BillyKnowsBest

A Better Mousetrap: Victor Electronic Mouse Trap

Living in a pre-war Manhattan apartment, mice are unavoidable.  Sooner or later, they find a path to your kitchen, and something has to be done.  In the past I've used no-kill catch-and-release traps, and the old-fashioned snap traps.  My current favorite:  The Victor Electronic Mouse Trap.  Easy to bait, set, empty and re-use, it's truly a better mouse trap.  Lift the lid and bait the far end of the chamber.  Close the lid and flip the switch.  Four AA batteries power up the trap's electrocution plate, and last for up to 50 mice.  A green light blinks to alert you to a successful trap.  Then just hold the trap over a trash can, and open the lid.  Close the lid, flip the switch again, and you're ready to go again (a red light flashes when you need to replace the batteries).  Find it at your local hardware store, or order online from victorpest.com.

The Best Insect Repellent: Bug Guard Expedition/Bug Guard Picaridin

Here's the thing about insect repellents.  Pretty much everyone agrees products containing high concentrations of DEET work better than anything else.  But DEET comes with health risks, especially for children, and can damage fabrics.  DEET-free insect repellents seem to have varying efficacy, depending not only on the circumstances, but also on your own personal body chemistry.  Two people using the same product can experience very different efficacy.  Which may explain why thousands of people swear that Skin-So-Soft Bath Oil is the only thing that works for them, despite it never being proved to work as such.  As an Avon Representative, the only thing I'm allowed to tell you about Skin-So-Soft is that it's America's #1 Selling Bath Oil.  Why, you might ask, would a bath oil come in a spray bottle? I can't tell you.  What I can tell you is that Avon has been at the forefront of marketing non-DEET repellent products in the U.S., including two that seem to work really well (for me).  Both contain active ingredients that have been tested and used extensively in Europe and around the world. Picaridin is recommended by the CDC and by the World Health Organization.  It also works (for me) against the biting flies we get here on Fire Island where nothing else does -- including DEET.  Avon's Bug Guard Plus Picaridin contains 10% picaridin.   IR3535 works (for me) great against mosquitoes, and is safe enough to not be require children washing it off when they come indoors. It's found in Avon's Bug Guard Plus Expedition, which is also unscented, another plus.  They also both contain vitamin E, and are on sale this week for 50% off at avon.com.

The Best Way to Remove Ticks: Ticked Off

If you've come to this page from a Google™ search, you won't have time to order one of these, though you might be able to run out and buy one at a local retailer.  If not, use a tweezer a grab the tick as close to its mouth parts (and the skin) as possible.  Pull slowly, gently and steadily, being careful not to squeeze the body of the tick.  When you're done, disinfect the skin, wash your hands, flush the tick down the toilet, and then order one of these:  Ticked Off is a little spoon with a small v-shaped opening that makes it easy to grab  ticks and pull them off pets or humans.  Simple and ingenious, it works brilliantly.  With the increasing incidence of tick-borne diseases, anyone with a dog, or who spends any time in the woods or other tick-infested areas should have one of these. 

It's$2.99 at     EntirelyPets.com.

The Safer Pantry Pest Trap

This morning, I discovered a flour moth flying around my cereal boxes.  Now, if you've never had an Indian Meal Moth infestation before, you wouldn't be bothered by a single moth.  But if you've ever opened a box of cereal or flour or pasta and found it sticking to the carton in a mass of fine webs, you know the havoc that these voracious pests can wreak.  While some insect infestations are  tough battles to win (those of you living with cockroaches in New York City know that), this one is easy to control.  The Safer Pantry Pest Trap uses a pheromone lure inside a sticky box to attract and trap moths.  It's simple and easy - simply put the box on the shelf.  No fuss, no muss, no harmful pesticide spraying and no more moths. Available at many hardware/garden stores, or on sale two for  $6.30 directly from Saferbrand.com.