Dear Fixie Chick: Our beautiful plants get dug out of their terracotta pots and destroyed, thrown all over the pace and killed, apparently by a raccoon in the middle of the night. We live in Conesus in the woods. How can we prevent our plants from being destroyed? O.W.

Fix: Dear O.W.,
A Raccoon’s diet consists primarily of insects, fish and frogs during the Spring and early Summer. During the late summer and fall, fruits, berries, nuts, and grains are also eaten. I am wondering if your pest might be a ground hog or rabbitt. Both love to dine on green, leafy plants. Either way, here are a couple of solutions to try that should deter most small animal pests.

A very popular animal repellant on the market today is actually electronic and claims to emit soundwaves humans can hear but deters animals from coming any closer. For around $70.00, you can purchase the Yard Guard Animal Repeller. This electronic yard protector uses adjustable, powerful sonic and ultrasonic sound waves to repel dogs, cats, deer, rabbits, raccoons, squirrels, opossums, armadillos, skunks, bats, rodents other creatures and bugs. Humane and effective, ideal for yards, gardens, porches, buildings and greenhouses, for up to 4,000 square feet of coverage. This may not be the best choice for indoor pet owners.

Additionally, you can try natural repellants, some you can purchase, some you can make yourself. Most of the solutions I have seen for sale are made of the urine of the pest’s predator.

Hot Pepper Repellant Recipe
You need:
1. One chopped yellow onion
2. One chopped Jalapeno pepper
3. One tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper
Boil ingredients for 20 minutes in two quarts of water. Then let it cool and strain the mixture through cheesecloth. You can apply this with a pesticide sprayer or a spray bottle. This will deter just about any animal from an area where it is applied. The only draw back is that it only lasts for three to five days.

If you have questions for the Fixie Chick, tune into Property Source Radio – Saturday’s at 9am and email me at PropertySourceRadio.com

by Brenna Hartmann

‘Going Green’ is certainly en vogue. I haven’t shopped, watched television, read a newspaper or listened to the radio in the last year without learning something about or of some way companies and consumers are making ‘green’ choices.

Everyone is talking about reducing their carbon footprint. Have you ever wondered what that means exactly? Well I did, so I looked it up. Here’s how Wikipedia defines it: A Carbon Footprint is a “measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of green house gases produced, measures in units of carbon dioxide”. Here’s what that means to me: the common thought, although some scientists dispute this, is that we are loading up the atmosphere with too much carbon dioxide or CO2, which is causing global warming. Long story short, we are upsetting the balance of nature.

No one knows exactly what the effects of this will be, but rising oceans resulting in crop damage and food shortages, tropical diseases and all sorts of calamities have been predicted.

Since 1751 roughly 315 billion tons of carbon have been released to the atmosphere from the consumption of fossil fuels and cement production alone. Half of these emissions have occurred since the mid 1970’s.

So, it looks like we’re escalating at a pretty rapid pace.

The science is clear: global warming is happening faster than ever and humans are responsible. When we turn on our lights, cook our food, wash and dry our clothes, or heat or cool our homes, we are using energy sources such as coal and oil. These energy sources emit carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the earth’s atmosphere. Over time, the build up of these gasses causes global warming. Global warming destabilizes the delicate eco balance that makes life on this planet possible. Just a few degrees in temperature can completely change the world as we know it and threaten the lives of millions of people around the world.

Dr. James Hansen, of NASA, the United States’ space agency, has been researching global warming longer than just about anyone else. He was the first to publicly testify before the U.S. Congress, in June of 1988, that global warming was real. He and his colleagues have used real-world observation, computer simulation, and mountains of data about ancient climates to calculate what constitutes dangerous quantities of carbon in the atmosphere. These studies have revealed that the planet is in its danger zone because we’ve poured too much carbon into the atmosphere, and we’re starting to see signs of real trouble like melting ice caps and rapidly spreading drought.

As of the year 2008, carbon in the atmosphere was measured at about 387 parts per million (PPM). At that time, researchers and climatologists we calling to reduce that number to 340 PPM, saying that we need to scramble back as quickly as we can to safety. In mid-December, giving the climactic speech at the Poznan global warming conference, Al Gore set a new bottom line for the climate debate: 350 PPM. 350 is the number that leading scientists say is the safe upper limit for carbon dioxide-measured in “Parts Per Million” in our atmosphere. 350 PPM-it’s the number humanity needs to get back to as soon as possible to avoid runaway climate change.

This is certainly a global movement. In order to slow the warming of our planet, every person on the globe needs to reduce his or her carbon footprint. It can be done. If every American household switched just one light bulb to an Energy Star Bulb, every year our country would save $600 million in energy costs. That’s enough to light 3 million homes and avoid the green house gases equal to 800,00 cars.

So you see, green matters. And every time you make green choices you are personally contributing to the reduction of carbon in the atmosphere

Brenna Hartmann is the founder of Fixin’Chix Inc., a do-it-yourself enterprise that includes a comprehensive home improvement website; how-to workshops, seminars and publications; and a product line. Brenna is dedicated to empowering women “do-it herselfers” (DIHers) who have the passion and desire to improve their homes. Brenna writes the popular Fixie Chick home improvement column found in the Democrat & Chronicle, and is the co-host of “Home & Yard Radio with the Fixie Chick” on 950 ESPN. Brenna lives in Webster with her husband and two children.

