Category Archives: Home and Garden

I Just Learned Why Horseshoes Are Really Considered Lucky, And It’s Dark

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It probably won’t surprise you to learn that “stealing someone’s thunder” and “spilling the beans” have a pretty unusual relationship to the weather and legumes they describe.

Common phrases like “o’clock” and “pardon my French” have unexpected origins, too.

But what about superstitions like horseshoes? How come an animal’s foot covering came to mean good luck, so much so that you can still find some nailed to the doors of people’s homes?

According to riding wear suppliers at Discount Equestrian, the answer is a little wilder (and darker) than I thought.

Why are horseshoes considered lucky?

One story, the horse experts said, related to 10th-century monk and bishop St Dunstan and the devil (oh!).

“The legend of the horseshoe is closely associated with St Dunstan, today the patron saint of goldsmiths, locksmiths, and jewellers,” they said.

“As the story goes, while living as a hermit in Glastonbury, he was visited by Satan, who asked him to use his blacksmithing skills to shoe the devil’s hoof.”

The legend says that because St Dunstan recognised the visitor for who he was, he nailed a red-hot horseshoe to his hoof.

So, the devil learned to be afraid of the iron symbol and steered clear of houses which displayed them on their doors.

Some also believe that nailing seven holes into a horseshoe attached to your door will add to its luckiness.

The ‘n’ angle, with the heels pointing down, has been believed to pour blessings on visitors, while the “U” shape may be used to keep any good fortune from spilling out.

Iron has long been considered lucky

This is not the only factor that goes into the choice, Discount Equestrian said.

Horsehoes are made from iron, which was once considered a talismanic metal used to keep witches and other supernatural forces at bay.

“The horseshoe is a perfect example of a symbol that has crossed centuries without people really knowing why they use it,” the pros explained.

“It combines practicality that iron was once precious, with deep religious folklore about protecting the home. When people hang one today, they’re unknowingly repeating a thousand-year-old superstition.”

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UK Gardeners Urged To Keep These 5 Weeds Alive In Autumn

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Autumn is a great month for gardeners for many reasons. Not only are your fruits and veggies at their bountiful best, but according to experts, ’tis the season to do less.

Leaving unraked leaves on your lawn, for instance, can provide a comfortable place for struggling wildlife, while keeping ivy unpruned can provide a rare late-blooming food source for birds and pollinators.

And according to Chris Bonnett, the founder of GardeningExpress.co.uk, autumn is a good time to ignore certain animal-friendly weeds too.

“Weeds don’t always have to be bad news – some of them can actually be very valuable for your local wildlife,” he said.

“You don’t have to let your garden become overrun, but if you’ve got space, leaving a patch of weeds to grow can make a huge difference to the biodiversity in your garden,” Bonnet added – weeds such as:

1) Dandelions

Sure, these are usually associated with early spring nectar. But per the gardening expert, “Their fluffy seed heads are a valuable food source for birds such as goldfinches and sparrows”.

That’s why leaving a few to go to seed can be so valuable for struggling wildlife.

2) Nettles

Though they might sting us, they provide food for butterfly species like the red admiral and tortoiseshell.

“When temperatures start to drop, nettle patches also provide shelter for insects preparing to overwinter,” Bonnett added.

3) Thistles

Despite its reputation as a weed, the Wildlife Trusts points out that the seeds of the thistle offer food to birds like goldfinches, even after their flowers stop providing nectar for butterflies like the small copper.

Bonnett agrees: “As their flowering season comes to an end and their seed heads are ripening, they offer a feast for flocks of goldfinches and other birds.”

4) Dock

Not only can these provide welcome relief for any accidental stings (seeing as nettles have their place in your winter garden), but they deliver both food and shelter too.

“Dock’s large, broad leaves create sheltered microhabitats and their leaves are a vital food source for the larvae of insects like the green dock beetle,” Bonnett said.

“In late summer and early autumn, its seeds provide a reliable food source for seed-eating birds.”

5) Broadleaf plantain

You might notice this growing in the cracks of pavements and on your borders.

“Its broad leaves provide food for small mammals like rabbits, as well as insects such as bees, hoverflies and certain caterpillars,” Bonnett said.

“The dense rosettes also offer shelter for insects and other small creatures, making it a valuable plant for biodiversity.”

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Brits Urged To Keep A Bowl Of Salt On Their Windowsills This Month

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With UK weather expected to remain “blustery and wet” for the foreseeable future, those in mould-prone homes might be starting to notice condensation building on their windows.

