Starting with gutters, do you have them? Do you need them? Are they clean and functioning properly? If water is running off your roof and draining under your house (crawl space), you may want to consider gutters. Moisture underneath a house can led to mold, fungus, moisture damage and termites.

If you have gutters, are the plants near the downspouts drowning? Do you need to put a piece of flexible pipe on the end of the downspout and direct the water to a place in the yard where it is not a problem? Could you collect this water in a rain barrel and store it for future use.

A large low area in the yard could be dealt with in many ways. Find the lowest point and put a drain. If there are not any tree roots in the area, you could fill in the area with topsoil. If the area is small enough, consider using bagged topsoil, so you do not bring a bunch of weeds in the soil to your yard. If the area is real big you could remove the grass with a sod cutter and re-grade the area.

If you would like to drain an area very effectively and without having to do a lot of digging, then Mule Mix is the way to go. All you need to do is aerate the area then apply Mule mix at 500 to 2000 pounds per thousand square feet. We have worked with many customers using this product in many different situations with great results. You will also save on the water and fungicide bill with this product.

Since it is February, I must mention pre emergent time is rapidly approaching. For small seeded summer annual weeds the time is getting close for application. Remember to do your bed areas as well as the turf areas.

At Possum's it seems that most husbands are in charge of the grass and the wives are in charge of the beds. The husband comes in and buys the pre emergent product for the lawn and puts it out on the turf. In April the husband waves to his wife that is pulling weeds in the beds while he is on his way to the golf course or fishing hole. Husbands, if you would let your wife know about pre emerge, she would have more time to shop saving you all kinds of money (Honey, I saved you 50% on these shoes). She would also have more energy to help you clean the boat or something.

Free Mole seminar at Possum's West February 6, 2010. Call 766-1511 for information. I will do the seminar and answer any mole or other questions you might have as time allows.

 (Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum's Landscape and Pest Control Supply. Possum's has three locations 481 Long Point Rd. in Mt. Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (760-2600), or 606 Dupont Rd., in Charleston (766-1511). Bring your questions to a Possum's, fax your questions to 406-2700 or e-mail them to your newspaper's editors. You can also call in your questions to ' The Garden Clinic', Saturdays from noon to 1:00, on 1250 WTMA  (The Big Talker). )