By Brenna Hartman

Happy New Year! With a sigh of relief we bid farewell to 2008 and optimistically head into 2009. Tradition dictates that at the start of a new year we make resolutions in an effort to change and improve our selves and our lives. Among the most popular resolutions are those that will affect our health and well being and those that will impact our surroundings; our homes and workplace, our personal space and the environment. This year in particular we can’t ignore the financial challenges most of us are faced with as we begin a new year in uncertain times. Cutting costs and saving cash will be high on everyone’s list of New Year’s resolutions this year. We are creatures of habit. Change makes us uncomfortable and usually it takes a big reason for us to make changes in our accustomed way of living. Whether that big reason is personal, financial or a desire to remedy and improve our environment, the change has to start with you and it begins in your brain. When we make the decision to embrace green living it can seem like a huge endeavor. But many small changes can add up to a big impact on your health and on our environment. Where to begin? I believe the best starting point is right at home because you will notice the results up close and personal and thus you’ll be encouraged to continue your green efforts beyond your immediate environs. What does green clean mean?  It means the absence of chemicals, toxins and carcinogens in our homes, in our clothing and ultimately in our environment. Going green requires a good amount of thought and discipline. Think of all the detergents, cleansers, polishes, lotions, creams, sprays, etc. that are in use in your home. Gather together all that you find that have the words, danger or caution or harmful in the labeling. Look at the ingredients list on these products. Can you even pronounce some of those words??? Don’t you feel a little prickle on the back of your neck as you ask yourself ”I wonder what that is?” The next step is where the discipline comes in. Start eliminating these products from your home. Use them up (shudder) or take them to your local recycling location to be disposed of. Now you’re on your way to greener, cleaner living. 

First on your list of chemicals to go is anything with the words “chlorine bleach”.  Don’t worry, you can still disinfect your tub and toilet without it!

One of my closest friends had a daily surface bleaching ritual both at home and at work. Sadly she passed away at age 39 from a rare cancer that wrapped it’s self like a corkscrew around her nasal cavities and ultimately through her brain. Though no doctor has ever confirmed the cause, I have my theories. 

Replace these dangerous chemicals with safer mixtures of  natural disinfectants like hydrogen peroxide, tea tree oil, citrus oils and even vodka works well. To remove mold/mildew from grout, make a paste of hydrogen peroxide, baking soda and tea tree oil. Gently work the area with a scrub brush.

The “scented chemical water” we’re all brainwashed into thinking we need in order to be good housekeepers should also be on the list to go. Replace the expensive, all-purpose spray with an easy blend of 1 cup of water, 1 cup of white vinegar, 2 capfuls of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol and one drop of liquid dish soap.

Think you’ll miss that sparkly blue window cleaner and that country garden scented floor cleaner? I think not. When you realize the cost savings after you’ve switched to natural, environmentally friendly cleaning methods, you’ll be happy you made the change. Your home will be clean, toxin & germ free and it will smell like…well it will smell like nothing because clean doesn’t smell! Imagine that!  

By Brenna Hartman

We have all been learning about the need for energy independence and how solar energy plays an important roll in the sustainable and renewable energy market.

I once read an article about the country Germany, and how most residential buildings are solar powered.  Not only do these homeowners incur ZERO electricity costs, but they actually get paid by the utility for energy they  “over-produce” and sell. I thought that was pretty smart and I wanted to find out how I could pay zero dollars for electricity AND make money on excess energy the sun can produce and I can sell! 

That led me to have a certified renewable energy company come out to my home to perform what is called a “Solar Site Analysis”.

The whole process took about two hours. The first step was to set up a small device known as the “solar pathfinder” on the south side of my home.  This would be the most logical place to install a solar device on my home. A “solar pathfinder” is basically a high-tech sundial that the auditor carefully positioned outside my home.  The auditor then photographed the data presented on the pathfinder.  As I understand it, the pathfinder measures the shade in this particular area of my property. The shade will determine the ‘loss’ of solar power at different times of the day and months of the year.

Next, the photograph was digitally inserted into the auditors computer program, the data was processed and calculated, and turned into a “solar site analysis report”.

Once the report was completed, the auditor sent the report data  to a NYSERDA (New York State Energy And Research Development) program that is able to calculate a “solar electric system costs and savings” report.

This report features estimated annual results along with a net system cost.  Additionally, it calculates state and federal government incentives. Ultimately, the final printed report shows all of the above plus the total cost for the solar system and the estimated return on investment.

To learn how you can have your own Solar Site Analysis Performed and what government incentives are available, contact  NYSERDA (New York State Energy And Research Development) 1-866-NYSERDA.

Brenna Hartmann is the co-founder of Fixin’Chix Inc., a do-it-yourself enterprise that includes a comprehensive home improvement website; how-to workshops, seminars and publications; and a product line. Brenna is dedicated to empowering women “do-it herselfers” (DIHers) who have the passion and desire to improve and green their homes. She is the co-host of “Home & Yard Radio with the Fixie Chick” on ESPN-AM (950). Brenna lives in Webster with her husband and two children. Email Brenna at fixiechick@homeandyardhandbook.com �