Monthly Archives: September 2011

Easy steps for protecting mums and pumpkins from hungry deer

  • Use an effective repellent
  • Break the foraging habit before it takes hold
  • Get the neighbors involved

Protect mums and pumpkins with Liquid Fence

Protect your outdoor fall decorations ( the tasty ones, that is) with a liberal application of proven effective, all-season Liquid Fence® Deer & Rabbit Repellent. Applied on and around mums and pumpkins, Liquid Fence works on scent, so the deer don’t even have to take a bite to be repelled – unlike many other repellents that require the deer to “munch away” to be effective.

 An ounce of prevention…

It’s much easier to prevent deer damage than it is to stop a foraging cycle that has already begun. Deer are creatures of habit. If they munched your tulips in the spring, they’ll crunch your pumpkins in the fall and, you can bet, they’ll be chomping your arborvitae in the winter! By applying Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent at the first signs of deer foraging, you’ll break their habit before it takes a strong hold.

 A neighborhood effort

As in most situations, there is power in numbers. If adjacent properties practice the same deer control policies, the neighborhood will benefit. So work hard at convincing soft-hearted Mary, she’s doing the deer more harm than good by regularly feeding the local deer population. Not to mention angering her neighbors by training the deer to continually seek food in her (and, consequently their) back yard!

Dr. David Francko on Garden Life Radio

Dr. David Francko, Associate Provost and Dean of The Graduate School at The University of Alabama, is sort of a celebrity here at The Liquid Fence Company.  Dr. Francko is the inventor of FreezePruf.  He is an expert in frost protection and an advocate for the earth-friendly product.

On Sunday morning at 9:15 PST, Dr. Francko will be on Sharon Asakawa’s GardenLife radio program.  If you’re considering FreezePruf for your garden or a loyal fan of the product, you’ll want to listen in.  Dr. Francko has been gathering research from gardeners and growers across the country, who have been testing FreezePruf and enjoying amazing results.

So tune in Sunday morning at 9:15 PST (that’s 12:15 EST) and listen to Dr. Francko’s segment.  Having spoken to Dr. Francko on many occasions, I can promise you it will be a very information and interesting segment.

*If you’re new to Garden Life Radio, and want to know which station to tune into simply put your zip code into the box on this link to see what station runs the show near where you life.

 

The pest detective: mole vs. vole

The Liquid Fence Company offers a wide variety of animal repellents, but we often hear confusion about what pest is really the problem.  The pest detective is here to help you out.  First up, the mole and the vole, can you tell which is which?

The cute guy on the left is a vole.  Voles are herbivores, which means they eat plants.  A vole is extremely destructive for gardeners and homeowners.  They eat bulbs, kill grass and even strip the bark from trees and shrubs.

The ugly, strange creature on the right is a mole.  Moles are insectivores.  Their diet primarily consists of earthworms, grubs and some insects.  On a typical day a mole will eat an equivalent of its body weight in food , which means moles are constantly tunneling in search of food.  This tunneling will make a mess of a yard or garden and will deplete the worms that help replenish nutrients in the soil.

So what are the signs and how do you know which creature is damaging your lawn or garden?

Look at the tunnels.  A vole tunnel will be obvious, because it will look like a line of dead grass.  A mole tunnel might appear slightly raised, and it will feel squishy when you step on it.  Moles also leave baseball sized holes at the end of their tunnels and sometimes you will see what is called a “volcano” mound, which is a mound of dirt at the opening of the mole tunnel.

Watch for the pests.  As you can see from the pictures above, moles and voles don’t look remotely similar.  While you will hardly ever see a mole, voles do come out rather frequently.  If your pest looks rodent-like, you probably have a vole on your hands.

Count the culprits.  Moles are a lonely bunch.  You hardly ever find more than two in a typical yard.  Voles on the other hard are very social creatures and they multiply quickly.  A vole can have up to 30 offspring per year.

Hopefully with these clues you’ll be better equipped to know which pest has taken a liking to your yard or garden.  If moles are your problem, Liquid Fence Mole Repellent is the eco-friendly solution.  Our mole repellent coats the mole’s food source, leaving it undesirable for the mole or moles inhabiting your yard.  Without that food source, the moles will leave, looking elsewhere for food.

 

Preparing for winter protection

Even though summer isn’t quite over yet, we are getting lots of calls here at Liquid Fence Headquarters about protecting from deer damage through the winter months with Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent.  Here are some tips on how to make colder-season protection a little more worry-free.

Storage – Be sure to store all of your Liquid Fence products in an area that will remain above freezing.  The Liquid Fence line of repellents and gardening aids are made up mainly of natural ingredients and essential oils.  This means they won’t harm your family, pets, or the environment.  It also means that they need to be stored at temperatures between 40°F and 90°F or they will break down and become unusable.  Try to find a winter home for your repellents now.  This will save you lots of frustration further along in the season.

ApplicationLiquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent is an all-season product, which means you can apply it during the winter months.  The key to successful use throughout the chillier time of year, is applying the product when the temperature is  above freezing and will remain above freezing for approximately 4-6 hours or until the product dries.

And what about the snow? – Love it or hate it, many of us live in climates where snow is a very real part of winter.  Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent Spray can not be applied directly to snow, as the snow will dilute the product.  If branches are covered in snow, it’s best to brush them off and give them a chance to air dry in preparation for applying the product.  It is important for the weather to be warm enough for the branches to air dry, because if the temperatures are too cold and they freeze dry it is too cold to apply the product.

Winter protection from deer damage can be a challenge, thanks to the deer population’s food source quickly disappearing.  Even the supposed deer-proof plants can be up for grabs.  With Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent this protection is not only attainable, it’s guaranteed.  If you’re curious about how to protect your plants during the winter and have more questions than the ones we addressed here, feel free to leave a comment and ask away!

Frost Protection

Gardening was a way of life growing up in my house, and frost was a serious consideration for all planting decisions.  When tender strawberry blossoms appeared earlier than usual, careful attention was given to the forecast and many times sheets and blankets were used to cover the plants, just in case.  Tomatoes were planted after the first full moon in May to avoid the damaging late spring frost.  And fall planting just did not occur, because of the risk of an early frost ruining all of the labor that goes into a second planting. 

Luckily, frost protection has advanced since then.  Gardeners don’t have to take as much of a risk when it comes to early or late frosts, thanks to FreezePruf.

FreezePruf is an innovative frost protection spray, that works on a cellular level to enhance the plants natural ability to survive freeze and ice crystal damage.  And FreezePruf improves a health plants cold tolerance from 2 – 9 ˚F, depending on the variety of the plant and the duration/intensity of the frost or freeze event.

FreezePruf can be applied as long as the temperature is above freezing, but best results will be obtained when applied at temperatures above 50˚F and a minimum of 8 to 12 hours before an anticipated freeze.  Because the biodegradable formula lasts 4-6 weeks, you can also protect your plants seasonally. If you choose to protect seasonally, any new growth should be sprayed as it appears, to make sure the entire plant is protected.

So stop worrying about frost and making it your first consideration when it comes to gardening throughout the seasons.  Give eco-friendly FreezePruf a try!  And be sure to check out our  effectiveness guide to see how FreezePruf will work on your plants in your garden.