Redneck gutter cleaning
Who needs ladders?

By: Heather Suerig

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Redneck gutter cleaning - Video

Lilbudirl - Redneck Gutter Cleaning?
This is how we clean gutter when we don #39;t have immediate access to the ladder.

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Lilbudirl - Redneck Gutter Cleaning? - Video

Updated: 06/18/2014 9:48 PM Created: 06/18/2014 5:01 PM KSTP.com By: Jessica Miles

With so much standing water everywhere after the recent rain, a lot of people are dealing with flooded basements.

To avoid that, experts recommend keeping water away from your house by using a tube that you can connect to your gutter system or downspout. It expands and pushes water away from your foundation.

A sump pump keeps water out of your basement, but check the float. It should kick on when you lift up on the float. If not, you may need a new sump.

If you get water inside your house, watch for mold.

"That's a big problem, you don't want mold in your basement. With a test kit like this you take a little swab, and if in 48 hours you have these little black spots you have mold," said Mike Frattallone with Frattallone's Ace Hardware in St. Paul.

If you have mold, bleach and water work to clean non-porous surfaces, but try other cleaners for things like wallboard and concrete.

Get more tips on how to deal with flooding here.

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Flooded Basements: What You Need to Know for Keeping Water Out, Cleaning Up

Benjamin Oliver Hicks/Staff

George Marcel of Cajun Mosquito Control collects a sample of mosquitoes to be tested at LSU for diseases Friday after he caught them in traps in Terrebonne Parish.

Cajun Mosquito Control in Houma wants residents to know the best ways to reduce the risks of mosquito breeding.

During National Mosquito Control Awareness Week, which is today through Saturday, the company is taking the opportunity to educate the general public about the significance of mosquitoes and the service provided by mosquito control workers throughout the United States.

One way the company is reaching out to educate residents is through visiting local schools, Cajun Mosquito Control Manager Randy Marcel said.

Were preparing to go out to the schools. Well have brochures with information about how to reduce mosquito breeding and preventative measures, he said. Well actually bring samples of mosquito larvae and different mosquitoes to identify.

Another way the business combats insects is by frequently changing and setting mosquito traps throughout the area. There are 17 mosquito traps that are rotated between 39 sites in Terrebonne Parish each week. One trap can capture 100 to 1,000 mosquitoes.

Once captured, the insects are sent off to a lab at Louisiana State University where they are tested for various mosquito-spread diseases, such as St. Louis encephalitis, the West Nile virus and eastern equine encephalitis. Marcel added that there hasnt been any mosquito-borne disease reported so far this year.

However, while tests havent revealed any threats, locals should still be proactive in mosquito management. A simple way residents can reduce the number of mosquito-breeding sites in or around the home is by draining standing water.

Items such as pet water bowls, horse and cattle water troughs, bird baths, plant bowls, unused swimming pools, buckets, kids toys, ice chests or any other container that retains water should be emptied every three to five days or directly after rainfall, Cajun Mosquito Control owner Jessie Boudreaux said.

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Company offers mosquito advice

Ana Ivanovic has historically struggled on grass courts, but she's off to a strong start this season.

Tom Dulat/Getty Images

BIRIMINGHAM, England (AP) - Ana Ivanovic's winning start to the grass-court season was healthy enough to raise hopes that she will at last remedy her Wimbledon ills.

The former world No. 1 from Serbia looked worth her top seeding as she hurried past Mona Barthel, a tripwire opponent in the past, and into the third round of the Aegon Classic on Tuesday.

Ivanovic's hard-hitting 6-4, 6-1 win over the German had such a high ratio of winners it was hard to believe she has only once reached a Wimbledon semifinal and five times failed to reach the last 16.

''I haven't had the most success on grass,'' admitted Ivanovic, who has two weeks before Wimbledon to adapt herself to the vagaries of this surface.

''I really hope I manage to turn that around. On grass courts it's a lot about mentality and also the gameplan, because everything happens so fast.

''It's the first time I am working with my coach (Nemanja Kontic) on grass, so hopefully he can bring some innovations that will help me make that change.''

If he did, they certainly succeeded against Barthel, against whom Ivanovic had lost two of their three previous encounters. She worked hard to get lower on the green, lush surface, to hit flatter through the ball, and to move forward more often.

She also took more risks. These helped avoid going 3-0 behind, to recover well from 3-1 down, and take eight of the next nine games.

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Ana Ivanovic hoping to find success on the grass this season

Updated JUN 10, 2014 8:15p ET

BIRMINGHAM, England

Ana Ivanovic's winning start to the grass-court season was healthy enough to raise hopes that she will at last remedy her Wimbledon ills.

The former world No. 1 from Serbia looked worth her top seeding as she hurried past Mona Barthel, a tripwire opponent in the past, and into the third round of the Aegon Classic on Tuesday.

Ivanovic's hard-hitting 6-4, 6-1 win over the German had such a high ratio of winners it was hard to believe she has only once reached a Wimbledon semifinal and five times failed to reach the last 16.

''I haven't had the most success on grass,'' admitted Ivanovic, who has two weeks before Wimbledon to adapt herself to the vagaries of this surface.

''I really hope I manage to turn that around. On grass courts it's a lot about mentality and also the gameplan, because everything happens so fast.

''It's the first time I am working with my coach (Nemanja Kontic) on grass, so hopefully he can bring some innovations that will help me make that change.''

