Strong Winds Today

Santa Ana winds are back with a vengeance with gusts as high as 25 mph (and could occasionally gust over 40 mph). Loose dirt and debris are flying out in all directions and not too long a large branch fell from a neighbor’s Elm Tree. The air quality is currently very unhealthy. As for my allergies, I can only pray they do not flare-up. I am hoping we do not have power outages.

It’s been so long, so much that I can’t remember the last time I saw mosquitoes until yesterday. They seem to have made a comeback. I don’t know what attracts them to my yard as I do not have standing water nor have I seen a single breeding ground. The thought of not being able to work out in the yard was so unbearable and my kids can’t stand them; so I sprayed Ortho Home Defense Backyard Mosquito and Bug around the house and they are now all gone. I am also in the process of treating the yard with Mosquito Barrier.

There are strange mushroom popping here and there and I read somewhere that mosquitoes are attracted to their smell. I will look around and get rid of every single one of them.

For the past months, we failed to capture a ground squirrel that burrowed under the garage foundation. We were helpless in front of the potential structural damages and spent money on products which didn’t work (Tomcat® Ready-to-Spray Mole and Gopher Repellent, AMDRO Gopher Gasser, Sweeney’s Poison Peanuts Bait, Squirrel Cage Trap, etc.)

This particular squirrel would spend its nights on our property and spend its days on the property across from ours. We bought AMDRO Mole & Gopher Tunnel Trap and had no success for the first two days as the squirrel just created an opening next to the device. On the third day, which was Sunday, it worked. It was such a nuisance. Good riddance. What a relief!