Keep out bugs

DEAR HELOISE » Homes with masonry siding have weep holes located every couple of feet apart along the base of the house. This is to let moist air flow out of the walls. However, it also allows critters to enter the home and live in the walls. To prevent this from happening, get a piece of tight mesh metal screen from a hardware store. Using tin snips, cut little 1-inch circles. Take one of those circles and wrap it around a pencil, then remove and push the mesh circle into the weep holes so it sets against the sides of the hole all around. You have now created a barrier to bugs while allowing air to flow in and out of your— Rich S., Bulverde, Texas

Duct tape

DEAR HELOISE » I found an 8-inch strip of duct tape on a torn seam on my son’s sleeping bag. I removed the tape and decided to sew up the tear and wash it. However, after washing it, there was still some sticky residue from the duct tape. I tried everything I could think of to get the residue stickiness from the tape off of the fabric of the sleeping bag, but nothing worked. Finally, I took a 3-inch piece of tape and began to blot the sticky area with the tape, and it worked! It took a while, but I finally got that stubborn, sticky residue off!

— Kay J., Clarksville, Ohio

Honey bees

DEAR HELOISE » It’s been suggested that one in every three bites of food we eat depends on pollinators such as bees, butterflies and birds.

Sadly, one of the major pollinators, bees, is dwindling globally, and it could drastically affect food production worldwide.

To help bees, please plant flowers and shrubs in your gardens that attract bees and butterflies. Some of the flowers that attract butterflies and bees are hibiscus, mountain laurel, gardenia, rose of Sharon, rhododendron, zinnias, lavender and wisteria, to name a few. Do not use pesticides, because too many are poisonous to pollinators. By planting flowers and restricting pesticides, you’ll be helping to save our planet and the pollinators we depend on.

— Michael H., Defiance, Ohio

Working again

DEAR HELOISE » I retired and thought I couldn’t wait to sleep in every morning instead of getting up at 5:30 a.m. five days a week. By the end of the first year, I was depressed and overweight. I went in to speak to a therapist, and she told me to go back to work at something or do volunteer work.

Working just two days a week has provided me with benefits physically and psychologically, just like the therapist said it would. It’s just a simple job where I work 9 to 3, but it has widened my circle of friends, and it’s fun to work among younger people and listen to them talk about their lives. The extra money is nice, too.