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How To Keep Your Children and Pets Safe

3. May 2018 Administrator Lawn Care Tips (0)

Your lawn should be a place of play and relaxation, where your children’s imagination can flourish and their seemingly endless energy can be spent. While you want their imaginations running wild, you don’t want your lawn to go wild and create needless hazards or dangers for them and your pets when they do venture outdoors. As warmer weather approaches, it’s time to think about the things you can do to keep your yard safe.

Childproofing
It’s not likely you’ll be able to remove all danger from your child’s path at all times, but taking a few precautions can ensure that certain accidents be avoided. As Forbes reports, parents often go to great detail to childproof the interior of the house, but the exterior can also pose dangers.
The following are some tips for childproofing your yard:

Look for pointy objects or loose wires from fencing that might injure your child.
Look for holes or big rocks that are hidden and can cause your child to trip.
Make sure lawn tools are put away and locked.
Aim for soft and cushioned play areas with grass and sand. Avoid pea gravel, as it can be a choking hazard and not the ideal surface for rolling and tumbling around.
Avoid dangerous, toxic, or prickly plants like English ivy, poison oak, or morning glory.

Dog Proofing
Dogs are awfully curious and can get into trouble by ingesting or breathing in harmful chemicals. The Huffington Post reported that pets should be kept away from areas sprayed with chemical pesticides in order to avoid poisoning and even cancer. There are plenty of natural weed killers that are pet- and child-safe. Some steps to killing your weeds include:

Using 10-20% vinegar: Go to a home maintenance store because regular vinegar from the grocery store will not do the trick. Then spray around as needed.
Using BurnOut weed killer: This is a prepared mix of vinegar and clove oil.
Pulling them out: To keep your yard chemical free for your pooch and children, you might have to put on some gloves and pull them out yourself.

The Spruce reports of several backyard plants that are poisonous to dogs. These include English ivy, morning glory, lily of the valley, and foxglove.

Trees and Shrubs
Trees and shrubs can improve the look of your lawn and home while providing a great hangout spot. Shrubs can bring a lawn together and add some beautiful flowers, colorful leaves, or berries. Trees have many benefits to our homes and neighborhoods. They provide shade, clean air, and a place to relax, but like shrubs, they also need care and attention.

Keep your shrubs clean and trimmed to avoid pests and to maintain an orderly look. This also prevents hazardous branches or prickly plants from growing outward and posing danger. A dead or dying tree may ultimately have to be removed for health and safety purposes.

Pruning helps to maintain a tree and keep branches under control, and can be done in three ways:

Cleaning: Removing dead or dying branches or limbs
Thinning: Removing certain branches to thin out the tree, which removes weight from the branches
Reduction: This reduces the size of the tree without harming the tree’s structure

Other Yard Safety Precautions
Many yard precautions depend on the size and nature of your yard, but you might also install other kinds of safety guards to improve safety. Here are some tips:

Install and tighten railings and/or steps to help avoid injury. Handrails can assist children and seniors as they walk outside. Handrails loosen over time, so make sure to check and tighten them often to ensure they serve their purpose.
Fence off your lawn. With children and dogs running around, you don’t want to worry about them going off into the street or traffic. Make sure you have a high and safe fence so you can keep an eye on them.

As the warmer temperatures come, ensure your family is safe so that they can make the most of the outdoors. Use these tips to maintain and clear your trees when necessary and keep your lawn beautiful and safe for children and pets.

Article Written By: Clara Beaufort

Photo Credit: Pixabay

5 Signs you're Dealing with an Upstanding Power Equipment Dealer

18. December 2015 Administrator Landscape Contractor Articles (0)

As a small, single, female, walking into any Power Equipment store can be a little intimidating. I know I can't be the only woman who worries about being scammed, mistreated, or underestimated. In my journey for the perfect Snow Blower, I had gone to a few bad dealership before I finally found a great one! Here are 5 Tell tale signs you are dealing with and upstanding Power Equipment Dealer.

1.) They will greet you at the door.

Nothing is worse than feeling like you are being completely ignored when you are shopping for something expensive, or waiting to get your machine serviced. A great Power Equipment Dealership should have a person ready and waiting to greet you by the door with a happy easy going expression.

2.) The showroom is clean and well organized.

A huge sign of poor management for any Dealership is a dirty store. If you don't care enough to clean your own store, why would you care enough to thoroughly service my machine? Or care enough to sell me something that is new and working for that matter. So after you have been greeted, scope out the area and make sure everything is looking in order.

3.) The salesman looks you in the eye.

Your salesperson should be able to look you in the eye while selling to you or while he is explaining something to you. When someone is able to look you in the eye it shows that they are honest. If his eyes are darting around, or he is unable to hold eye contact for an entire conversation.... Be careful, chances are he isn't being honest with you.

4.) Your salesperson gives you his contact information.

Your salesperson should not be nervous about giving you his information. He should be proud to stand by his words. They should also be to able direct you to a functional website, and show you how you can use it to better your experience.

5.) Explain reasons for service.

After you have bought your machine from a reputable dealership and used it for a couple seasons, wear and tear will occur. You should be able to bring your machine back to your trusted dealership for service. Your salesperson should be able to thoroughly explain all repairs and why you need them. If you feel as though they are tacking on extra work to a machine that had one problem, be careful, ask them detailed questions. If they are being honest, they should have no issue answering your questions.

So, in conclusion, stay sharp, trust your instincts, and stay strong in your decisions. You will know when you are being treated fairly, and when you are working with an excellent Power Equipment Dealership. The dealership I worked with was local to me, however, they had an online store that anyone can go on!

Altoz coming out with New Mower

6. October 2014 Administrator General Industry News (0)

New Comers on the Block Altoz Precision Mowers will be unveiling a New Commercial Mower at the 2014 GIE-EXPO in Kentucky. Altoz known for innovation and a no holds bar approach to Commercial Zero-turns aims to turn the market on its head.

Just last year Altoz debuted their XC Commercial mower and had a few people in the industry scratching their heads. Mostly with questions as to why they would want to get into the competitive Zero-turn Mower market. Altoz uses a simple approach. They spare no expense in production and strive to provide a high-quality machine with style. Altoz can be found at the 2014 GIE-Expo in Booth #11086. They have extended a special invite to dealers on October 22,from 5:30 to 6:30p.m.

How To Keep Your Children and Pets Safe

5 Signs you're Dealing with an Upstanding Power Equipment Dealer

Altoz coming out with New Mower

ProParts Direct is your one-stop parts store for Lawn Mowers Parts, Chainsaw Parts, Engines Parts, Snow Blowers and all landscaping equipment parts.

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