“Amazing - Just Chute Me Parasail .. want to say thank you for a GREAT time. The boat operators and instructors are very nice and made this a VERY nice experience for me and my husband.. THANK YOU JUST CHUTE ME PARASAIL of Destin, FL !!!! “

“Overall Great Experience – Could not have been treated any better. Parasailing was the best! Four groups of 2 went up covering 20 miles along the beautiful Gulf Coast. Same outstanding service renting Pontoon Boat from Sunshine Pontoons for half day and check out our pics from dolphin trip and parasailing! ”

“Just Chute Me Parasailing and Paragliding – was the best experince ever! – My husband and I went and we loved it. We originally made reservations for one day but I woke up sick and the staff was very accomadating on switching our day. The guys on the boat put me at ease as I was very nervous. They were also fun and explained everything we needed to know. I felt very safe the whole time and my husband and I had a great experience. We will be back the next time we are in Destin and would reccomend to anyone.”

So you have mice and want them gone, but you don’t want to use poison or hazordous chemicals, so what should you do ……

Pest control chemicals can cause health issues for homeowners, children and pets. Calling an exterminator, or pest control company, is one way to tackle rodent control problems and eliminate pests like spiders, bed bugs, termites, ants, cockroaches and fleas.

Unlike large insect infestations, mice and rats can be controlled without chemicals. Before calling an exterminator, homeowners can try reducing or eliminating their homes’ mice populations with natural methods.

·       Adopt a Cat; Meow – Although a homeowner may already have a cat, an adopted cat that was raised outdoors will have a natural inclination to hunt for mice. Cats raised indoors may not have this instinct; so if a home has a rodent problem and the owners want a new furry friend, adopting a cat may be a good first step to take.

·       Keep Your House Clean – Mice are attracted to sources of water and food, and even the smell of leftover crumbs on the dishes in a sink can attract unwanted guests. While attempting to get rid of mice naturally, a homeowner should make every effort to keep floors free of crumbs. Dishes should be washed immediately, food should be stored away in air-tight containers and trash should be sealed.

·       Reduce Clutter - Mice live in cluttered areas where there are many nooks and crannies to rest. Removing excessive boxes, clutter and other piles of unorganized items will reduce the number of homes available to mice.

·       Use Traps -  Set traps between gaps in kitchen and bathroom counters, in laundry rooms and behind furniture. For safety, ensure that the traps cannot be reached by indoor pets. Consider using traditional spring-loaded traps that kill mice quickly. Homeowners that wish to capture and release mice should use specially designed traps that simply lure mice into a container that closes. These traps should be checked several times a day.

·       Consider Hiring a Professional -  These trained rodent control agents can spot openings in walls where mice find their way into homes. They can also lay traps in optimal locations and advise homeowners as to how they can naturally eliminate a rodent infestation.

·       Use mints or mint Oils - The smells of various mints, including peppermint and spearmint, have been shown to detract mice. Homeowners can use mint leaves or oils to attempt to force mice out of a home or keep them from entering in the first place. This is useful if the homeowner wants to prevent mice from settling into undesirable places, such as drawers or food pantries.

Although there are times when calling a rodent control exterminator is the best option, using natural, tried-and-true methods should often be the first step a homeowner takes to try to get rid of mice. Doing so will reduce the potential for unnecessarily introducing hazardous chemicals into a home.

Sometimes the presence of fleas indicates another problem. Roof rats, squirrels, and other mammals can carry fleas, causing a problem that can only be treated by an exterminator. A pest control company will practice mammal and rodent control to correct the underlying problem. Then an exterminator will treat any existing infestations in the home.

Homeowners who have failed to get rid of  flea infestation should also consult an exterminator. Hiring a pest control company once can often be less costly than several rounds of do-it-yourself treatments. Exterminators can also help homeowners who have difficulty with other insects, such as spiders, bed bugs, termites, cockroaches, and ants.

So stop itching and call a professional flea removal or exterminator today!  Check out these reliable pest control companies listed with eLocal, there is probably one in your local area.

Tips to Eliminating Fleas!

