HELPFUL HINTS

LITTLE ROCK — DEAR READERS: Are you experiencing an especially “buggy” summer? It’s to be expected. How can you protect yourself and your family from these annoying and pesky bugs? Here are some hints to keep mosquitoes at bay:

Wear light-colored and baggy clothing, with long sleeves and pants, if possible.

Never leave standing water around the yard.

Mosquitoes are more active at dusk and dawn; don’t schedule outdoor activities then.

A simple electric fan can repel mosquitoes off a deck.

And here are some more fascinating facts about mosquitoes, from the American Mosquito Control Association (mosquito.org):

Mosquitoes tend to prefer blond-haired people to brunettes, women to men, heavier-set people to thinner people, and active, wriggly people to more sedentary people. During a full moon? Mosquitoes tend to be more active then.

DEAR HELOISE: I receive a lot of catalogs in the mail. I always remove our name and address from them before I throw them away. I discovered that some of the catalogs have an order form inside with my name, address, etc., pre-printed on it.

I would like to recommend a quick flip through catalogs to make sure such order forms are removed, too.

— Mary, via e-mail

DEAR HELOISE: After my garden hose had been rolled up for a long period, I discovered that it had all kinds of kinks. My neighbor said, “Don’t throw it away!” He unrolled it, filled it with water and laid it in the warm sun for about three hours. After he let the water out — no kinks!

— Bonnie S. in Wisconsin

DEAR HELOISE: I spend a lot of time clipping coupons and printing them from online sources.

When I get home and look at my receipt, I sometimes find that the store didn’t give me credit for some of my coupons.

Now when I make out my grocery list, I put a “C” next to the coupon items, and I write the amount of the coupons. Now I don’t leave the cash register until I see that the coupons have been credited.

— Marge in Bulverde, Texas

Send a money- or time-saving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, Texas 78279-5000; fax to (210) 435-6473; or e-mail

Heloise@Heloise.com