America: Summer chores are calling your name! But what's your strategy? 1. Make it fun. 2. Focus on survival. 3. Find new tools to make it easier.

Robin Kahn and Kirby Gookin of Lexington, N.Y., are in the first camp. As tent caterpillars fall "from the skies in biblical proportions," the couple and their kids will lie on their backs and spritz bug spray at the critters as they plummet from trees. Jan Arsenault and Janet Graham of Santa Fe, N.M., which is in the midst of a drought, are No. 2-ers: Their goal is "trying to keep things alive and keep other things from catching on fire." Their MO: lugging bucket after bucket of water from the kitchen sink and from rain barrels to throw on the parched yard.

As for the rest of us, bring on the new tools!

The Equalizer aluminum extension ladder promises to end ladder anxiety, a leading cause of stress (worse than asking for a raise, according to a study done for, um, well, OK, it was Werner Ladders, maker of the Equalizer). But totally objective "Helpful Hardware Man" Lou Manfredini, the Ace Hardware expert, calls it "the most innovative thing I've seen in ladders" in a while. Here's why: If the ground is not even, the ladder legs can adjust individually and incrementally. And that spells added stability. Four models are out: 16-, 20-, 24-, and 28-footers (with load capacity of 200-plus pounds). You'll pay from $180 to $250 at Ace and other hardware stores.

Tree branches are shaking in their roots. Black and Decker's Alligator Lopper, looking like a hand-held shark, can clamp on to branches up to 4" in diameter and cut through them "like scissors," explains Craig Saur, lawn and garden manager at Strosnider's Hardware in Bethesda, Md. Lighter than most chain saws, at 6.5 pounds, it gives you more control as well, since you have both hands on the "scissors" handle. Because the jaws clamp around the branch, then cut, there is no chain saw-ish kickback. And with a 4.5-amp motor, it's faster than handsaws or clippers. The Lopper retails for $100 at hardware stores.

Efficiency in a tube, that's Black & Decker's new $25 PaintStick 5-piece Painting System. Its ingeniously simple design--think of a bicycle pump with a paint roller at the end--allows you to draw paint directly from a can through a fill tube. You can paint an 8' x 8' wall in about 10 minutes with one fill. And no drips or spills. To clean: Fill with water, flush out. The StainStick, good for decks, works on the same priniciple.

Women are doing more yardwork, say experts (and lazy husbands), and ladies like electric, rechargeable, cordless tools. Black & Decker (yes, them again) has an improved electric mower: the 19" Cordless Mulching/Rear Bag lawn mower ($450), which cuts an average of a 1/₃-acre lot on a single charge.

By now, you are very sweaty from ladder and lopper and lawn and painting chores. The solution is the first outdoor fan with a dimmable, decorative light: Lasko's $200 or so, 50-inch-tall Outdoor Living Fan, housed in a tower akin to an Arts and Crafts-style silo. It's quiet, good-looking, and powerful. You will like the breeze. Bugs will not.