~ Who does not love being outdoors in the Summer? Sometimes it might be a little too warm, but even when it’s hot, you can still find ways to enjoy yourself. Sunny Summer months allow you to spend more time outside, whether you want to do some gardening or just sit back and relax in your favorite lounger. However, Summer can also come with various hidden dangers to your health and your home. It’s important to stay safe, so you should check that you’re not doing anything dangerous or neglecting your safety. Before you enjoy your yard this Summer, consider the following options.
Create Some Shade
Enjoying the sunshine is half the fun of Summer. Some people get to enjoy plenty of sunshine all year, but not everyone is so lucky. If you can’t wait to soak up the rays, just remember that you can have too much of a good thing. You might want to enjoy the sun sometimes, but you should seek cover from the potent sun rays hiding in the shade. If your yard doesn’t have any shaded areas for you to sit in, you can easily create such areas around the property. Use an awning, an umbrella or even a gazebo so that you have somewhere to hide from the sun and still enjoy your yard.
Hide or Secure Your Valuables
One of the problems with Summer is that you might start to keep more things outdoors. While that’s fine when there’s someone there to watch over your stuff, but if not, you don’t want to leave anything valuable unsupervised. If someone spots your bicycle, your outdoor speakers or even your trampoline in your yard, there’s a risk that they could take it. Or they might read it as an indication that you have more valuables inside. When you’re not in your yard, especially at night, make sure you put away anything that could be easily stolen. Some larger items might also benefit from being fixed in place. Just yesterday, a local gardening member posted a picture of his two blue flower planters that were stolen at night. So sad, thus, luck your possessions, please.
Get Rid of Mosquitos
Bugs are one of the worst things about Summer. From those that bite or sting to the ones that just annoy you by buzzing around, you don’t want to put up with them. Mosquitos are one of the worst culprits because they can carry diseases. If you’re worried about mosquitos, head to this link to find out how to treat your yard and keep them away. You might also want to think about other bugs, such as borrowing beetles, or flies, that could be a health hazard or might affect your plants. Ticks can carry diseases that might get passed to you or your pets too, and you can treat your garden to get rid of them. Only wish I was aware of how to protect the yard before being tick bitten in Maryland. It’s not worth the aggravation, health side effects and continuous antibiotics doze for the duration of many weeks…Ugh.
Cover Bodies of Water
Having a pool or pond in your yard is great during the Summer. However, it can also be dangerous, especially for children and some animals, too. In some places, you might be required to cover your pool or have a fence around it to keep people out (such as we do). Legally, it might be considered as an “attractive nuisance,” which means you could be blamed if any young children are hurt by accessing your pool. Even small ponds can be dangerous, particularly for toddlers and small children. Covering your pool or pond with mesh wire or something similar helps to keep it safe but still allows you to admire it.
Install and Check a Fence
A fence around your yard keeps the intruders out and limits access to strangers. If you have children or pets who play outside your home, you want to be able to keep them safe without necessarily having to watch them all the time. If you have a fence already, check that it’s in good condition. If there is a gate, make sure it’s functional and secure. A new fence could be a good idea if you don’t already have one or if the one you have is no longer adequate.
Watch Out for Poisonous Plants
As much as I love nature, some plants are not ideal to have in your garden. They might look good, but that doesn’t mean that you want them around. Some might be bad for cats or dogs to ingest, while others could irritate your skin or exacerbate your hayfever. You might not even have intended to plant anything that could be dangerous, but it’s found its way into your garden anyway. It’s worth checking to see if anything unexpected has sprung up, just to make sure there’s nothing hiding anywhere. If you find the vegetative growth that could be dangerous, remove it safely wearing garden gloves, throw it in the trash bag and tie it tightly.
Put Away Chemicals
If you have gardening products that could be dangerous, make sure that they’re out of the reach of children and pets. You don’t want anyone getting into substances that could harm them if they consume them or even touch them. Put everything away somewhere safe, from weed killers, oils to plant food. Use a shed or greenhouse that you can lock up, or perhaps an outdoor storage box.
Be Grill and Fire Safe
Lighting a fire in the cooler evenings or cooking on the grill is great to do in the Summer. But there’s also a lot of potential for injury if you’re not careful. As well as keeping children and pets safe, make sure that all adults are sensible around grills and fire pits. Keep flammables away and keep an eye on your grill or fire pit. Make sure you fully extinguish a fire before retiring for the evening. Teach your children how to be safe around the grill or fire, and use barriers to keep them from getting too close.
