DEAR SUN SPOTS: Do you have a list of companies that will spray a yard for ticks? Keep up the good work. Thank you. — No Name via email

ANSWER: Sun Spots has a few names, but there are undoubtedly more. If those companies email sunspots@sunjournal.com, she will add them to the list.

* Parker Adams, Pine State Pest Solutions (also listed under Thermal Solutions for bedbugs), 546 Poland Road, Auburn, 855-370-7378, 207-795-1100, mainepest.com.

* Sterling Insect Lawn Control, Gorham, 800-854-2847, 207-767-5555, sterlingisthesolution.com.

* Go Green Landscaping, Scarborough, 207-510-1550, www.gogreenlandscapinginc.com, a BeeSafe dealer. 

At www.mainelyticks.com, which serves Cumberland and York counties, Sun Spots found the following breakdown of tick and mosquito spray programs:

“There are four peak periods in which various stages of deer ticks appear in southern Maine. Our four spray tick program targets adults in mid-April, nymphs in mid-June, larvae in early August, and adults again in September and October.”

Ticks are becoming a huge problem, actually killing some animals. Some young moose have been found covered with thousands of ticks, which suck so much blood they weaken or kill them. Wildlife officials are tracking some collared moose, trying to pinpoint the problem more accurately. 

Sun Spots, who spends a great deal of time outside, got guinea hens to keep the ticks at bay. They do help greatly, but they made her complacent, and she came down with Lyme disease last October.

So even if you have your yard sprayed, know that does not guarantee no ticks and take precautions such as wearing long pants and tucking them into your socks and checking your body for ticks once you come indoors. 

DEAR SUN SPOTS: I read your column every day and have been meaning to write for a long while.

My neighbor has the American flag flying in all kinds of weather, rain, snow or any kind of weather. Isn’t it a law you must take the flag in at sundown? — No Name, No Town

ANSWER: If you look around, you’ll see all-weather flags flying in rain and snow. When Sun Spots worked at the post office, she dreaded putting up the flag in the rain, but taking the sodden flag down at night was even worse.

And while there are no enforceable laws that say the flag has to be treated in a certain way, there are courtesy guidelines for displaying proper respect of the flag, including spotlighting a flag flown at night.

Maybe your neighbor just doesn’t know how to fly a flag? They can learn at several sites online, including www.legion.org/flag/faq.

DEAR SUN SPOTS: We have close to 3,000 American flags to put on the graves of veterans in St. Peters Cemetery on the afternoon of May 18 for Memorial Day.

Please call me if you can help. — Jerry DeWitt, 207-783-4663, ext. 228, cell 207-576-0376, jdewitt@tcmhs.org

DEAR SUN SPOTS: Mount Hope Cemetery of the Prince of Peace Parish in Lewiston is in need of miscellaneous equipment for its day-to-day operations. A top priority is the equipment necessary to open and close graves, such as a backhoe/loader or mini-excavator or compact tractor with backhoe attachment or skid steer with backhoe attachment.

This equipment need not be new but should be in very good condition. If you have such equipment and would like to donate or sell it at a reasonable price, please contact Gil Lapointe at 777-1200, ext. 213. — Sue Tuttle, sue.tuttle@portlanddiocese.org

This column is for you, our readers. It is for your questions and comments. There are only two rules: You must write to the column and sign your name (we won’t use it if you ask us not to). Please include your phone number. Letters will not be returned or answered by mail, and telephone calls will not be accepted. Your letters will appear as quickly as space allows. Address them to Sun Spots, P.O. Box 4400, Lewiston, ME 04243-4400. Inquiries can also be emailed to sunspots@sunjournal.com.