Removing fleas from the home requires coordinated and regular cleaning efforts. Pest control companies often recommend that customers regularly vacuum their carpets. Vacuuming can remove up to 60 percent of flea eggs. It also removes up to 30 percent of flea larvae, and it removes the dried blood which feeds the larvae. Vacuum bags should be discarded at least once a week to prevent repeated infestation.

Infected pets should be bathed regularly and treated with an insect growth regulator to prevent adult fleas from reproducing. Using a flea comb and gentle insecticide while bathing can also remove fleas. Pet bedding should be washed immediately after the pet has been bathed. All bedding should be washed in hot water at least once a week.

 Mild insecticides should be used to treat cushions, rugs, and other areas that might harbor fleas. Sprays containing linalool or limonene can kill fleas on contact, but will not protect against new fleas. Products containing methoprene as the active ingredient should only be used indoors. 

Possible outdoor breeding areas for fleas should also be treated. Fleas avoid the sun, but don’t forget to treat shady areas, such as the ground under bushes and beneath decks. Outdoor places that are regularly frequented by pets should also be treated for fleas. Sprays containing pyriproxyfen can be used outdoors. These sprays control fleas in all stages of development and help keep them from entering your home.

Homeowners should expect to complete this treatment cycle at least twice to eliminate fleas in all stages of development. Homeowners should continue washing bedding and vacuuming regularly, but should wait several weeks in between chemical treatments.

Effectively marketing your financial services business is easier and more affordable than you thought.  And it’s effective – according to a recent Neilson report 94.6% of all consumers listen to the radio at least once a week – reach Dallas Metro Customers by calling Yorba Media at (877) 363-9245.

There are many reasons to prune or trim; principally the design or function, or health and productivity of the tree. You may need to change the height of your tree, keep a branch away from power lines, or simply bring out the natural beauty residing in the particular species you have.

Trees benefit from the removal of dead wood and competing or inward growing branches, and when you reduce the number of branches or stems, you direct growth to the other areas of the tree. If you have a fruiting tree, you can increase the yield and quality of fruit by removing some branches and directing the tree’s strength to the ones you choose.

The first thing you need to do is assess whether the job is something you can handle on your own or whether you should hire a tree service professional. In general, trees less than 25 feet tall are considered safe for the home gardener to prune. Anything taller, or for large branches, should be handled by an arborist or tree care specialist.

If you decide to do the pruning and trimming yourself; here are a few guidelines and tips:

1)     The first step is to identify and understand the type of tree you are pruning.   Most trees need to be pruned at a particular time of the year, or in a particular way, although dead or damaged parts should be removed immediately.

2)     The second step is to determine which branches you would like to remove or trim and to mark them with string or colored tape.  Once you have identified which branches, follow these basic steps:

a)     Make a shallow cut underneath the branch to be removed.

b)     A bit further along the branch, make a cut all the way through, removing the bulk of the branch.

c)     Finally, cut the stub off, close to the branch.

3)     Be certain to step back and view the tree from different angles before, during, and after your pruning.

4)     Do not over-prune, less is often more and remember that there is always next year!

5)     Think safety, if you require a tall ladder, it may be a job for a tree care professional.

Contacting a tree care specialist or arborist is the best idea, but if you are a DIYer and want to trim your trees and bushes yourself, here are some tips:

• Conifers may be pruned at any time of the year, but pruning when the trees are dormant can minimize sap and resin flow from cut branches.
• Prune hardwood trees and shrubs without flowers in the dormant season to maximize wound closure and reduce the risk of transmitting disease.  Trimming trees at the wrong time can actually attract insects that spread disease.  If you have any questions, call or hire a tree service company to ensure that you are trimming at the right time.
• Trimming flowering trees and shrubs at the right time is essential to their health and to preserve the current year’s flower crop.
• Trees and shrubs that flower in early spring should be pruned immediately after flowering.
• Trees and shrubs that flower in the summer or fall should ALWAYS be pruned during the dormant season.
• Remember to always remove dead branches from your trees and bushes, they can damage your plantings or spread disease.

