By Adam Russell | Contributor
Winter climate with sub-freezing temperatures can wreak havoc in your pets, vegetation and houses. Listed below are some ideas from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service specialists on how you can shield your vegetation, pipes and pets from the chilly.
The AgriLife Extension Disaster Education Network additionally has a number of sources for Texans to entry and put together for any doubtlessly extreme winter climate.
Defend your pets throughout winter climate
Specialists on the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, TVMDL, shared some recommendations on caring for pets throughout winter climate.
– Pets needs to be saved inside in the course of the day and evening. If canine should be left exterior for any time, they need to have a draft-free shelter massive sufficient to face and switch round in, but sufficiently small to retain physique warmth. Use a layer of straw or different bedding materials to assist insulate them in opposition to the chilly. Be sure that the doorway faces away from the incoming wind and snow.
– Hold cats indoors. Be aware that cats left outdoor in chilly climate search shelter and warmth beneath the hoods of vehicles and might be injured or killed when beginning the engine. Banging loudly on the hood of your automotive a number of instances earlier than beginning the engine will assist keep away from tragedy.
– Concentrate on pets round salt and deicers. Salt and chemical compounds on sidewalks to fight ice buildup can irritate pores and skin and be ingested. Totally clear your pets’ paws, legs and stomach to stop ingestion of poisonous substances and stop their pads from turning into dry and irritated. Indicators of poisonous ingestion embrace extreme drooling, vomiting and melancholy.
Winter can also be an excellent time to depart pets’ coats slightly longer than regular to supply them as a lot heat as potential.
Defending vegetation from freeze injury
Frosts and freeze can injury or kill exposed plants, particularly these in containers, stated Lisa Whittlesey, AgriLife Extension program specialist and worldwide coordinator of the Junior Grasp Gardener program, Bryan-Faculty Station. Harm can fluctuate enormously amongst plant varieties, and cold-sensitive vegetation would require extra safety than hardier vegetation.
AgriLife Extension has complete info on protecting landscape plants and horticultural crops from frost and freezes.
Watering vegetation and ensuring they don’t seem to be drought-stressed earlier than freezing temperatures arrive can assist, Whittlesey stated. Watering simply earlier than the freeze may assist as a result of water creates heat and loses warmth slowly.
“Drought-stressed vegetation are extra prone to the chilly,” she stated. “And if you happen to can’t deliver a plant inside, the most suitable choice is to cowl them, bear in mind to position them in a location that will get ample daylight and to water them.”
Vegetation in containers needs to be moved inside the house or storage — any house the place temperatures will keep above freezing.
If container vegetation can’t be moved indoors, put them on the south facet of the home, water them properly and pile on mulch, leaves or hay to guard the roots and/or cowl them with a frost blanket. Chilly-sensitive panorama vegetation can be lined with comparable safety.
When masking vegetation, drape them with cardboard or material materials to the bottom and safe it, she stated. The concept is to entice sufficient hotter air escaping from the soil to guard vegetation from a killing freeze.
Stringing vacation lights round delicate vegetation and masking them with a tarp can present safety from mild freezes, she stated.
Defend pipes from freezing
On the subject of freeze injury to houses, defending uncovered pipes is crucial when temperatures dip beneath freezing. AgriLife Extension has ideas for preventing and thawing frozen pipes throughout extreme climate.
Joel Pigg, AgriLife Extension program specialist and Texas Nicely Proprietor Community coordinator, Bryan-Faculty Station, stated owners ought to shield pipes round the home or in wellhouses now whereas the climate is sweet.
Water pipes can freeze and burst when the surface temperature reaches 20 levels or beneath, however Pigg stated take precautions anytime temperatures dip beneath freezing. Pipes with northern publicity face an elevated threat of freeze.
“It’s finest to behave early, reasonably than when the storm is coming in,” he stated. “Put together now as a result of provides of insulation and elements is perhaps restricted throughout a rush for gadgets wanted to guard pipes simply earlier than freezing temperatures arrive.”
Uncovered pipes, together with outside taps, water sprinklers, water pipes in basements, crawl areas, attics or garages, pipes that run alongside exterior partitions, swimming pool provide strains and properly homes are particularly prone to freezing temperatures.
Leaving water working barely does assist throughout extended freezing temperatures, and warmth lamps to boost temperatures in lesser-insulated areas with pipes like properly homes or basements can assist forestall breaks, he stated.
Out of doors water programs needs to be drained and lined or allowed to drip slowly to assist shield from injury, he stated.
Many protecting merchandise to insulate water pipes like sleeves, insulation or warmth tape can be found at native plumbing provide retailers. Newspapers may present some safety to uncovered pipes, so long as publicity isn’t extended.
Foam faucet covers additionally add safety to an space prone to freezing, he stated.
“Covers are round $4, and insulation or warmth tape are very cheap relative to paying for repairs,” he stated. “Including protecting components to any weak factors is an effective funding in opposition to short-term freezes.”
Editor’s Notice: Would you want extra info from Texas A&M AgriLife?
Go to AgriLife Today, the information hub for Texas A&M AgriLife, which brings collectively a school and 4 state companies centered on agriculture and life sciences inside The Texas A&M College System, or join our Texas A&M AgriLife E-Newsletter.
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