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2013 Fall Home Improvement September 25, 2013
Special edition of LINCOLN DAILY NEWS.com
pests to stop breathing and
also coats the tree with a layer
of oily protection. The oil
may cause the leaves of the
fruit trees to turn and fall
prematurely, so use it on ap-
ples and pears after the fruit
crop is done. Most dormant
oil sprays recommend that
you wait until the tree is fully
dormant before application,
but if the whitefly or aphid
infestation is severe, then it
may be time to use another
fruit tree-friendly pesticide
to control the pests. Read the
label and follow the instruc-
tions carefully.
Finally, one of the pests that
attack apple trees is cedar
apple rust. This causes spots
on apple leaves and the fruit
and causes the leaves to fall
prematurely. Cedar apple rust
can be controlled by making
sure there are no cedar trees
within 150-200 feet of apple
trees. This includes junipers,
phitzers and other columnar
cedars. Early fall elimination
of these cedars, where the
cedar apple rust overwinters,
will break the cycle of cedar
apple rust.
by Jim Youngquist
Honey, does it seem
cold in here to you?
Your furnace is probably the most important element in your house-
hold when the weather turns ugly, because its sole task is to keep
you comfortably warm. Most homes have forced-air furnaces that
circulate warmed air through ducts to heat the house. Taking good
care of it now might prevent an emergency call when the “mechani-
cal men” are busiest and less likely to be able to just come right over.
So where do you start? There are three things you can do in the first
weeks of fall to help ensure your heating system provides heat.
The first, and most important, is to clean or change your furnace fil-
ter. The purpose of the filter is to keep dust and other particles from
being spread around your home and to keep your furnace elements
clean. A dirty furnace is an inefficient or failing furnace.
llinois winters range from mild to brutally cold, and
remembering that when it’s 80 degrees in the shade on
the first day of autumn might seem like a far stretch.
But this is probably the best time to get a head start on
preparing your heating system for winter.
I