Always prune with clean and sharp tools.  Cleaning your pruning tools will keep fungi, diseases, insect eggs and weed seeds from being spread throughout your garden.  Sharp pruning shears and knives help create a concise cut and reduce the risk of damaging your trees while trimming and pruning.

If you have any questions there are a large number of great resources online and local tree service companies that can offer advice on the best time for tree trimming and tree removal.

Have any additional tips for pruning trees or know of a great website or local tree expert?  Let us know.

Every Tuesday through Thursday  from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm, they have great discounted drinks and a unique happy hour menu.  They have $5.00 white wine and $6.00 red wine and some of the best martinis we have had in a long time.

If you haven’t checked out happy hour at Gourmet Italia’s happy hour in Temecula, located on Ynez Road in the Tower Plaza, you need to!

It makes no sense to me that people would actually spend the time to spread a virus to a computer, but it happens all the time.  Some are for monetary gain, some are for … well I would need to be a psychiatrist to be able to explain why people would do it for sport.  But several times a day I see this little message appear on my laptop saying that my anti-virus software caught a virus or worm.

Unfortunately even the best anti-virus software doesn’t catch them all, and I have to call Scott from our IT department to perform malware or virus removal.  Now, I am lucky that I have Scott; who enters my office with a skip in his step and a smile on his face to help me out of the jam that I got myself into.  Not everyone has access to an IT department though, and must either suffer a slow running computer, or pack it up and bring it to a computer repair shop, or worse; count on the neighbor’s kid to get their computers up and running again.  I am thankful for Scott!

“Why are they called viruses?” I ask. Well, like a biological virus, computer viruses must be passed on from one computer to another. A computer virus is written by someone with the intent of attacking, it must piggyback on top of another program or document in order to launch, and once it is running, it can infect other programs or documents.

“But how does it get on my computer?” I ask Scott (sometimes more than once in a week!) Again he laughs.  So I ask Matt from My Computer Works, and he explains…  But I don’t open suspicious emails (often), never play those games or enter contests, and Scott has blocked my computer from being able to down load anything, so it isn’t me …

What are these viruses and how do they work?  As I learned, there are three basic types of computer “infections”.

E-Mail Viruses – This type of virus is typically an attachment to an email message and usually replicates itself by automatically mailing itself to people in the victim’s email address book.  Scott tells me that I don’t always have to open the email to be infected. Hmm, unfair.

Worms – These little “buggers” use computer networks, looking for security holes to replicate themselves.  They scan a network for any machine that has a hole, copies itself to the machine and then starts replicating itself.

So now I know more about viruses, and why having anti-virus software and IT help is important to keep my computer and other computers running smoothly.  If you aren’t as lucky as I am to have a “Scott” to help, you might want to call My Computer Works of Scottsdale, AZ.  They are our featured customer this month, and are ready to help with all of your computer problems.

AUFE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency)

This is the standard measurement for gas or oil furnaces.  The number is in percentages and tells you how much of your fuel is used to heat your home and how much is wasted.  The higher the AFUE rating the better.  If you were to spend $100 on a furnace with an AFUE rating, you would actually save $16 (or spend ONLY $84 if the rating were at 95%.  By rReplacing your old furnace with a new more efficient furnace, you can save up to 40% on your heating and recoup your costs in a very short amount of time.

SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio)

Another term that sounds more confusing than it is.  This is the rating efficiency for the cooling process of air conditioners and heat pumps.  Today’s require A/C and heating units to have a SEER rating of 13.0 or better.

HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor)

This term is for the measurement of the efficiency of the heating mode of heat pumps.  The higher the number, the more efficient and the more cost savings you will realize.  While today’s models are required to have an efficiency rate of 6.8 or higher, many models offer a rating of up to 9.5 and by replacing an old furnace you can recoup your investment in just a few short years with lower utility bills.

While we know that these terms can be confusing, you can call your local heating and air conditioning specialists in the Gulf Shore area to find out how you can save money and the environment.  More questions, just call us at (251) 300-5863.

It is important that older air conditioning and heating units are either replaced or maintained with regular service to ensure optimum efficiency.