HOME & GARDEN
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Greenshoot Media
Before you even look at your yard, you need to check with local restrictions, build-
ing codes and homeowners association rules to make sure you can have a fi re pit.
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Wood-burning fi re pits are won-
derful focal points for the gathering
space in your yard.
Bonus: They’re easy to build in an
afternoon. Here’s how.
Select a site
Before you even look at your yard,
you need to check with local restric-
tions, building codes and homeown-
ers association rules to make sure you
can have a fi re pit. You’ll also need
to read your homeowners policy to
make sure it doesn’t aff ect your cov-
erage. Choose a site well away from
the house and with plenty of room to
sit around the fi re. Clear away any
plants an debris from your site.
Get ready to build
To make a circular pit, put a stake
in the center of the site and mark out
a circle where you want the pit to go.
The diameter you draw out should
be slightly larger than the outside
dimensions of the fi re pit ring you’re
going to build. Clear out the sod and
dirt down to a depth of about seven
inches and keep the area level as you
work. Pack the remaining dirt down
solidly with a hand tamper.
What you’ll need
You’ll need trapezoidal blocks,
which are more narrow on one side to
allow the edges to fi t snugly together
in a circle. The bottom of the fi re pit
will be crushed gravel paver base,
available at your local hardware
store, that’s about fi ve inches thick.
Put the gravel down and then wet it
with a hose and tamp it down. Make
sure the surface remains level.
Put down the fi rst layer of blocks
around the hole, checking that it
remains level as you work. If you
need to, add leveling sand beneath
blocks to keep it straight. Assem-
ble the next row of blocks, stagger-
ing the joints. Before you add adhe-
sive, put in the fi re bowl or ring to
check the fi t. Make sure the lip rests
on the edge and adjust the position-
ing as needed. After you’ve checked
to make sure it fi ts well, then reas-
semble the blocks with construction
adhesive. Test fi t each layer before
you add adhesive.
Follow
the
manufacturer’s
instructions for your adhesive to
determine how long it needs to cure
before you can use your fi re pit.
Greenshoot Media
Many plants will help keep mosquitoes from invading your space.
Plants to repel mosquitoes
Greenshoot Media
While you should welcome some
insects to your gardens, there are other
pests that are less welcome.
Among those are the scourge of the
summer months, the mosquito.
What are mosquitoes?
Mosquitoes cause the most deaths
of any other animal taxonomy per
year, killing more than 700,000 peo-
ple annually. Mosquitoes feed on
the blood of host animals, including
humans, and transfer pathogens from
host to host.
Diseases such as malaria, Chikun-
gunya, West Nile virus, dengue fever
and others are spread from mosquito
bites. In humans, mosquitoes appear to
prefer people with type O blood, heavy
breathers and pregnant women.
Most mosquitoes feed during dawn
or dusk and rest during the heat of the
day.
properties to help keep your garden
pest-free this summer.
• Lavender and marigolds. These
fl owering plants emit a smell that
deters mosquitoes. You can grow both
of these in pots and they give you gor-
geous blooms to boot.
• Citronella. You may be familiar
with the citronella candles, but those
things get their distinctive smell from
the citronella plant. It and other lem-
on-scented plants repel mosquitoes.
• Rosemary, basil and sage. These
kitchen herbs also keep mosquitoes
and other pests away from your home.
Both do well in containers or in the
ground.
• Bee balm. This pollinator-friendly
plant also keeps mosquitoes away.
Crush the leaves to release the repel-
lent oils.
• Allium. These bulbs are the fam-
ily that brings you garlic and onions.
They release a strong smell that mos-
quitoes don’t like.
Repelling mosquitoes
What else can you do?
There are a host of mosquito repel-
lents on the market. Candles, brace-
lets, sprays, zappers, they all work,
usually with some chemical help. But
there’s also a natural way to go.
Many plants will help keep mosqui-
toes from invading your space. Here’s
a list of plants with mosquito-repellent
While making the environment
inhospitable to mosquitoes is a great
way to keep them away, you also need
to make sure you aren’t doing them
any favors. Eliminate standing water
as much as possible and treat pools and
ponds to keep mosquitoes from laying
their eggs there.
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