ug infestations. Insects gravitate to bad odors and messy areas. Vacuum your home and take out the trash regularly. Pay special attention to food—get rid of crumbs, spills, or rotting food immediately. Wash your dishes and any food prep areas daily. Store your food in airtight containers made of plastic or glass. Inspect your home from the outside and make a note of any torn window screens, cracked pipes or vents, or broken weather-stripping. Fill any cracks you find and repair any broken fixtures to keep ants out. Fans help dissipate human scents or secretions so that bugs who are attracted to them (like mosquito or bed bugs) will be less interested in your home. In addition, most bugs dislike heavy winds and will avoid areas with fans. Turn off your fans whenever you leave your house to keep the power bill low. Watch for areas in your home that you notice a lot of ants, cockroaches, or other wingless insects. Put up a few glue traps and check on them periodically throughout the week. Replace the glue traps whenever you notice them filling up. You can also set up hanging sticky traps to catch winged insects. If you have a persistent bug infestation, you may find chemical sprays more effective than preventative measures. Read your pesticide's instructions and safety warnings before you use it. Make sure the pesticide you choose is safe to use indoors, as some are outdoor-use only.  Spray your pesticide in a well-ventilated area, with your windows down and doors open. If you do not want to spray pesticides by yourself, hire an insect exterminator.

Summary: regularly to prevent bug infestations. Seal or repair any outdoor opening that bugs might sneak through. Turn on several fans around your house to repel winged bugs. Set up sticky traps to catch bugs in problem areas. Use pesticides at your own risk.


Moving to a new city requires you to secure new housing. Look for long term hotels that can provide weekly rates if you are not sure where you are planning to stay in your new state.  Contact friends or family in the area to see if you can spend a few nights and save money when you arrive. Many rentals require a walkthrough before signing a lease. It can be difficult to obtain a lease for a new apartment when are still living in another state. Moving to a new state means moving to a new economy. Check government economic data to determine how the cost of groceries, insurance, or housing vary from state to state. Make sure that you contact your bank before you move to let them know you will be traveling. Making purchases across several states in the course of a day can raise red flags at banks.  Tell your bank your moving plans to avoid fraud alerts. Change your address as soon as possible to receive any banking updates or statements. Make sure that you will have access to emergency roadside assistance if you have car troubles. Truck rental and moving companies often offer separate coverage for emergency assistance. Make sure you inquire about coverage when you are choosing a moving method.

Summary: Plan for temporary housing when you arrive. Research differences in cost of living. Inform your financial institution about your move. Check if your roadside assistance plan goes across state lines.


Since COVID-19 is a respiratory infection, a cough, with or without mucus, is a common symptom. However, a cough could also be a symptom of allergies or a different respiratory infection, so try not to worry. Call your doctor if you think your cough might be caused by COVID-19.  Consider if you’ve been around someone who was sick. If so, you’re more likely to have contracted what they had. However, do your best to stay away from sick people. If you’re coughing, keep your distance from people who have decreased immune systems or have high risks for complications, such as those over 65-years-old, newborns, children, pregnant women, and those who are on immunosuppressants. Since fever is a common symptom of COVID-19, always check your temperature if you're worried you contracted the virus. A fever over 100.4 °F (38.0 °C) could be a sign that you have COVID-19 or another infection. If you have a fever, call your doctor to discuss your symptoms. If you have a fever, you’re likely contagious, so avoid contact with other people. COVID-19 can cause trouble breathing, which is always a serious symptom. Contact your doctor immediately or get emergency medical care if you’re having difficulty breathing. You may have a serious infection, such as COVID-19. You may need additional treatments for breathing problems, so always consult your doctor for shortness of breath. While COVID-19 is a respiratory infection, it doesn’t usually cause a sore throat or runny nose. Its most common symptoms are cough, fever, and shortness of breath. Other symptoms of a respiratory infection likely indicate that you have another illness, like the common cold or the flu. Call your doctor to be sure. It’s understandable that you’d be nervous about COVID-19 if you're feeling sick. However, you probably don’t need to worry if you’re having symptoms other than fever, cough, and shortness of breath.

Summary: Check for respiratory symptoms such as a cough. Take your temperature to see if you have a fever. Get medical care if you have breathing problems or shortness of breath. Recognize that a sore throat and runny nose may indicate a different infection.


Positive reinforcement is a much more effective way to train your cat than using punishment. To get the most out of positive reinforcement training, make sure that you identify what your cat would like best as a reward. For example, if your cat loves to be pet, then pet her as a reward. If she has a favorite treat, then offering a couple of treats might be the best motivation. Just as it is important to use the spray bottle right when your cat is doing the undesired behavior, you also need to reinforce the positive behavior right away. Otherwise, your cat will not know why you are rewarding her. For example, if your cat is using her scratching post instead of your sofa to scratch her claws, then reward her while she is using the post, not after she finishes. Reinforcing your cat’s good behavior once will probably not be enough to get her to understand what you want her to do. Instead, you will need to reward her good behavior every day to help her understand what she is supposed to do. Try to watch your cat for a little while every day to identify good behaviors that you can reward. While you may be tempted to yell at your cat, throw something at her, or hit her when she frustrates you, resist this urge. It will not solve the problem. In fact, it may make matters worse because your cat may become fearful of you and start avoiding you. If your cat does something you don’t want her to do, simply spray her once or clap your hands loudly to get her attention. Then, make sure that you reward her for stopping the unwanted behavior.
Summary: Reward your cat when she does something good. Acknowledge good behavior right when it happens. Reinforce good behavior every day. Skip the punishment.