This happens when warm air meets a cold surface, so it’s likelier to happen during chilly periods. Condensation is the most common cause of mould, which is why taking steps like “burping” your home in winter can be so beneficial.

But if you’re not interested in leaving your windows open any longer than you strictly have to in the cooler months, fear not ― it turns out a simple bowl of salt might help.

Can a bowl of salt help to reduce condensation?

Speaking to Homes & Gardens, archaeologist and home care expert Barry Gray from The Tool Square said a bowl of salt can help to “pull moisture out of the air, making rooms drier”.

He added, “Salt has adsorption properties, which means that it can bind to moisture and prevent it from developing condensation. This is why salt is often used in the kitchen to stop water droplets from forming on dishes or silverware.”

Rock salt seems to be particularly recommended, though absorbent bicarbonate of soda could help to do the job too.

The baking ingredient, Cut Plastic Sheeting toldThe National, will beome hard and solid as it absorbs more and more liquid ― once it’s stiffened, it’s time to throw the powder away.

How else can I prevent mould and condensation in my home this autumn?

Proper ventilation is key, be it through an extraction fan or an open window.

Drying your clothes outside if you can and trying not to keep spaces like cupboards overstuffed can also be helpful.

Whatever you do, though, don’t be tempted to use bleach, Danny Pen, a heating and plumbing expert and president of New Era Plumbing & HVAC, told HuffPost UK previously.

He warned that “bleach and vinegar can sometimes make situations with black mould even worse” because substances like bleach “only removes mould from the surface [which] leaves spores behind, and vinegar can trigger mould to release additional spores as a defence mechanism”.

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The Overlooked Insects Your Garden Could Save From Extinction

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While we have been repeatedly informed that we need to ‘save the bees’ over the past decade or so, researchers from Sheffield’s School of Biosciences say there are two more pollinators we need to look out for, who are just as at risk.

The critters in question are moths and hover flies – not quite as cute and charismatic as bees, but just as essential to our ecosystems.

Looking at urban development and the impact on insects, researchers found that for every 10% increase in impervious surfaces – such as roads and building cover – there was a reduction of up to 7.5% in the variety of pollinating species.

However, the number of moths and hover flies of any species took a far greater hit compared to bees.

So, how do we help moths and hover flies?

If you’re the kind of gardener who has keenly planted flowers for pollinators such as bees, the researchers urge to continue this kind of proactive approach by inviting moths and hover flies to your garden, too.

Emilie Ellis, lead author of the study, told The Guardian: “It’s just a matter of taking [moths and hover flies] into account and maybe having some more shrubs or a pond or something like that to also benefit those insects.

“The diversity of habitat is the most important – so you need your flower patch, you need a tree, you need some shrubs, you need an untouched bit of grass – and kind of just keeping the patches that you have diverse and catering for all different types of insects and animals.”

Moths – of which there are 2,500 types in the UK – particularly like jasmine, honeysuckle, ivy, sweet rocket and evening primrose, according to the RSPB.

Ellis also advised to get neighbours involved, too, saying: “A huge thing that’s important is collaborating and talking to your neighbours and families and friends and encouraging them to do it too.

“Because an individual allotment or flower garden is pretty small and almost useless, but when you create a whole network of people that are interested and engaged, these small little patches can become these huge habitat networks in cities.”

BRB, getting my gardening gloves out.

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After Reports Of ‘Cat-Sized Rats’, We Need To Know: Are UK Rats Getting Bigger?

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I wasn’t expecting to read a headline about cat-sized rats while eating my lunch today – but here we are.

According to news reports, a massive rat “the size of a cat” was discovered in a person’s home in Teesside (the Mirror actually went one step further and likened it to a dog in size). The rodent was said to be a whopping 56cm long.

Meanwhile Birmingham, which has been impacted by bin strikes for weeks on end that have seen bags of waste piled high in residential areas, is also witnessing feline-sized rodents.

One resident Kim Blakeman told the BBC: “The rats are huge – they are like small cats and their tails are really chunky.”

So, are rats getting bigger?

Pest controller David Parnell suggested the cat-sized rat found in Teesside is not a one off. “The rats are getting bigger, bolder and harder to deal with,” he wrote in a piece for the Independent.

He suggested the possible increase in size we’re witnessing is due to genetics, but also what rats are eating – namely, takeaways and processed food that people are “carelessly” chucking out.

Leaving bin bags in streets is giving rats – who can easily chew through wires, so a bag won’t phase them – a free ticket to an all-you-can-eat buffet. But it’s not just that that’s causing the problem.

