Sutherlands Organic Solutions

April Showers Bring Spring Flowers!

Yup! Its that time of Season! Time to start our Spring Cleaning not only Inside but Outside as well.

SOS Helpful Hints: Yard Clean Up

It’s time to clean your lawn and get it ready for the Summer Season enjoyment. But there is a “Rule of Thumb” that is important to follow. The steps below will help you start on the right track.
1. Clean-Up: Remove any fallen branches and twigs.

2. Raking: Light raking is a must. Keep in mind raking over wet grass can tear it from the roots leaving you with even more bare patches. Bare patchy areas promote weeds and crabgrass to grow. So, raking is best done when the lawn is dry. However, who can wait? Therefore, if you must rake at this time of Season, rake lightly.

3. Mower Preparation: Mowing may not be necessary at this time for most customers. However, it never hurts to be prepared. Therefore, we say break out those lawn mowers and make sure they are in good condition for this Summer Season. For most homeowners, its recommended to sharpen your mower blades twice a year. The jagged edges caused by a dull mower blade make it more difficult for the grass to fight off pest and disease.
“If you didn’t remove the dirty oil or replace the spark plugs during the fall, now’s the time to swap out the used oil for new oil and replace old spark plugs. Also, lightly lubricate the wheel bearing, height adjuster, and any other moving parts, following the manual’s instructions. Make sure to have the lawn mower blades sharpened by a professional, so they’ll cut the grass evenly.” (www.goodhousekeeping.com)
4. Pruning: This is a good time for pruning shrubbery and over grown tree branches that are producing too much shade and not allowing enough sunlight onto your lawn.

We can treat your lawn for Flea & Ticks but you must do your part in checking the inside of your home for Ticks that have been living inside.
Follow the steps below to help to keep your home tick free:
Make sure to check your pets: Indoor pets, usually dogs, are the number one source of tick infestations. Dogs can carry ticks in from outdoors, or catch them from other animals in the kennel or the local neighborhood.

•  Physically remove any ticks that are using your animal as a host, then treat the dog with a topical tick- killing product. Ask your veterinarian for suggestions.
• You may also invest in a tick- repelling collar for your pet. These will keep ticks from latching onto your cat or dog for approximately three months. Ask your veterinarian for suggestions.
• Thoroughly check your pet for ticks, including ears, and pads where they like to hide.
After You Come Indoors: You can bring ticks inside your house and they can stay in your house for weeks at a time. Check all clothes after being in places where ticks can be found. It is also important to check blankets and sheets where they can hide

• Drying your clothes first and then washing them is one way you can help rid your clothes of ticks. The heat cycle will kill the ticks, then wash your clothes.  
• It is important to check yourself whenever you go outside to see if you are bringing in ticks from going to parks/public areas. Ticks may be on your body for days before they bite and like to hide in places that are warm and in your hair.

Happy Spring!
Its that time of Season and Insects are coming out in full bloom!
Due to the warm winter, we will have an increase in the tick population this summer. Ticks were detected as early as January of this year, talk about getting an early start!
SOS is offering an early Insect Control Spray all this week. If you would like a Spray before Easter, call SOS (866-SOS-4030)

SOS Helpful Hints
Steps to Prevent Ticks
Step 1: Call us
We can prevent ticks from populating your lawn by starting Essentria IC3 application Late Spring to Early Summer. Applying a single treatment to your yard in Late May or Early June you can cut the tick population by over 50 percent.

Step 2: Clean-up
Are you providing Tick Heaven on your property? Let’s discourage ticks form taking up residence on your property. Ticks need shade somewhere in order to survive. Tick haven is damp dark areas such as; underneath brush and dead leaves. Therefore, do not allow piles of vegetation to build up anywhere in your yard, especially dead leaves.

Step 3: Cut Frequently
For a healthy lawn, mowing height is important. However, in the middle of the summer lawn height should be no shorter than 3 ½ inches. When your grass is allowed to grow longer, and not cut frequently to keep at the proper height, the lawn becomes another safe haven for ticks. Therefore, regular mowing denies ticks the shelter of tall grass and helps the sun evaporate the morning dew, this deprives the ticks of water. If at all possible water your lawn in the morning.

Step 4: Clean Bird Feeders
We never think of birdfeeders as a home for ticks. However, it is. Ticks can build a home under bird feeders without being disturbed. Therefore, it is important to thoroughly clean underneath.

Step 5: Confine firewood stacks
Firewood like brush and dead leaves provides the perfect darkness and moisture. Therefore, keeping your firewood stacked neatly and in a dry location will keep ticks away.

Step 6: Control over grown vegetation
Trim regularly and remove all dead, messy and overgrown vegetation. This will also help to keep ticks away from moving into the friendly foliage.