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Shaiith/Shutterstock If you haven’t heard of colony collapse disorder by now, the phenomenon refers to the mysterious disappearance of honeybee colonies throughout North America. Theories about what causes colony collapse disorder are numerous. The Varroa Mite, Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus, the gut parasite Nosema, pesticide poisoning, stress and changes in habitat top the list. But one thing is for sure: Many people are doing everything they can to save the bees....

No one likes to drag out their window air conditioning units every summer. They’re heavy and dirty, and it’s a huge pain to get them in the window just right. If you live in an apartment with pedestrian traffic below, installation can be downright dangerous. Air conditioners are terrible for the environment, too. ACs draw huge amounts of energy, and the refrigerants inside them are a major contributor to global warming....

A nuisance to homeowners and farmers, cutworms feed not only on lawns, but also on vegetable plants, ornamentals and farm crops. Found across the globe, they are known to cause significant damage once they’ve taken up residence. “These non-discriminate feeders attack a wide range of plants,” says lawn expert Dave Holmes of The Grounds Guys. “All common turfgrasses are susceptible to damage by the larvae that feed at night.” Here’s how to spot these ravenous pests and send them packing before they cut your yard to shreds....

As an appliance technician with more than 30 years experience, I’ve seen too many front-load washing machines ruined because customers used them to wash bathroom mats. I’ve seen a new front-loader broken beyond repair when a customer tried washing two bathroom mats at the same time. Bottom line: Never clean bathroom mats in your washing machine. Here’s why. Why Shouldn’t I Put My Bathroom Mat In The Washer? Most front-loaders washers feature large spin baskets that can accommodate big blankets and bathroom mats....

It’s a common occurrence in the heat of the summer or the cold of the winter — one room doesn’t get as warm or as cool as the others. It can happen for lots of reasons, from improper furnace sizing and dirty filters to air duct insulation failures to the room being farthest from the furnace. Fortunately, there’s a simple fix if you look at your furnace’s Integrated Furnace Control (IFC) board....

A 2020 study by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) examined who decides what building materials to use in new home construction. Not surprisingly, builders and contractors exert the greatest influence over primary construction materials, such as windows and doors, siding and house wrap, lumber and plywood. But this applies more to home builders in planned developments. If you’re lucky enough to be custom-building a new home or vacation getaway, or remodeling an existing one, you’ll probably have a much larger role in deciding what materials go into the build....

Sometimes making a bathroom accessible is a necessity. But more and more, it’s becoming a choice that reflects a desire to be prepared. For what, exactly? You might be injured or endure a major health crisis in the future. An elderly parent may move in with you. You might want to ensure you can age in your home. Or maybe you want to make your house more appealing when you sell it....

Family Handyman When cold weather is right around the corner, that’s the time to get your car ready for winter driving: lube locks, latches, hinges, window channels and weather stripping. Proper lube can prevent binding and freezing and save you the cost of a busted regulator. You can lube your entire vehicle in less than 20 minutes. All you need is dry Teflon spray, spray lithium grease, a rag and glass cleaner....

Mulching isn’t only important in the spring. There are plenty of reasons to apply mulch in other seasons, including the winter. Why Mulch in the Winter? Winter mulching is a critical tool for gardeners to protect plants against frigid conditions. Soil under the mulch doesn’t freeze, and that allows the plants to absorb more water. Here are some mulching tips to help you get started with the job. “Mulch is a standard form of winter protection for many shallow-rooted plants, and young or tender perennials,” says Leonard Perry, Ph....

Who wants to wait around for seeds to grow? You do! That is, if you want to save money; grow a greater selection of plants; and enjoy an ongoing natural process that dates back millions of years. Bonus: If you’ve got kids, get them to help. If they’re growing vegetables, they’re more likely to eat what they grow. And you’ll turn them into budding gardeners. Starting seeds is easy, too! Nature makes sure of that....

