A SPECIAL SECTION OF THE DENISON BULLETIN AND DENISON REVIEW
SPRING HOME IMPROVEMENT www.DBRnews.com | Friday, April 23, 2010
Simple home repairs can prevent bug infestations
Adam Heiden and Greg Lally of Denison Hardscapes work on a retaining wall and steps at the historic McHenry House on 1st Avenue North in Denison. Photo by Jean Dahleen
High school friends build satisfied customer base with landscaping business by Gordon Wolf Just more than five years ago, Greg Lally received a call from high school classmate and friend Adam Heiden. Heiden’s question was basically “How about starting a landscaping business together.” From that phone call, Denison Hardscapes was born. The business specializes in retaining walls, brick pavers for patios and stamped concrete, and offers a complete line of landscaping services. At the time of Heiden’s phone call, Lally had already been working in the landscaping business for about 10 years. He started working for G&G Enterprises in Denison the summer after eighth grade. Graduating from Denison High School in 1999, Lally attended Northwest Missouri State and earned
“I enjoy working outside. You get to do something different every day.” ~ Adam Heiden
a degree in horticulture, with the career goal of working in landscaping. After college he went to work for Estate Gardeners in Omaha, Nebraska. After high school Heiden attended the University of Sioux Falls and graduated with a degree in wellness and fitness leadership. During summer breaks from college he worked in general construction and with concrete. After college he returned to Denison where he worked for Quality Communications. “I decided I wanted to do something different,” Heiden stated, and that
prompted his call to Lally. “Adam kind of called me out of the blue,” said Lally. “We really got started doing side jobs when I would come back to Denison from Omaha on the weekends.” From those weekend jobs, Denison Hardscapes continued to grow. “We did a couple retaining wall jobs and everything progressed from that point,” commented Heiden. “Our first job on the side was probably our biggest job so far,” Heiden added. For that job, a retaining wall for Dewey Petersen in Dunlap, the landscaping
partners used 3,500 landscaping blocks. Denison Hardscapes uses the Versa-Lok retaining wall system. Lally and Heiden design smaller landscaping jobs themselves. For bigger landscaping projects, they turn to the designers at Boulevard Gardens in Omaha. “Greg went to school with one of the designers there,” said Heiden. Spring, summer and fall months will find Lally and Heiden outside, working long hours. “I enjoy working outside,” said Heiden. “You get to do something different every day.” Lally added, “We enjoy the work and also enjoy when we have repeat customers wanting us to work on another project for them. It’s also gratifying when customers refer us to others.”
by Emma Struve Spring is the perfect time to bug-proof your house. This, according to Iowa State University Extension Entomologist Mark Shour who said that during the course of regular spring cleaning, evidence of overwintering pests or areas susceptible to infestation can be easily identified. To start, Shour recommended using a vacuum to clean up spiders and webs. Spiders that take up residence in homes are usually of two types: those that build webs to catch prey or hunting spiders that do not have webs. In the first case, Shour explained, “The spider must have a web, so if you get rid of the web, you get rid of the spider.” Piles of dead bugs can indicate spider predation is occurring. This may also be an entrance point for bugs into the building. As the weather improves, and we begin to open our windows to let in fresh air. Shour advised checking screens. Make sure there are no holes where bugs can enter – especially flying insects. It is also a good idea to seal any cracks around door and window frames. Lady beetles, Shour offered as an example, easily enter through slim cracks and even infiltrate homes by slipping underneath siding (this, too, can be sealed with caulk). Shour does not recommend the use of chemical insecticides for two reasons. The first, insecticides are only effective for a short time, usually about two weeks. Secondly, in order to kill pests, they must come in contact with the insecticide. Maybe most importantly, insecticide is only a “band-aid” for the problem of insect pests in your house. Without determining the entrance point or limiting desirable habitat, usually cleaning food spills, bugs will inevitably return. A prime point-of-entry for insects into many houses is where there is a hole all the way through a wall around electrical or plumbing entrances, for example. Shour suggested packing copper wool, which doesn’t rust as steel wool will, around these utility service points and then sealing over the crack with caulk. This practice will exclude both bugs and rodents. “Ants occasionally come into houses looking for food,” Shour said. Live ants can be vacuumed. In most cases, when the food source is removed – sometimes as simple a project as cleaning the garbage can – the ants are eliminated. Any residues can be cleaned up with soap and water – no need for harsh chemicals. However, finding large, black carpenter ants in a home away from a door or other entry through which they may have incidentally wandered may indicate a water leak. Carpenter ants, Shour explained, use damp, decaying wood to build nests and are sometimes found under the bathroom or kitchen sink. If a nest is located, Shour advised vacuuming the nest and ants up together. Once the water leak is fixed, the ant problem should be, too. PESTS . . . Page 3