Avon's Henkel Corp. speeds up the process with its new Polyseamseal EST Speed Seal.
The silicone kitchen and bath sealant dries in just two hours.
It forms a flexible, watertight seal and resists mold and mildew.
The product comes in white or clear. A 10-ounce cartridge sells for $7.98 at Lowe's stores.
PICTURE HANGING MADE EASY
Here's one of those wish-I'd-thought-of-it-first products:
WallMarker is an arrow-shaped piece of chalk that marks where a picture should be hung. It has an adhesive side that sticks to the back of the picture, so you just press the picture to the wall to make a chalk mark pointing to where the nail should go. The chalk wipes off easily, and the marker can be used repeatedly.
The product comes in a pack of two WallMarkers, one blue for light-colored walls and the other yellow for dark walls. The pack sells for $2.99 plus 90 cents shipping and handling at www.wallmarker.net.
you'll need traps to stop MOLES
Q. Why, this year, do I have tunnels in my lawn? In midsummer I had it treated to get rid of grubs, but as winter approached the critters (don't know what kind) are tunneling away. What can I do to save the lawn when spring comes?
A. The No. 1 food source for moles isn't grubs, but earthworms, said Joe Rimelspach, a turf grass specialist at Ohio State University. So even if you got rid of your grubs, you probably still have moles feasting on your worms. You don't want to get rid of the earthworms because they're crucial to the health of your soil.
Rimelspach said the most effective way to get rid of moles is through lethal trapping, using either a harpoon trap or scissors trap.
You can also try mole bait that looks like worms, but he said research on it has yielded mixed results. Hunting cats can be effective, but they often prey on birds and other desirable animals, along with moles.
Most mole tunnels, especially near the surface, are feeder tunnels that are used just once. You need to find an active run and put the trap or bait there. Look for a long, straight tunnel, Rimelspach said.
If you find one, press down with your foot perpendicular to the run, and mark that spot so you can find it again.
If the spot heaves back up, you'll know the tunnel is active.
Winter's freeze-thaw cycle will partially collapse the feeder runs, but your lawn won't return to being perfectly flat. In spring you can roll the lawn, as long as the ground isn't squishy-wet, or top-dress it with topsoil.
Rolling compacts a lawn somewhat, but you can offset the damage with core aeration.
BOOK TAKES YOU INSIDE BUNGALOWS
"Small Bungalows" updates a favorite American house style for the 21st century.
The book is written by Christian Gladu, owner of the Bungalow Co., a residential design studio in Oregon that creates house plans blending the Arts and Crafts philosophy with the needs of a modern home.
"Small Bungalows" focuses on new homes of less than 1,800 square feet that retain the charm and craftsmanship of their early-20th- century predecessors.
The book addresses the features typical of the genre and gives ideas for incorporating them into a bungalow built today.
It includes floor plans for eight houses and two garages, along with a resource guide.
"Small Bungalows" comes from Gibbs Smith, Publisher, and sells for $21.95 in hardcover.
- From wire reports
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