another. If it is a table-top fan with adjustable speed, sit it on a small table and put it at medium speed. A pedestal fan is already elevated, of course.
Why does this keep mosquitoes away? According to the American Mosquito Control Association, a nonprofit educational group, mosquitoes are “relatively weak fliers.” The bugs can’t venture into the steam of air from a fan. In addition, the fan helps disperse the human secretions that attract mosquitoes. The same phenomenon occurs on breezy days – you’ll be relatively free of flying bugs until the breeze stops, then bugs will quickly show up.
The association, citing independent studies, takes a dim view of devices that are supposed to lure and “zap” mosquitoes, and of ultrasonic devices that are also supposed to keep mosquitoes away. Both types of devices are bought in large quantities by homeowners desperate to control bugs.
You are probably aware that mosquitoes breed in standing water, and you should eliminate these places when possible. Don’t ignore sometimes-overlooked sources of standing water such as improperly sloped rain gutters, rain gutters with clogged downspouts and discarded automobile tires. Some repellents applied to exposed skin do help, and many experts recommend those containing DEET (an acronym for a long chemical name). DEET-based repellents are available in aerosols, lotions, spray bottles and other application devices. Any large-scale mosquito-control spraying should be carefully controlled and done only by experts. You can find answers to many of your questions at www.mosquito.org/faq, at the Internet site of the American Mosquito Control Association.
Q. I have what I call a cement driveway, and it needs some minor repairs. A pothole about 2 feet in diameter is the worst. I recently went to a hardware store and said I wanted a bag of cement to repair my driveway. The salesperson said I probably didn’t want cement. He tried to explain, but got busy with others and I left, confused. Can you explain?
A. Many people mistakenly give the name “cement” to what is properly called concrete. Cement, also called Portland cement, is just one ingredient of concrete and is also an ingredient of a number of other masonry products including mortar, used in laying bricks, and stucco, used as a finish for many buildings. Cement, which is a sort of binder, is mixed with such other ingredients as sand and, in concrete, with small stones called aggregate, which gives concrete much of its strength.
You probably need a bag of concrete mix to fill the pothole; concrete mix is sold at hardware stores and home centers in bags of several sizes, all of them heavy. The dry mix is blended with water to produce the pliable material that is used to repair potholes, cracks more than one inch wide, broken corners and so forth. Another product, called sand mix or topping mix, doesn’t contain aggregate and can be used for some repairs to concrete, including overlays or toppings no more than an inch thick and cracks up to an inch wide. To repair small concrete cracks, up to about one-half-inch wide, patching products sold in caulking-gun cartridges are often used.