I know it has been two years since the last post, but I feel this is the most relevant to my situation. I have a compost bin in an old garbage can, however, I didn't have a lid for it, so obviously it became soaked. Soon after, the maggots appeared. (I have absolutely no BSF larvae, so don't start on that.) The first step I took in attempting to get rid of them was drying them out. I found a lid, and turned the pile until it was at a normal/dry level. But the maggots stayed. I have no problem with them as they do contribute to breaking down produce quickly, but I didn't want to be contributing to a growth in the population of a pathogen-carrying insect. Finally I found a solution. I took clear painter's tarp and laid it over the can, then secured it so there was absolutely no air exchange. Then, I put it in the sun. I watched as temperatures climbed to 180 degrees for two days, then I removed the tarp and stirred...no maggots!! Even the ones that are presumably dead have already begun to decompose. I just wanted to share that my solution wasn't found in the mix, as once they infested, they stayed, but rather, it was found in changing the temperature. Happy composting!

My grandmother said that she hung wet sheets on a frame over the kids beds to keep the dust from getting into their lungs. She said those that did not do this had horrible lung conditions and many died. Of course, this is my grandmother that rode 21 miles in a sleigh in January from Glendive Montana to Miles city because she was in labor with a breech baby and Glendive had no doctor. I try to remember this when I am kavetching about something stupid.

Whhhaaaattt? Y'all don't like S&M by Rihanna??? I nearly crashed my car when I realized what that catchy tune was saying, and it was playing with my 5 and 7 year old daughters in the car. Yep- I agree. Most of the songs on regular radio are completely inappropriate for young children. My daughters know who Lady Gaga is, but my 5 year old will tell anyone who listens that she isn't allowed to see her videos. Speaking of videos, has anyone seen California Girls by Katy Perry?? Good Lord, I was stuck in a cab in Aruba last week with my family and that video was playing on the TV on the back of the head rest. DH and I had to explain the particular outfit with the bra that looks like ice cream with a cherry placed strategically where a nipple would be. My girls were giggling with embarrassment, and my husband was mortified. Thankfully a fun week in Aruba made them forget about it, and there were no more questions about it. I agree with AJ- I let my girls listen to Selena Gomez, Lemonade Mouth and Taylor Swift. They have no interest in Demi Lovato, and thankfully they never really liked Hannah Montana. DD1 loves Adele, beautiful voice, but I need a happy pill after listening. Adele also covered Lovesong by I think it was the Cure, 2nd to last on the CD, it's fantastic. Here's another great song by Taylor Swift: Never Grow up. My girls hear it, and hear the message, and my 7 year old tells me she wants to stay little forever. Melts my heart. With all that said, I will admit, at age 9 I was singing Like a Virgin and sporting lace gloves and black rubber bracelets on my arm, much to my mother's chagrin. And I had NO idea what Madonna was talking about at the time!

I'm a bit contrarian on this subject. Mold isn't good. But if I found mold in my house, my primary worry would be "What's leaking? It needs to get fixed before it rots the house." Mold really isn't that different from dust mites. Mold just has a better PR guy. He wrote a lot of that scary stuff you're reading. The truth is somewhere in the middle. The people who are most troubled by mold are people who have an allergy to it, just like people have allergies to dust mites or cats or strawberries. Some people who are more sensitive mold need to be more vigilant, but that's not everybody. At higher levels, yes, it would make more people sensitive, and therefore sick. But even "toxic mold" is not so toxic it's going to take down city blocks. Some of the symptoms people attribute to mold during cleanup is just dust, paint/glue fumes or even stress and dehydration from hauling around hundreds of pounds of filthy old carpet! The "I found mold. And I have been feeling sick lately. It must be the mold!" is a logic that makes very, very bad people money. They go into houses, open their little kits and, voila! MOLD! The truth is, they could go in tho the cleanest, healthiest houses in America and find some mold. Heck. People even eat mold. Many forms are beneficial organisms. We need them. It would be like trying to eradicate oxygen from the atmosphere -- futile and destructive. The reputable businesses, and I'm sure they are out there, would walk out of those houses and say, "Within completely normal levels." The bad ones will sell you fear. And a lot of other stuff. So be careful. An allergen is just anything that produces an allergic reaction, in this case, that's the mold spores, and probably all kinds of other things in the carpet getting kicked up. Any kind of spore is really hard to kill. They have a coating that makes them just lie around and wait for suitable conditions to germinate. So something like painting over them would kill them, but just washing surfaces with a bleach solution and removing them from the house is effective and within your control. If you feel sick, talk to your doctor, not a mold removal contractor! Your doctor can help you put this in perspective, sort out your symptoms maybe refer you to an allergist. Mold is an easy scapegoat. You might start loading up on antihistamines or other over the counter medicines because you're busy with the reno and really make yourself sick without getting a proper diagnosis. I'm not saying don't take the steps you're taking to remediate the threat. They seem reasonable. Cover the dusts for the dust anyway. Talk to your insurance company. Fix what needs to be fixed. But I have heard stories that would make you very, very angry -- like write to your congressman angry -- about mold abatement practices. So I feel the need to tell people: If what somebody tells you sounds crazy and expensive, and out of line with what insurance will pay for --...