Trash-Can Tonic and Other Tips
Tips for keeping critters out of the trash can, removing skunk odors, deterring deer from eating your produce and loosening rusted screws.
April/May 1999
By the Mother Earth News editors
COUNTRY LORE
• If four-legged critters are having a heyday in your outdoor trash cans, mix up the following recipe:
2 tablespoons liquid dish soap
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 quart warm water
Spray liberally over trash to keep varmints at bay.
• To remove skunk odor from pets, bathe them in a mixture of:
1 quart 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 tablespoon liquid dish soap
Follow with a good, thorough rinsing.
• Loosen tight screws by putting a couple of drops of hydrogen peroxide on them; let soak until the screws turn back and forth easily.
• If Bambi is using your yard as a buffet, try planting some of these deer-repelling, fragrant herbs: catmint, chives, garlic, onions. lavender, sage, spearmint, thyme, and yarrow.
Karen Ann Bland
Gove, Kansas
Send your ideas to "Country Lore. " c/o :Mother Earth News, PO. Box 129, Arden, NC28704. or e-mail MEarthNews@aol.com. Please be sure to include your telephone number and a photograph.