December 30, 2015
Filed under Blog
It seems like the weather just keeps getting more unpredictable. It can be sunny one day, raining the next, then there’s a tornado warning for Fresno the day after that!Below-freezing temperatures can show up suddenly and even surprise the weather bureau. The trouble is, that means dangerous ice can appear on your walk or driveway, and your garden can suffer too if it’s not ready for it.
I Like My Ice with SprinklesFirst, let’s think ahead and prevent problems so they never happen. Water leaks and drippy gutters can create a dangerous skating rink situation. Make sure your gutters are cleaned out and working properly, and that all that runoff water has somewhere to go besides your walkways. If you do have an ice problem, have coarse sand ready to sprinkle on it for better traction. You can also use rock salt, which will melt the ice, but too much can damage your cement and put a lot of salt into the soil nearby. A good solution is to keep a mixture of dry sand and rock salt together in a bucket in your garage, then use a scoop to sprinkle it around on trouble spots.
That First Step is a Doozy
A lot of people are using ladders right now to take down holiday lights, trim broken branches, and so on. The steps or rungs on ladders can be icy when other things aren’t because they’re off the ground where it’s colder, so be extra careful. Even if they’re just wet, metal ladder steps can be slippery under wet boots if they only have those horizontal tread lines. When buying a new ladder, look for one that has diamond-shaped treads so that your foot doesn’t slip sideways when doing work outside in wet weather.
The Plants Were Tucked All Snug in Their Beds
Don’t forget about plant safety! As the very cold temperatures settle in for the next couple of months, make sure your plants are protected from bad cold snaps. Pile mulch up around the bases of tender shrubs and perennials to keep the roots warmer — you may lose the top, but the plant should regrow from the bottom just fine in the spring.
While Visions of Birdseed Danced in Their HeadsWinter safety is for your backyard birds and animals too. When temps drop below freezing, take the hummingbird feeders in at night so that the water doesn’t freeze inside them. For songbirds and squirrels, make sure your seed feeders are full, and use some hot water to refill and melt ice in bird baths so they can get a safe, clean drink instead of drinking from dirty puddles that can contain motor oil or road salt.
Don’t Break the Ice!
If you have an outdoor fish pond and it gets iced over, do not break up the ice with a hammer, because the impact shockwaves can harm your fish. In our climate, a pond should only have ice on it for a few days at a time, and unless the pond is very small or has too many fish in it, it will be just fine with the fish asleep at the bottom. If your pond is in constant shade or you just don’t want to worry about your fish during cold nights, a pond waterfall will keep the water moving, which helps prevent the surface from icing over, or you can get a floating pond de-icer, which doesn’t cost much.
A little prevention is worth a pound of cure, especially when it means that you, your garden, and all the little animals you enjoy are safer and happier when it gets really cold out. If you need help cleaning out your gutters, or fixing those pesky water leaks that can lead to dangerous ice, or adding a waterfall to your fish pond, call The Fix-It Professionals today to schedule an appointment!
