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In the War Against Ticks, This Spray Is My Secret Weapon

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Vile , horrible , insidious , and disgusting are just a few of the words I use to describe ticks. There is absolutely nothing to like about these awful, disease-ridden insects. They range in size from a sesame seed to a poppy seed. And they can infect you with any number of terrible ailments, such as Lyme disease, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, Powassan virus, or alpha-gal syndrome , which makes you allergic to many different types of meat. Because ticks are so small, feeling them on the skin is difficult. And their bite—which they perform with a horrific, saw-like mouth (video) —is often undetectable. My loathing of ticks is based on personal experience. I live in a rural area and spend a lot of time outdoors in the woods and in my fields. I’ve been treated for Lyme disease and other tick-related ailments on at least five separate occasions, and two of those involved full, 30-day courses of doxycycline, which is its own special nightmare. I conduct nig...
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The Best Wi-Fi Routers

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If your router is more than a couple of years old and struggling to give you fast speeds, or if it’s frequently dropping connections altogether, a new router or a mesh-networking kit will improve your Wi-Fi’s range, stability, and speed all over your home. Over the past seven years, we’ve spent hundreds of hours testing and evaluating nearly 150 routers, and we’ve determined that the best router for wirelessly connecting your laptops, your smart devices, and anything else your daily life depends on is the TP-Link Archer BE230 . from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/nEpg06z via IFTTT
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Ask Wirecutter: Can You Help Me Stop Mindlessly Scrolling on My Phone?

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Welcome to Ask Wirecutter, where deputy editor Annemarie Conte helps you figure out how to make the most of your stuff. If you have a shopping conundrum for our advice columnist, submit it using this form or via Annemarie's Instagram , where she occasionally posts question prompts for you. Dear Wirecutter, My husband’s cell phone addiction is out of control. And my late-night social media habit isn’t so great, either. Can you help us stop mindlessly scrolling? S.S. Dear S.S., It’s good that you recognize that the pendulum has swung too far in the direction of unlimited screen time and want to take steps to adjust it. I regularly joke about wanting to throw my phone into the ocean, but going cold turkey and cutting off all communication is not a rational, reality-based decision. Before it gets to that point, we have a few options for you to consider, especially if your spouse is a little more reluctant to make changes. With a bit of focus, you’ll both be able to fit your p...
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The Best Gardening Gloves

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A great pair of gardening gloves fits well and feels comfortable while protecting your hands from outdoor nuisances like bugs and blisters, as well as nightmarish encounters with parasitic poop or the innocent-looking weed that’s actually poison ivy. We researched over 100 pairs and put three dozen to the test while hauling rocks, stacking wood, pruning apple trees, and starting seeds. The soft, unscratchable, adjustable Husky Large Grain Cowhide Water Resistant Leather Performance Work Gloves are our favorite work gloves, and the exceptionally well-fitting Pine Tree Tools Bamboo Gardening Gloves are the best gardening gloves. from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/4QtTDXW via IFTTT
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29 Gifts for People Who Love to Clean

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For some people, a day spent buffing the house to a sparkle is a day well spent. As such, those scrubbers and washers deserve excellent, well-designed, beautiful tools to make cleaning that much more satisfying. We’ve collected some of our favorite cleaning potions and gadgets, including a neat Japanese scrub brush , a powerful stain remover , and a delightful sponge rest . They’re all extremely wonderful gifts (even for those who see house cleaning as a chore), and they make scouring, sweeping, dusting, and general spick-and-spanning even more enjoyable. Looking for tips on how to clean absolutely everything? Check out Wirecutter’s tips and tricks for tested, proven, and sworn-by methods and products . from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/5UxNyS8 via IFTTT
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Wait, You’re Supposed to Hang Your Bananas?

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Bananas are ticking time bombs. One moment, they’re yellow, velvety, and tender; the next, they’re a brown, mushy, goopy mess. But not every forgotten bunch is destined for a loaf of banana bread. There are ways to slow the clock. To extend the shelf life of bananas, you’ll want to control the release of ethylene gas — the ripening hormone you can blame for their speedy demise. (That gas is the reason people recommend adding a banana to a paper bag to ripen other fruit, like avocados and mangoes, more quickly.) The issue is that bananas run on a positive feedback loop: As they ripen, bananas produce gas; the more gas there is, the quicker they ripen, and so on. Therefore, when one banana starts to go, the rest of the bunch will quickly follow suit. “Dealing with ethylene and bananas is an enormous problem,” James Giovannoni, a plant molecular biologist at the Boyce Thompson Institute at Cornell University, explained in a video interview. “Once bananas are going yellow, they’re pro...
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8 Things That Help Us Mark the Transition to Spring

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In this edition of The Recommendation, we’re sharing what our journalists swear by for a spring refresh. Plus: 13 pretty pots for plants and fabulous sandals. Every season offers a chance for renewal, but perhaps none more so than spring — with its grand entrance of cheery cherry blossoms, friendly daffodils, and bashful tulips emerging from the once-frozen earth. As we start coming out of our own hibernations, it’s helpful to remember that sometimes all it takes is a tiny upgrade to wipe the slate clean and refresh our spaces. Here are a few tips, tricks, and simple swaps that Wirecutter journalists swear by to start this sunnier season off on the right foot: from Wirecutter: Reviews for the Real World https://ift.tt/09kEyhL via IFTTT
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