“The UK has created a perfect storm for rats: poor waste management, exploding takeaway culture, weak sewer infrastructure and water companies failing to maintain ageing systems,” Parnell said, suggesting rats have even crept up water pipes into people’s toilet bowls.

But Niall Gallagher, the British Pest Control Association (BPCA)’s technical manager, suggested “generally, there’s no evidence that rats are getting physically bigger on average”.

That said, every year a pest professional is bound to stumble across an “outlier”.

He told HuffPost UK: “A typical rat measures around 9 inches long (not including tail). With the proper environmental conditions, such as easy access to an open water source, food source and safe harbourage from predators, they have been known to grow to larger sizes of around 17 inches!”

How to keep rats away

Rat populations peak from August to October, so chances are you might catch a glimpse of one in the coming months. (Although hopefully they won’t be cat-sized.)

If you do want to keep them out of your home and garden, follow this advice:

1. Get rid of food and water sources

Don’t leave your BBQ leftovers out in the garden (even the bones). Clear away and wash food bowls and plates once they’ve been used.

Rats will eat “almost anything”, said Miroslav Radov, owner of garage clearance company Rainbow Rubbish removals. “Therefore, ensuring that you have eliminated any food or water sources that they could feed off is crucial.”

He added that if there’s no available food source, “rats will be less likely to reproduce, which can aid in ensuring that rat numbers don’t multiply in your property”.

2. Inspect your home for entry points

Despite growing to large sizes, rats can squeeze through very small holes (we’re talking a 15mm gap), so now’s the time to scout around for any entry points that a rat could sneak through – and seal them up.

Gallagher advises people to “plug any gaps around pipes, cables, near doors and windows with mesh or wire wool and quick-drying cement”.

“Check that inspection covers for drains are in good repair and securely closed, and that any disused pipes are sealed off,” he added.

3. Keep clutter to a minimum

While eliminating food sources and sealing entry points are crucial to keeping rats away, so too is minimising clutter in your home and garden, said Radov. This is because piles of junk can serve as a great hiding, (or worse) nesting, place for rats.

Gallagher said overgrown patches of weeds, piles of wood and debris can provide nesting sites and routes of travel for rats. He also advised to “trim back overhanging branches or climbing plants” as these can provide routes into higher roof spaces for rats, mice and squirrels.

4. Get a decent dustbin with a lid that stays on

Rats love rubbish, so if your dustbin lid is prone to blowing off in the faintest breeze, it’s time to sort it, as Gallagher said: “Rubbish bins should have a securely fitting lid which is kept closed at all times. Any food waste should be bagged before going into an outside bin to avoid attracting pests.”

5. Call for backup

If you do have a rat inside your home, it’s time to call an expert. In the event of an infestation taking hold, BPCA recommends contacting one of its members for help via bpca.org.uk/find.

Best of luck!

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UK Gardeners Urged To Pee In Watering Cans For 2 Surprising Benefits

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The UK’s recent heatwave has ended (for now), meaning watering and mowing rules have gone back to normal for gardeners.

Still, a bowl of water left in your garden remains useful for animals like hedgehogs, and though this week is safer than last for trimming your grass, you might want to keep your cut shreds on the lawn.

And according to author and former garden manager for various Royal Horticultural Society and National Trust sites, Simon Akeroyd, apparently, we should be peeing in our watering cans too.

“Sorry if this horrifies you,” a recent Instagram Reel of his read, “But the key to successfully growing plants is natural fertiliser.”

Why pay for specially-made products, the gardener argued, when “you have free access to the best natural stuff out there” – pee?

How could pee possibly help plants grow?

Calling your very own liquid gold the “best plant food” out there, Akeroyd shared that wee is “high in the three main plant nutrients needed for healthy plant growth – nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.

“It’s particularly high in nitrogen,” he continued.

Nitrogen is key to plant health as it provides the building blocks of their DNA (though too much isn’t great for them either – nitrogen created by sewage can throw off the ecosystems of waterways, leading to too much algae).

That may be why Akeroyd recommends diluting your free plant feed “at a rate of about ten parts water to one part wee.”

Once placed in a watering can, t can be used to treat plants “once a week,” he added.

The expert isn’t alone – a 2017 paper published in Environmental Science and Technology reads, “Human urine contains significant amounts of N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorus); therefore, it has been successfully used as fertiliser in different crops.”

“Humans have been collecting urine and using it for fertiliser for a long, long time, but then in the west that really stopped with the invention of [the] sewage system,” Dr Krista Wigginton, who researched the topic, told The Guardian.

