Place your cast iron pan on the burner before cleaning. You'll use the drippings from the steak in this simple recipe.   While it's reducing, scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula in order to dig up any bits of meat that are caught on the pan. Accompany your perfectly-cooked steak with something out of the ordinary — garlic mushrooms and some steamed broccoli, perhaps?
++++++++++
One-sentence summary -- While the steak is resting, turn a burner on your stove to medium-high. To the pan, add 1/2 cup of beef broth and 1/2 cup of red wine. Bring the broth and wine to a boil. Once at a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and reduce by half. Pour the reduction over the steak and serve immediately. Finished.


Even after you have successfully trapped a mouse and removed it from your home, you will want to make sure that other mice cannot get in your home.  Have any cracks in concrete or your foundation repaired by a professional. Use steel wool (or copper wool) to block small or hard-to-reach holes. You should use a caulk to secure the steel wool in place. Mice dislike the pungent odor of peppermint, and it will keep them from coming into areas that are heavily peppermint scented. Buy peppermint extract from your local grocery store; then soak cotton balls in the peppermint oil. Lay the cotton balls around—or outside—your home in areas where you are concerned that mice may enter. Mice dislike the smell of dryer sheets, and will avoid an area in which dryer sheets have been placed. Although dryer sheets are light-weight and can blow away if placed outside, they work well indoors. If you want to use dryer sheets outside, use a small stone or two to weight down the corners.  You can also use dryer sheets to block holes in walls or concrete that mice may be sneaking in through. Since the scent will wear off eventually, switch out the dryer sheets for new ones every month. Mice have acute senses of smell and, like many other invasive pests, usually come inside your home looking for a meal.  Mice love to eat grains (including cereal and oatmeal), and will often gnaw through packaging to get at these foods. Keep grain products sealed in airtight containers.
++++++++++
One-sentence summary -- Block holes or cracks in the foundation of your apartment. Keep mice away with peppermint scent. Keep mice away with dryer sheets. Clean up after meals and keep food sealed.


You won't see the result immediately, but keeping a dryer garden is the best method for long-term slug control. Here are some tactics for making your garden less friendly to the damp-loving pests:  Water plants in the early to mid morning, so the soil dries before nightfall.  Install drip irrigation to minimize water use. Keep the yard free of debris, and mow the lawn regularly. Avoid organic mulches, such as straw or grass clippings. Space plants far enough apart to allow air flow between them. The following plant preparations all deter slugs to some extent, if you can find them in your local gardening store:  Oak leaf mulch or tobacco stem meal, spread as a barrier around plants Wormwood tea, made from steeping artemisia cuttings in warm water for 24 hours. Strain and combine with soapy water, then spray onto soil or slugs. Purchase strips of copper foil wide enough that the slugs can’t bridge it with their bodies. Use them to form a barricade around your plants or planting beds. Young children may cut themselves on the strips. Spread salt on the surface where the slugs are crawling around to kill them by drawing out moisture. Be aware that salt can easily kill plants and ruin soil. Use this around the base of potted plants on a porch, or place a barrier on the soil prior to spreading the salt in order to protect the integrity of the soil. Avoid using salt in situations where it can come into the contact with water (like when rainy weather is likely or a sprinkler is running). Water can dissolve salt and wash it off of "safe" surfaces and into the soil, harming soil quality. Frustrated gardeners have thrown just about any substance in their garden to try to keep slugs away. The following are the best of these homemade solutions, but are unlikely to deter 100% of slugs:  Coffee grounds may have mild effects on the health of your garden. Sharp, coarse sand scrapes against slugs, but may not deter them completely. Seaweed is not as effective as plain salt, but perhaps a little safer for your soil. Calcified seaweed meal is better, if you can find it. Certain plants keep slugs away because of their taste, texture, or toxins. Plant these in a barrier around the entirety of your garden, or keep one near each other plant. These are not 100% immune, but they will deter many slugs for no effort besides the initial planting. Try the following species:  Herbs: ginger, garlic, chives, mint, and chicory. Vegetables: bitter greens are generally less appealing to slugs than sweet greens. Try planting kale, spring cabbage, or sprouting broccoli. Hosta varieties with blue leaves are more resistant. Flowers for full shade: Astilbe, Dicentra, Digitalis (foxglove), Lobelia, Viola (some pansies and violets). Also Ranunculus (buttercups) and Vinca, but these spread rapidly. Flowers for partial shade: Phlox, Campanula, Hemerocallis. Also Mentha, but this spreads rapidly. There are several materials that can kill slugs on contact. These can be used to make effective barriers to prevent slug movement, but they must be used carefully and kept dry. Improper use can hurt your garden (and even the people or animals who use it). Be sure to apply these materials to non-soil surfaces except where noted:   Safety warnings: Do not inhale any of these substances or handle with bare hands. These may not be suitable in gardens where children or pets play. Diatomaceous earth: May harm beneficial insects.  Wood ash: Raises soil pH, which can affect plants.  Hydrated lime: Raises soil pH greatly. Can make soil uninhabitable for many plants.  1% Caffeine spray: Applied directly to the plants you want to protect; kills slugs when they feed. Can negatively affect many plants in unpredictable ways.
++++++++++
One-sentence summary --
Keep your garden dry. Create mulch or tea from certain plants. Make a copper strip barrier. Sprinkle salt on non-soil surfaces. Build folk remedy barriers. Grow plants that deter slugs. Consider using more powerful (but more hazardous) barriers.