We found a carpet cleaning special offer (for Melbourne area) that I thought was worthwhile sharing. I remember last time we had our house done, when we were vacating a rental property, it cost us almost $200! This company is doing it for just $69 for 3 rooms, and provided they do a good job, it looks like a great offer!

Australia is nicely blessed with a ridiculously large array of pests and insects. Around March to June each year, fleas can invade our lives - filling our pets, garages, and even our lawns with their colonies.

I had to deal with a massive infestation of fleas last week, so I'm sharing today how I got rid of the fleas. Funnily enough, about the only place I didn't find fleas were on my two dogs! They are well protected with Front-line drops, and don't seem to suffer at all. But, that's about it - everywhere else was literally crawling in fleas.

Step 1)
Mow the grass! Sounds a bit strange, but fleas love living in the lawn, especially if there's a big infestation and they're out of blood meal hosts, like cats and dogs. The reason you need the grass short is so that the spray actually reaches the ground surface, rather than just getting stuck on the blades of grass and protecting the fleas below from the spray.
Step 2)
Treat your lawns with an indoor and an outdoor surface spray, such as this one from Bunnings. It's important to do your lawns first, and I'll cover the 'why' in the next steps. Don't be shy with applying a good quantity - it's better to over-do it than to miss areas and have gaps in the treatment.
Step 3)
Spray all inside dark and wet areas (under the sinks in the kitchen, laundry, bathroom, garage, etc). The reason you do this after the outside is because, as I found, when you spray the inside, they pests (including fleas) will go outside looking for a clean water source, and when they do, they'll again be hit with a wall of insecticide, and they'll meet their death!

I spent only half a day Saturday on this, and it's really not that time consuming (including even the trips to Bunnings). A good alternative to spending $200 or more for a pest control company to do it! And, all up, I spent probably no more than $50 - I got two bottles of spray, and basically used one inside and one outside. 

Don't expect this treatment to keep working for long though - basically the next time it rains, the outside surface spray will be washed away. That said, however, I've been living in Sydney for 16 years and this is only the 4th time I've had a flea infestation like this, so, I don't think it's much of a big deal.
If you have any questions or there's something I didn't cover, feel free to ask in the comments below - I'm active here and will do my best to reply and help.

 Even if your home is modest, you can fight to get rid of the pests. If you are dealing with a pest problem, the following article will give you a helping hand. The quicker you start fighting back, the sooner you'll be rid of your pests.

Once thing that will eradicate the pests is to vacuum thoroughly. Any stray insects will be sucked up in the vacuum. Be sure to toss the vacuum bag when finished.  An easy way to kill any flying bug in your home is to douse it with hairspray until it falls. There are chemicals in hairspray that kill insects immediately, but the perfume in the product also keeps other insects away.

If you think you have cleared up a bedbug infestation, think again. Bedbugs can hibernate for up to a year before coming back in full force. Therefore, you should ensure that any openings in the floors and walls are kept closed. These small holes are ideal entry points and hiding places for pests. The best thing to do if there are flying pests in your home is to repair your screens. Screens are effective at keeping out both flying and crawling pests. If your screens have holes in them, patch them or replace them.

Check your home for hidden standing water. Pests are very attracted to standing water. Some common sources include trays that sit under plants and leaking pipes. Most pests require standing water to survive; therefore, it is important to remove any standing water. Keep all yard waste at least one foot away from your home. Many insects will live in the brush despite your efforts. Placing it closer will bring the bugs to you inside.

Keep up with leaks around your home. Humidity attracts pest. The pests might sense there is a leak from far away. Do not be the reason that you are being invaded by pests. Inspect your plumbing regularly and contact a professional if you notice a leak or need help with inspecting the plumbing that is not easily accessible. If you are getting rodents around the house, do not plant trees close to your house. This makes an easy way for these rodents to climb up and enter your home using the attic or roof. Be sure your fruit trees are about 15 feet from the house.