“We are just trying now to figure out with this infrastructure system that we have, how do we pull back and think differently about what goes into this sewage system and capture some of those valuable products before [they] get mixed and diluted with everything else?”

Does pee get rid of foxes?

Some people report that male human pee, and especially the first one of the day, can repel foxes by interrupting their scent markers.

“Once the fox’s scent has been masked, they will feel more vulnerable and leave your garden altogether. This is a free, effective, if not a bit strange way to get rid of foxes without killing them,” Shield Pest Control wrote.

As Black Foxes UK said, there’s no empirical evidence to prove this definitely works yet.

But hey – if you’re using it to feed your plants anyway, it might be a welcome side-effect.

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UK Gardeners Urged To Put Garlic In Plant Water ‘Til October

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Though slugs are rarely welcome in a gardener’s backyard, the Royal Horticultural Society have not classified them as “pests” for years now.

That’s partly because less than a quarter of the species in the UK actually eat your plants, while all of the maligned molluscs provide a food source for the UK’s shrinking bird population.

For these reasons, British gardeners have been discouraged from using pellets to deter the critters.

Other methods, like placing a halved orange or melon skin in your garden or conducting torchlit searches at night, can remove them from vulnerable saplings without killing all of them off indiscriminately.

And, as BBC Gardeners’ World writes, a bulb of garlic can help too.

Garlic water can repel slugs

According to the publication, “A home-made garlic spray can be effective in deterring slugs and snails from your plants” if applied regularly.

Allicin, a compound in garlic, both helps to repel and, sometimes, kill slugs and snails, botanist James Wong wrote for The Guardian.

For that reason, he says, you should only apply it to the most vulnerable plants (young seedlings and tender-stemmed plants count).

To make the garlic water concentrate, Gardeners’ World writes, boil one bulb of garlic per litre of water (they did two bulbs and two litres) until they’re soft.

James Wong, meanwhile, recommends blending a bulb of garlic with 1L of water, letting the liquid sit for ten minutes before straining “for the chemical reaction that creates allicin to complete.”

James uses his blitzed, rather than cooked, garlic water as-is, but Gardeners’ World dilutes two tablespoons of their boiled concentrate per 5L of water.

Whichever method you choose, you can spray it on affected plants “just as night begins to fall.”

How much should I apply, and how often?

For targeted slug and snail management, you should apply it “liberally.”

Gardeners’ World says you should spray or water with it once a week or after rain.

Specialist growers Sienna Hosta agree: they say we should water our plants with the stuff once weekly from February ’til October, when slugs are more active.

We should reapply it more often after heavy rainfall.

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UK Gardeners Urged To Take A Cotton Bud To Their Lawn

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As the warmer spring rolls around, gardeners might be gearing up to mow their lawns.

But Timothy Greene at icanlawn.com has said that it might be a little too early for some lawns; and cutting them now can even cause some significant damage.

“People might be keen to get their gardens sorted in time for spring but mowing your lawn when the grass is too short can cause damage and stop it growing back properly,” he said.

There’s actually a specific height at which it’s safe to cut your lawn ― and you can find it by taking a cotton bud to your lawn, Greene says.

How?

“The ideal height for grass to be before you cut is around 5cm to 7cm, which is around the same height as a cotton earbud,” the lawn expert revealed.

“This height means the grass is growing well and is safe to cut. But you should also make sure there’s no frost and the lawn isn’t wet either,” he says.

It’s important to make sure that you have your lawnmower on its highest setting when lopping your lawn, Greene says. This will ensure you don’t accidentally harm your lawn by cutting its grass too short.

If your grass never manages to reach the cotton bud height, Greene warns, you could have an underlying problem in your lawn.

“Lawns have had to deal with frost, heavy rain, and other challenges over the winter so there might be areas that need extra care. Whether that’s a feed to battle any diseases or new seeds sowed to cover patches,” Greene said.

What’s the best time to cut my lawn?

Aside from waiting until your grass is tall enough to cut, you should also keep an eye out on the weather, Greene warns.

Mowing your lawn after a frosty night could weaken the grass, he suggests.

“Mid-March is a good time to give your grass its first cut of the year but of course, weather conditions vary so keep an eye on your local forecast to get the right grass-cutting conditions,” Greene explains.

“Your grass’ growth will have stopped over winter but generally kickstarts again when temperatures are around 10C,” he adds.

“You should also make sure your mower’s blades are not too dull as this could cause damage to your grass. And in turn, make sure your lawn is clear from debris so that it doesn’t cause damage to your mower.”

Once you’ve gotten your grass high enough, and the weather warm enough, to get strumming, you should keep a schedule, Greene says.

