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QUESTION: I leave my dogs at home in my yard when I go to work. I leave a kiddie pool partly filled with water for them to drink. I generally dump the water out and replace it every three days. Would standing water like this become a breeding area for mosquitoes? I’m worried because of all the recent publicity about diseases spread by mosquitoes.

ANSWER: Mosquitoes need more time than that to breed in standing water. If you’re changing the water that regularly, there shouldn’t be a problem. Water left for horses to drink also has to be changed every three days, too. If you’re interested in having a pond as part of your landscape, you can keep it free of mosquitoes as well by stocking it with mosquito fish (Gambusia affinis), which feed on mosquito larvae.

Q: My 18-year-old home has 12-inch floor tiles throughout. However, about 50 tiles are loose. I’ve gotten bids on lifting the tiles, cleaning them and regluing them in place. But there is the possibility that the tiles could crack during the process. Then we couldn’t replace them because they’re so old. But one company insists that they can do the job without cracking the tiles? Is that possible?

A: It’s difficult to believe that anyone could make that promise. You’d better ask for references and do some thorough research before moving ahead. I’d also recommend that you have a moisture test of the slab under the tiles because that’s most likely the reason why the tiles have come loose. You have to eliminate the source of the moisture and then dry it out before you put the tiles down again.

Q: You recently told a homeowner that colored plaster could be applied using a brush to decorate slump block, instead of trying to paint these blocks. Is this something a homeowner could do by himself or is it too complicated? I have slump block on the front of my house and the rest is stucco, and this technique sounded interesting.

A: This process is called “mortar wash�; it was very popular back in the 1980s when slump block was a trend as well. You can see some photos online by googling “mortar washing.� Builders would lay up a terra-cotta colored slump block wall and put on a mortar wash in a contrasting color. It didn’t need to be a “wash� that completely covered the block; hit or miss coverage with the base color showing through was very popular; it may be about time for it to become popular again. Quality masonry contractors and painters do this kind of work if you don’t want to do it yourself.

Q: I have a 20-year-old mesquite tree that has developed fissures and cracks in the earth all around the base of the tree. What’s happening and can I correct the problem?

A: This might be the result of damage done on a very windy day. The tree may have been blown a little bit in one direction or the other and now has become unstable. The ground is probably heaving around the roots. You may need an arborist to put guy wires around the tree and help fill in the air gaps under the roots to get the tree to settle back into the soil. Otherwise, it might come down in the next storm.