You need to check out your whole house. Your home can be affected by underground termites if part of it lies under the ground. Pay particular attention to your crawl space or basement.

If you own a pet, refrain from using pesticides for mice or rats. If your animal catches a rodent that's sick or toys with one that's dead, then poison can get ingested. Also, you will want to avoid this if you have babies or young children around the house. They may believe the poison pellets are candy.

A healthy home shouldn't be besieged by rodents and insects. Apply the advice in this piece, and get the process started today. No one wants to spend time with insects and other pests! With some effort, you should be able to take care of the pests in your home.

It's that time of year again down under (in Australia!) when things warm up, and people are having outdoor parties and barbeques. One thing you might notice, even though you might not want to, is that you have some uninvited house-guests that come along to lurk in the shadows and spoil your party... the hide in the dark corners, they don't play nicely with the other kids, they eat your food, they don't bring anything to the party - indeed, for all intents and purposes, they are the worst type of house guest you could possibly imagine! I'm not talking about your mother-in-law and her perpetual whining, I am, in fact, talking about cockroaches, bugs, beetles, and their slimey little friends!

Don't wait for the invasion - take steps now to keep those little critters away. Pest control Brisbane can probably help you, by doing an internal and external service of your house, killing those creatures present and deterring their friends and family for months to come. If you're not in QLD, contact pest control Sydney instead, and they'll have you bug free in no time at all. If you have a person in the house that is sensitive to chemicals and often has allergic reactions to things, or perhaps a small child, you'll take comfort in knowing that most pest control companies can offer all natural or organic pest control treatment options for inside and outside the house. It's a fact that during the cooler months, either the little pests hide away well, or because we're not out and about enjoying the weather we don't notice them as much - but rest assured, they are in fact there! Take preventative action to stop an infestation, and to make sure you don't lose too much of your Christmas feast to the slimy little creatures that are often ignored - the cockroaches, carpet beetles, silverfish, mice, and ants.

Merry Christmas to all, and I'm sorry that I haven't updated my blog here in a while - it's that time of the year, you know? Looking forward to a great 2014, and my list of new year resolutions is way too long to publish here or anywhere else... just a matter of prioritization, now!

If you ignore your gutters, they'll return the favor and fall apart! While it’s a job many of us would love to ignore, gutter cleaning is an important twice-a-year ritual all homeowners need to adopt. It only takes a few hours once you get setup and get started, which is far less time than the time spent procrastinating about it usually.

This year, I had a day off and nothing planned so I decided to tackle the job myself. I donned two pair of rubber gloves and climbed up on the porch railing with a bucket. To do gutter cleaning yourself, make sure you wear gloves, a mask, and some type of safety goggles. And be sure to make sure your ladder is well-footed at all times and use a ladder stabilizer, or stand-off, to keep from denting and damaging your gutters. Before you start, try to find a friend or family member who is willing to help you with your gutter cleaning project. It is a good idea to have someone nearby to help with equipment, have someone to chat to, and in the worst case scenario give you first aid or call for help.

Your clothes WILL get dirty. Be prepared to throw them out at the end of the day along with the debris you remove from the gutters. When it rains, check for leaks and mark them with a china marker so you can patch holes or correct pitch problems when it’s dry. They can also get so heavy that they’ll pull the gutters loose and rot the trim and siding. Wear leather gloves to protect your hands from any rough edges or protruding screws, nails or staples.

And last but not least - make sure to keep yourself hydrated! Any time spent in the sun can be a heatstroke danger, so for every hour in the full sun, a good idea is to consume at least two liters of water, preferably not cold. Do not stretch to reach beyond your limits. You should place the ladder so that you can comfortably reach the gutter on each side of you without leaning or losing your balance.

Some people choose to hire a professional gutter cleaning company - if you make this choice, be sure to thoroughly check the condition of your roof both before and after they start work. Sometimes you can ask them, and they will agree, to take photos before and after the job, and also inside the gutters where there may be any rust spots so you can monitor those areas in the future to prevent them becoming a weak point in the roof drainage system.