Greg McGill/Shutterstock Keeping your home adequately sealed is important for reducing the amount of air that leaks in and out, thereby cutting heating and cooling costs, improving durability, creating a healthier indoor environment and increasing comfort. However, if you seal your home too tightly, you could be putting yourself at risk from the dangers of backdrafting. What is backdrafting Backdrafting: Exhaust from a fan or natural gas-powered appliance is supposed to flow through a duct and out of the house....

It wasn’t that long ago when headphones plugged into an AUX port and could only play audio. Today, wireless headphones are quickly becoming the norm, and they increasingly offer smart features that allow you to give voice commands, translate other languages and much more. What Are Smart Headphones? Smart headphones — also called smart earbuds or hearables — are high-tech in-ear devices that do more than transmit audio. These headphones are usually wireless, and they can sync up with your phone, tablet, computer or other Bluetooth-enabled device....

Fiddling with an electrical plug and flipping it around until it easily slides into the correct slots in the outlet can be annoying. But those vertical prongs on a plug are there for good reason. The larger and smaller slots in an outlet and the prongs on the plug are designed to keep you safe as you handle your hairdryer, food processor, vacuum, table lamps and other everyday plug-in electrical items....

Google Does one of your New Year’s resolutions include keeping a cleaner home? Thanks to Google shopping, you can make regular vacuuming easy without breaking the bank. For a limited time, get a mega-discount on one of the best vacuums on the market. Here’s what you need to know ASAP. Shop Now What’s On Sale? If having a feather-light vacuum cleaner is important to you, a stick model is a smart choice....

The “internet of things” is real. Each American home has, on average, 25 internet-connected devices: a thermostat, smart televisions and speakers, a connected garage door opener and more. On our phones we each have an average of 35 mobile apps. But are our apps and devices connected to one another? With If This Then That, or IFTTT, they can be, delivering benefits you’ve probably hoped for. What Is IFTTT? If This Then That, or IFTTT for short, puts the internet to work for you....

stockphotofan1/Shutterstock Summer calls for long, lazy days spent on the beach. When it’s time to pack up and head home, you may work hard to get every grain of sand off of your towels, cooler, the kid’s toys and everyone in the family! But often, despite your best work, sand makes its way into your car. Unless you have a powerful, cordless hand vacuum handy, it can be difficult to deal with the cords and bulk associated with regular vacuums, which is why it’s nice to know some unique yet efficient alternatives to getting sand out of your car if you don’t have access to a vacuum....

Richard Day/Daybreak Imagery A Sweet Treat Your backyard hummingbirds (and butterflies!) go crazy for the abundant nectar in the beautiful late-season purple-and-white blooms. Mexican Bush Sage Salvia leucantha Annual to Zone 8 Perennial in Zones 8 to 10 In cool climates, treat this shrubby perennial as an annual and plant it as soon as the threat of frost has passed. It needs a long growing season and mild winter to survive....

Whether you’re walking along a city sidewalk or hiking deep in the forest, you might occasionally notice paint marks on tree trunks. Those marks are codes used by forestry workers and contractors to pass along a range of messages, from which trees to chop down to which ones need treatment for disease. Why Are Trees in the City Marked With Paint? All cities have codes for marking trees. Here we’ll use Boulder, Colorado, as an example....

Sasima/Shutterstock You moved around the living room furniture and now you have four dents in the carpet where the sofa used to be. Carpet dents are unsightly, but here’s a quick and simple trick that will fix them with little effort and no expense. Double the life of your carpet with these cleaning tips. You can remove a carpet dent with just an ice cube and a spoon. No really, hear us out....

Zip-It Zip It Drain Tool: Drain Unclogger Tool This thin piece of flexible plastic with tiny barbs up and down the sides costs around $5 and can save you hundreds in service calls for clogged drains. Several companies make a similar tool and you’ll see it called a hair snare, a drain cleaning tool, a stick drain cleaner and a drain opener. Whatever you call it, everyone who has a sink and/or bathtub needs a Zip-It in their arsenal of DIY tools....