Storms can be pretty scary and can leave your backyard looking like a complete mess once it finishes. New Orleans is one of the cities of Louisiana that is frequently a target for different kinds of storms, so if one lives there, it’ll be common for you to find brown trees, plants, power shut down, and things like that during and after the storm.
It’s important to know how to clean up and restore how your place looked after the storm, and in this article, we’ve talked about exactly that!
How to Deal with Broken Trees and Plants
The first things that are usually toppled over during stormy weather are the trees and plants. You shouldn’t be surprised to see your yard downing with fallen trees, debris, broken branches, and twigs! Things you can do to restore it all include:
- Assessment
Once the storm is over, step out in the yard and assess the extent of damage that’s been done. Ensure you’re safe first, as sometimes there are power lines that drop down along with the trees.
After that, survey the condition of your plants and trees and see which ones are salvageable and the others are not. If you think you cannot do this on your own, then call a professional for help as well!
- Remove broken branches
If you see any broken branches that are still somehow attached to the tree, it’s time to prune them to an undamaged part in order to encourage new and fresh growth.
- Treating the Roots
It’s typical for the roots to be submerged in water after a spell of heavy storms. If the time duration of it is long, the oxygen supply to the roots becomes compromised, leading to fungus formation.
So, for these water-logged plants, you can use a fungicide to get rid of the fungus and drain out water from the pot plants by putting holes in the bottom.
How to Restore Outdoor Lighting System?
Outdoor lighting tends to accentuate the beauty of the yard; however, blackouts are common due to power outages during storms; hence you’ll want to check if your outdoor lights are still working or not after those heavy winds stop.
One of the commonest outdoor lights that are broken during a storm is the path lights. The weak point on a path light is the glass connecting the post to the top head; hence with the strong gush of winds, it can break apart.
You can use strong substances like epoxy or resin to put the two back together. If the lens is broken, then carefully remove it and throw the glass out.
Fixtures contain a part known as the socket where the light bulb is connected. To check if your socket is functional, replace your old bulb with a new one. The reasons why the socket stop working include:
- The wires are being disconnected/tugged away from the socket; for this, you will need to replace the whole thing.
- If you see any smoke or spark coming out of the socket, then just unplug the transformer and call a professional who’ll know what to do.
- Check for the presence of moisture and rust.