Check for Trip Hazards
Finally, check to see if anything hidden in your yard might trip someone or make them fall down. A loose slab in your patio, extended tree roots, wet leaves or an uneven bit of ground might not seem like a big deal. Although, if someone trips and falls over, it could result in some unwanted hurts and negative memories, to say the least.
Stay safe this Summer, my friends, by checking your yard for any potential hazards. Spending some time making sure your yard is safe will help you enjoy the upcoming warm season months.
Luda@PlantsandBeyond🌿
Photographs listed here do not belong to Luda @PlantsandBeyond.com
©PlantsandBeyond.com
Some excellent tips and great photos, thank you.
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Thank you very much
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Great advice Luda as always and you think like I do in not only caring for your home but others who may visit. Ticks Rose Geranium Essential Oil for both pet and person. Good link below.
http://www.primallyinspired.com/easy-natural-tick-repellent-that-really-works-essential-oils/#
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Oh wow, so interesting. off to read it and thank you for sharing dear Nanette. You are always full of wonderful ideas.
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Oh wow, N! Just finished reading. I only wish to know about this decades ago. Dogs and I were effected and bitten with weeks of antibiotics. Can’t believe its so simple. Now I have to tell my family back in Maryland. Quite epidemic it is. I thank you so very much. You are amazing.
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Your very welcome.
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Good advice, as always, Luda. I like all the photos you select, too. Maybe next summer I’ll get around to building that shed to store everything.😁
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Shed sounds so useful. Thank you for visiting and checking in, dear Eilene
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A great post with tons of advice on how to make your backyards safer and more enjoyable during the warm summer months, Luda!
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Thank you dear Peter and thank you for your patience with me for not responding sooner.
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very good tips! thank you! 🙂 wishing you a summer filled with smiles. 🙂
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Awww, thank you very much, Wendi and you tooooooo
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🙂 bless you!
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Blessings to you too. Thank you for making my eve, Wendi.
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thank you! 🙂
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Great tips, Luda! 🙂
We have poison ivy growing (again) in our yard by the river. I am highly allergic to it. I’ll have to spray it with herbicide soon.
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Oh that is so inconvinient. but some people are not allergic to it, hopefully you are one of them, Tom
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Did the tick bite make you sick? I was bitten a couple of weeks ago and I didn’t have any issues except itching at the bite.
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Yes – bulls eye twice on the leg – had to be on antibiotics for 3 weeks each time 😢 dogs were covered in them too . Pretty bad in Maryland ….
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Was it fever? Chills? Throwing up? What were your symptoms?
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Oh no. Is it still itching ?! Are there any signs and Symptoms of redness/swelling? Bulls eye? Weakness , fever Rash…Send me a pict of the bite pls. I didn’t want to take any chances of being sick later in life so resorted to instant antibiotic therapy.
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It doesn’t itch, anymore. It is healing. I have a reddish-brown dot that continues to get smaller. I may wind up with a small scar. I never could get its damn head out. My body absorbed it and it is dissolving.
I had no fever, no weakness, no rash…just itching. I hit it with alcohol, hydrogen peroxide & CBD oil. It itched like hell for a while. Drove me crazy.
I will *attempt* to get a shot. It is close to my groin area, sooooo…😆
People have been bitten by ticks & skeeters for 1000s of years. Only the immune-compromised have trouble. And, screw a bunch of antibiotics. All you are doing there is messing up your bacterial balance in your gut. And, if you run a fever…run it. That is what your body is designed to do.
OY. Don’t get me started on allopathic medicine. Nothing but butchers and fear-mongers.
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Dear Victoria. I understand how you feel about medicine for I am in the same boat, but one of my closest fam. member had the same itch for two weeks and tried to cure it with hydrocortizone and then his whole body was compromised (about a month later with low grade fever) Pls decide what is good for you, but I have to share this experience with you just so you would be aware of a similar situation
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Did not mean to offend.
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Oh no no no – not at all 👍🏻🤗☀️😊💐
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❤
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I shall keep this advice handy for next summer, here down under. Thank you.
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How nice, thank you Crabandfish 🙂
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Excellent tips and great photos!👏👏
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Thank you dear Richa!
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Your Blog is one of the Best Garden blogs in the portal.
Thanks for all the tips.
Shiva
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You are amazing – thank you for making my day❤️✨🌴
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It was my pleasure but your comment made my day too.
😀🙏
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