April Home Maintenance Checklist: Get Your Home Spring-Ready

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As the days get longer and the weather warms up, April is the perfect time to refresh your home after winter and prepare for the months ahead. This month’s checklist will help you tackle essential maintenance tasks to keep your home in top shape. 1. Inspect Your Roof and Gutters Winter weather can take a toll on your roof and gutters. Check for missing shingles, signs of leaks, and clear out any leaves or debris from gutters to ensure proper drainage. 2. Service Your HVAC System Before the summer heat arrives, schedule a professional tune-up for your air conditioning unit. Change your filters and clean vents to improve air quality and efficiency. 3. Check Windows and Doors for Leaks Inspect seals and caulking around windows and doors to keep cool air in and pests out. Replace weatherstripping if needed to improve energy efficiency. 4. Freshen Up Outdoor Spaces Power wash your driveway, deck, and patio to remove winter grime. Check for loose boards or cracks and make any necessa...
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Prepare Your Ears For Millions Of Extra Cicadas In North Carolina This Spring

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Uh oh, North Carolina. Parts of the state will see and hear an insurgence of cicadas later this spring and, in case you don’t remember the last time cicadas invaded the landscape, it’s expected to get very noisy in some places. Read on to learn about the explosion of cicadas in North Carolina in the coming months.

It's believed that more than 3,000 species of cicada exist worldwide.
Flickr/Jason Means
Commonly mistaken for locusts, cicadas are known for living underground as nymphs for as little as one year to 13-17 years before emerging to breed and lay eggs again in the bark of trees that dot the landscape.
They exist in a number of emergence patterns, including annual cicadas and periodic cicadas. Both remain underground as nymphs when not actively breeding.
Kakizaki Hajime / EyeEm Collection via Getty Images
The species expected to cause all of the noise in North Carolina in the coming months is referred to as Brood Nine (or Brood IX).
wikipedia/Andrew M. Liebhold, Michael J. Bohne, and Rebecca L. Lilja/USDA Forest Service - public domain
Don't be surprised if you find yourself covering your ears. A single cicada has the capability to damage a human's hearing. Its 'song' has been clocked as high as 120 decibels!
It's no wonder that a group of cicadas is called a CHORUS!
Taunia Maple / EyeEm Collection via Getty Images
Only the male of the species is known to sing with such veracity.
Other than being utterly annoying with noise, cicadas are relatively harmless.
Cyndi Monaghan / Moment Collection via Getty Images
They feed on the sap from trees and occasionally break small limbs on young trees.
When can you expect the cicadas to emerge from their 17-year slumber?
jxfzsy / E+ Collection via Getty Images
The concert will begin when the soil reaches 64 degrees at least eight inches below the surface. The emergence also often coincides with a spring rainfall in late April to early May.
With so many species of cicada, it’s possible for a different brood to appear every year. Do you recall seeing or hearing cicadas in your neck of the state in previous years?
Original Post in onlyinyourstate.com on 3/29/2020

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