“After the first mow of the year, you should aim to cut your grass weekly. But do keep an eye on the weather as it can be unpredictable.”

Ah, the joys of a British garden…

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Before Moving A Snail, Do This 1 Thing To Avoid Injuring It

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As we move into the sunnier months, we’re likely to spend more hours sunning ourselves in gardens and parks.

Of course, this means sharing space with all sorts of critters as, realistically, it’s their home and we’re just the fair-weather visitors.

Yet if you spot a snail who’s a little too close for comfort, before you go scooping it up there is one thing you should do to keep them safe and unharmed.

How to safely pick up a snail

According to self-confessed ‘nature nerd’ Bug Woman, we should be tapping snails’ shells to give them time to retract before moving them.

On her website she explains: “If you suddenly pick up a snail in order to, say, move it off of the pavement so that it doesn’t get trodden on, the snail feels pain as it is ripped away from the ground.

“However, if you give the shell a gentle tap first, the snail will withdraw, and you can pick the snail up without causing it any discomfort and move it to a more suitable location.”

TikTok user Amy Coan also does this, and shared a video explaining how it works…

One user commented: “I always encourage they walk into my hands first cause I like having them walk on me whilst I call them cuties, then it’s tap and go.”

Another added: “You can also slide the back of your nail underneath them from their front, it breaks the suction and they lift right off. Prevents mantle collapse, these little beasts deserve the love and care.”

We couldn’t agree more.

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This Humane, Chemical-Free Slug Repellant is Probably Already In Your Kitchen

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There are no two ways about it: some slugs can be disastrous for your garden. Between eating your veggies, boring holes in your hydrangeas, and even tunnelling into your tubers (yes, really), the legless leaf-lovers have historically been the enemy of the common British gardener.

Of course, we now know that slugs have their part to play in the ecosystem (even if you wish they didn’t play it so close to your radishes). They’re a vital food source for Britain’s rapidly-decreasing bird population; they do a great job at composting; and they help the overall biodiversity and ecological balance of your lawn (never a bad thing).

Cruelty-free hacks to remove slugs from your garden include putting a scooped-out melon in your yard overnight for the critters before removing the beast-filled rinds the next morning.

And while we love that hack, it seems there’s another, easier trick to keep your veggies slug-free – and it also helps with everything from scaring off birds to keeping deer away and even creating sunboxes.

Simple aluminium foil, it turns out, is the gardener’s best friend. So we thought we’d share some of its many uses:

1) It makes a great pest control

Herbicides can be harsher on your garden’s health than they are to the pests you want to target. “If you’ve got children, if you’ve got pets, you shouldn’t be using chemicals. But what’s worse is if you are using chemicals, you’re killing our pollinators, which we need for food production. I am very much against any chemicals and herbicides being used,” gardening expert Arthur Parkinson told HuffPost UK.

Thankfully, adding a bit of foil to your plants won’t kill off any all-important pollinators – it’ll just inhibit some slugs and other unwanted garden guests. “Reflective mulches repel invading insect populations,” the University of California shared.

And when it comes to slugs, the foil uses roughly the same logic as copper tape – “the metal causes a reaction with their mucusy bodies that they really don’t like,” Metro said.

Simply place some sheets of foil around the base of your plants for pest-repelling magic.

2) Tinfoil can create helpful sunboxes

If you’re worried your plants aren’t getting enough light, a little foil can go a long way. “Using aluminium foil can help you double the sun your indoor plants receive,” House Digest revealed.

This is because “its reflective properties will work as a mirror and reflect the light from the window to every niche and cranny of your indoor plants,” meaning you won’t have to turn your potted plants around as often to ensure every side gets as much light.

And they’re not just for indoor plants – “they also work to grow any seedlings indoors and help new plants from the nursery grow straighter and stronger.”

You can either assemble a tinfoil-lined box yourself using foil, tape, and cardboard.

3) Tinfoil can scare off birds and deer

Though it’s not really a good idea to scare off birds if they’re not causing a problem, under severe conditions, you can banish any unwanted birds by wrapping foil on or around your most-pecked plants. “Birds don’t like the feel of the foil under their beaks and will stay away,” Northwest says.

The trick also works for peckish deer, who HowStuffWorks says hate the shiny stuff. They advise wrapping foil around the stem of any deer-demolished plants: “The foil should at least be as high as your waist because deer are very adept (at) feeding on plants that are shorter than they are. This foil force field can also deter other pesky nibblers like mice and rabbits,” they say.

Well, I’m off to the kitchen…

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