Fixit: Make-it-yourself cleanser is cheap, effective

Q I'm looking for a safe, cheap homemade bathroom cleaner that kills germs. Can you help?

A Yes. It's called Alice's Wonder Spray. The cleaner will kill 82 percent of molds and 99 percent of bacteria in a household, according to Ami Voeltz of Do It Green Minnesota. It costs only 14 cents to make; store-bought cleaners run $4 to $20 a bottle. (Making your own is kinder to the environment, and you save packaging by putting it in your own reusable bottle.) Here's the recipe:

• 1 c. white vinegar

• 2 tsp. borax

• 32 oz. (4 c.) hot water

• 20 drops essential oil, optional

• 1/4 c. liquid dish soap

Directions

Combine vinegar and borax with 32 ounces hot water. Add an essential oil (if desired, for fragrance) and dish soap. Place in a spray bottle and be sure to label it.

Woodpeckers be gone Q How do you keep woodpeckers from making holes in cedar siding? We've replaced a cedar siding board three times in the last few years, but the woodpeckers come back each time and make holes in the replaced siding. Is there something that we can apply to the siding to keep them away? Or do you have any other suggestions?

A I know of no effective repellent that can be applied to the siding.

There are ways to try to discourage them, but killing them isn't allowed. Woodpeckers are a protected species.

Try bird-scare reflecting tape sold at pet and bird stores. Suspend the tape in parallel rows across the woodpecker-damaged areas. Twist the tape several times. The tape reflects sunlight to produce a flashing effect. Or suspend CDs or pie tins so they spin.

It can be useful to know just what the birds are up to. When humans and birds share the same habitat, conflicts often arise. Buildings shingled with cedar and redwood, both fairly soft woods and easily drilled, are particularly vulnerable to woodpeckers hunting for food, developing a nest or making territorial displays.

Spring and fall are the most common periods for territorial displays; early winter is when we see feeding-associated damage.

Noisy woodpeckers proclaiming territory are tolerable; woodpeckers excavating holes in human dwellings are not.

A free woodpecker packet is available from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources at: DNR, Box 25, 500 Lafayette Road, St. Paul, MN 55155. Include a self-addressed, stamped business-sized envelope with your request.

State Fair second chance Q At the fair this summer, I saw a hat and should have bought it, but I didn't. Now I want to get it as a Christmas present. I don't remember the name of the vendor, but it was an alpaca fur hat and the booth was just outside the coliseum. Is there a way to get hold of a State Fair booth operator?

A Yes, contact the State Fair at 651-288-4456. They maintain a database of vendors, their locations and type of offerings.

In your case, the vendor is Alpaca and More (purecountryalpacas .com). The contact is Pat Hansen, 952-447-3031.

Send your questions to Fixit in care of the Star Tribune, 425 Portland Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55488, or call 612-673-7032, or e-mail fixit@startribune.com. Past columns are available at www.startribune.com/fixit. Sorry, Fixit cannot supply individual replies. Fixit appears every day except Friday.