DIY home guide: Summer
How to protect the value of your property, cut energy costs, avoid costly repairs, and spiff up your surroundings all summer.
Patrol for pests (again)
Cost: bout $100 to $200 for an initial consult and one round of treatment from a pest control expert, less for each follow-up visit; the bill for termites can go much higher -- as much as $3,000 if the whole house is infested.
Termites and carpenter ants become active this time of year. Look around the foundation windows and walls for signs, including mud tubes, piles of sawdust, small holes in the wood, or a highway of ants. Plus, animals and bugs like nesting in your firewood, so make sure the pile is stored well away from the house -- the National Pest Management Association suggests a gap of at least 20 feet.
NEXT: Deck out the deck
Last updated January 28 2011: 5:22 PM ET
