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5 easy ways to make your garden a great home for your pets

<p>Making your garden pet friendly isn’t as tricky as you think.</p> <ol> <li><strong>Desirable doghouse</strong></li> </ol> <p>Make sure the kennel is large enough for your dog to lie down and sit up comfortably, and small enough for him to keep warm with body heat. Use old towels and blankets for insulation and bedding – they’re easy to wash and keep flea free. Shelter the entrance from wind and raise the floor to prevent dampness.</p> <ol start="2"> <li><strong>Fresh repellent</strong></li> </ol> <p>Fed up with a dog repeatedly digging up the same spot in your garden? Keep the dog away by scattering a crumbled cake of toilet freshener over the area – the smell really puts them off.</p> <ol start="3"> <li><strong>Fruitful solution</strong></li> </ol> <p>Cats are repelled by the smell of citrus. To deter the local moggies from digging up young plants, poke pieces of citrus rind into the soil of flower and vegetable beds, then dust lightly with soil. Stockpile peel in the freezer for when the fruit is out of season.</p> <ol start="4"> <li><strong>Ants can’t swim</strong></li> </ol> <p>If your dog eats its meals in the garden, stop the ants from taking over by placing the food bowl in a dish filled with water.</p> <ol start="5"> <li><strong>No-tip dish</strong></li> </ol> <p>Put water for your dog in a ring-style cake tin – the type that has a hole in the middle – and place it in a shady spot in the garden. To anchor the tin and prevent spills, drive a stake through the hole into the ground below. No amount of pawing will upturn it.</p> <p><em>Written by Reader’s Digest Editors. This article first appeared in <a href="https://www.readersdigest.com.au/diy-projects/5-easy-ways-make-your-garden-great-home-your-pets">Reader’s Digest</a>. For more of what you love from the world’s best-loved magazine, <a href="http://readersdigest.innovations.co.nz/c/readersdigestemailsubscribe?utm_source=over60&amp;utm_medium=articles&amp;utm_campaign=RDSUB&amp;keycode=WRN93V">here’s our best subscription offer</a>.</em></p>

Family & Pets

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7 surprising ways to get rid of ants around the home

<p>Ants are houseguests no one wants to cater for and if you don’t deal with them straight away they can quickly spiral into a problem that’s out of control.</p> <p>That being said, traditional methods of getting rid of ants like emptying half a can of bug spray on the nest are not only ineffective, but harmful for your home.</p> <p>The good news is you don’t need to tolerate the ant’s presence.</p> <p>The folks at <a href="http://www.tiphero.com" target="_blank"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Tip Hero</strong></span></a> have put together a video outlining seven surprising (yet very effective) ways to get rid of ants in and around the home. While a few of the methods seem a little out of left field, they are all reliable ways to get the job done.</p> <p>What’s your go to method for getting rid of ants, and how effective is it? Is there any tips that you’d suggest we should try ourselves?</p> <p>Let us know in the comments below.  </p> <p><em>Video credit: Rumble / Tip Hero </em></p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/04/uses-for-vinegar-in-the-garden/" target="_blank">10 uses for vinegar in the garden</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/health/body/2016/04/researchers-discover-why-bed-bugs-survive-insecticides/">Researchers discover why bed bugs survive insecticides</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/01/tips-for-growing-tomatoes/" target="_blank"><strong>Top tips for growing tomatoes</strong></a></em></span></p> <p> </p>

News

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The secret to getting rid of ants overnight

<p>There’s nothing worse than finding a long trail of ants in the kitchen. While you can squash these tiny insects with a finger that rarely solves the problem as they only seem to return with their whole army in force. If you’re not a fan of the odour or chemicals in insect repellents, here’s an all-natural solution that works wonders in getting rid of ants fast. The secret is the 100 per cent natural product, Borax, which is found in most ant-control products. </p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">What you need: </span></strong></p> <ul> <li>1 cup of warm water</li> <li>1/2 cup of sugar</li> <li>2 tablespoons of Borax</li> </ul> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">How to: </span></strong></p> <p>1. Mix ingredients together and soak cotton balls with mixture. Leave cotton balls near trails of ants overnight.</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/01/natural-ways-to-get-rid-of-cockroaches/"></a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/01/how-to-sharpen-knife-with-mug/">Genius trick to sharpen knives without sharpener</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/01/natural-ways-to-get-rid-of-cockroaches/"></a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/01/how-to-keep-food-for-longer/">15 great kitchen hacks to extend the life of food and save on waste</a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/01/natural-ways-to-get-rid-of-cockroaches/"></a></strong></em></span></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/lifestyle/home-garden/2016/01/dirty-home-items/">5 surprisingly dirty things in your house</a></strong></em></span></p>

Home & Garden