If he did, they certainly succeeded against Barthel, against whom Ivanovic had lost two of their three previous encounters. She worked hard to get lower on the green, lush surface, to hit flatter through the ball, and to move forward more often.

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Healthy Ana Ivanovic looks sharp in Wimbledon tune-up

The Scot will move above both Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka thanks to his efforts on grass over the past two years. And last year's runner-up Novak Djokovic will be elevated above world No.1 Rafael Nadal to take the No.1 seeded position, leaving the Spaniard at No.2.

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Moving from No.5 to a seeding of No.3 means Murray cannot play Djokovic, Nadal or Federer until at least the semi-finals.

Wimbledon is the only one of the four grand slam events not to go strictly off the ATP ranking list when it comes to choosing its 32 seeded players, a decision it makes because of the unique nature of grass-court tennis and the relative shortness of the grass-court season.

To apply its grass-court formula, Wimbledon takes a player's official ranking points as of Monday and then adds 100% of their grass-court points over the past 12 months and 75% of their best event in the year before that.

As the defending champion, Murray receives more "bonus" points than anyone else in the draw and moves well above Wawrinka, who also falls below Federer thanks to his 2012 Wimbledon victory.

Wawrinka is the biggest loser of the formula, which does not apply to the women's event, though Wimbledon reserves the right to move women up from the WTA rankings if they so choose.

Wawrinka said it would not affect his chances of a second grand slam title. "At the end of the day, it doesn't change much. You have to play well. You have to start well the tournament if you want to go far, and that's simple."

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Murray confirmed as No.3 seed

LONDON: Andy Murray has backed Wimbledon's unique seeding system after he was given a ranking rise that could aid his defence of the men's singles title.

Murray, who starts his bid to retain the Wimbledon crown against Belgium's David Goffin on Monday, was seeded third despite being ranked fifth in the world, meaning his path to the latter stages of the tournament is less daunting than it might have been.

That two-place advantage, owing to Wimbledon's decision to change their seedings based on each player's record on grasscourts, means Murray cannot face tournament favourite Novak Djokovic until the last four and world number one Rafael Nadal until the final.

Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka, the world number three who won the Australian Open earlier this year, is the biggest loser as his seeding drops to fifth to accommodate Murray, as well as Roger Federer, who moves up to fourth.

Wimbledon's seeding system is different to the other three Grand Slams, who all use the ATP Tour rankings to decide seeds, prompting some critics to suggest they should fall in line with the Australian, French and US Opens.

But Murray, the first British man to win Wimbledon for 77 years, disagrees.

"To be honest I think the way they do it is correct with the seedings," Murray said.

"Some people might say that because my seeding's obviously moved up, but there are so few tournaments on grass now that there are so few points up for grabs on the surface that it is in a way a specialist surface.

"Not many guys, some guys like (Tommy) Robredo for example will only play one tournament a year on grass.

"So I think it is relevant the way the players perform on it, in terms of the seedings and how deep guys can go in the event.

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Tennis: Murray defends Wimbledon seeding boost

Andy Murray has defended Wimbledon's unique seeding system, even though the reigning champion is the chief beneficiary.

Andy Murray has backed Wimbledon's unique seeding system ahead of Friday's competition draw

Britain's double grand slam winner will learn who his opening opponent in his Wimbledon defence will be in Friday morning's draw.

The 27-year-old is ranked fifth in the world, but seeded third by the Wimbledon organising committee, who take grass court records into account to develop their own tournament favourites.

The Scottish Olympic champion's third seeding means he cannot face top two seeds Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal until the semi-finals, and fourth favourite and seven-time tournament winner Roger Federer until the final.

Murray said he would back Wimbledon's system even if he did not stand to benefit.

"To be honest I think the way they do it is correct with the seedings," said Murray.

"Some people might say you would say that because my seeding's obviously moved up, but there are so few tournaments on grass now that there are so few points up for grabs on the surface that it is in a way a specialist surface.

"Not many guys, some guys like (Tommy) Robredo for example will only play one tournament a year on grass.

"So I think it is relevant the way the players perform on it, in terms of the seedings and how deep guys can go in the event.

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Murray defends SW19 seeding system

Updated: Friday, 20 Jun 2014 18:05 | Comments Andy Murray will begin the defence of his title against Belgium's David Goffin

Andy Murray has defended Wimbledon's unique seeding system that will allow him to avoid top-seed Novak Djokovic until the semi-finals.

Murray will start the defence of his Wimbledon title by facing 23-year-old Belgian David Goffin in the first round.

The double grand slam winner is Wimbledon's number-three seed despite being ranked fifth in the world.

That two-place advantage, owing to Wimbledon's grass record-weighted seedings, means he cannot face tournament favourite Djokovic until the last four - and second seed Rafael Nadal until the final.

"To be honest I think the way they do it is correct with the seedings," said Murray.

"Some people might say that because my seeding's obviously moved up, but there are so few tournaments on grass now that there are so few points up for grabs on the surface that it is in a way a specialist surface.

"There are so few tournaments on grass now that in a way it is a specialist surface" - Andy Murray

"Not many guys, some guys like (Tommy) Robredo for example will only play one tournament a year on grass.

"So I think it is relevant the way the players perform on it, in terms of the seedings and how deep guys can go in the event.

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Andy Murray defends Wimbledon seeding