We’re extremely proud that our  Yard Net Granular Lawn & Yard Insect Repellent was among the handful of impressive products to win the esteemed DGA Green Thumb Award for 2012. Its industry-first, time-release formula encapsulates and preserves the effectiveness of the natural essential oil ingredients. As the granules biodegrade, they slowly release the oils, creating long-lasting, eco-safe repellency for up to a full week. 

Yard Net Granular significantly controls biting insects such as mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, black flies and gnats. Unlike many “backyard” insect repellents, it contains no pyrethrins, no pyrethroids and no d-limonene, so it’s safe to use around kids and pets, and won’t harm vegetation. It’s earth-friendly and has a botanical-fresh scent.

Super convenient to use, it comes in 2 or 5 pound easy shake-to-apply bottles – making it a breeze to protect any outdoor activity from pesky biting insects – whether it’s a backyard BBQ, outdoor wedding, campout or soccer game!

 “We’re honored to be awarded the 2012 DGA Green Thumb Awards for Yard Net,” says Edward Abraham, president of The Liquid Fence Company. “We’re really excited about our new granular products and customer response has been very positive – it’s especially gratifying to receive this kind of influential industry recognition on top of that.”

 The DGA Green Thumb Awards recognize outstanding new garden products available by mail or online. The awards are sponsored by the Direct Gardening Association, the world’s largest nonprofit association of companies that sell garden products directly to consumers. The judging was done by a panel of independent garden communicators. The winning products were selected based on uniqueness, technological innovation, ability to solve a gardening problem or provide a gardening opportunity, and potential appeal to gardeners. The official announcement and award presentation was made in January at the DGA Winter Conference held in San Diego. 

 Yard Net Granular is the third repellent we are offering in a granular form. Snake Repellent Granular, launched last year and Naphthalene-free, is also a time-release repellent. Launched in early 2011, Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent Granular, for low-growing plants, is delivered in a diatomaceous base that plant’s love – it’s also an award winner – bestowed the NRHA 2011 Gold Award by the North American Retail Hardware Association.

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!

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 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.

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.

Application – Liquid 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!

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.

Liquid Fence Wasp & Hornet Killer: In Pennsylvania, and around the country, late summer and early fall are prime-time for wasps and hornets.  This all-natural solution is guaranteed to kill on contact.

FreezePruf: Early frosts are a fall gardener’s worst fear.  Give your plants a little extra help this year, with this EcoLogicEZ product.  FreezePruf works on a molecular level, enhancing the plants natural mechanisms to resist freeze damage.

Liquid Fence Repellents: Got Deer?  How about Rabbits?  Turkeys? Ducks? Geese? Moles? Snakes? Dogs? Cats? Armadillos?  If you have a pest problem with any one of these animals, we have a solution.  Don’t let the damage continue into the winter months, stop it now with one of the many animal repellent options from The Liquid Fence Company.

Liquid Net and Yard Net: Late summer and early fall can be just as buggy as the spring, especially after the rainy East Coast has experienced for the last couple of weeks.  Protect your end-of-summer picnics, fall soirees, and any other outdoor time with our Liquid Net, Liquid Net for Pets, Yard Net and Yard Net Granular products.

That’s our list of must-haves for the fall, what’s on your list of fall essentials?

Brenda’s horse suffers from allergies.  Over 30 different allergens bother her, including many of the ingredients in other mosquito and fly sprays.  According to Brenda, “She was losing hair, covered in welts and very itchy.  She rolled rubbed and chewed herself raw.”

Brenda’s only hope was immuno therapy, a process which could take years for visible results.  Two months ago, Brenda found Liquid Net for Horses.

“My horse is back to being beautiful,” Brenda said.  “The spray is very well tolerated, her coat shines (and I might add, she’s white and keeping a white coat shiny is next to impossible usually, because she’s allergic to flax too).”

We are so glad Brenda shared her story with us.  And loved her final words to us.

“Oh yes, and it smells great, too!” Brenda said.

Yard Net Granular is our new easy-to-apply, long-lasting insect repellent.  It’s time-release formula is perfect for use on playgrounds, soccer fields, campsites, backyard BBQs, pool parties, outdoor weddings or just relaxing with family and friends.  If you’re camping in the summer heat and would prefer a cooler solution to keeping bugs away, or if you’d rather not watch guests swat at bugs during your outdoor wedding, Yard Net Granular is the solution.

Yard Net Granular is eco-friendly and safe for your pets and family.  The innovative formula creates a repelling barrier that dramatically reduces the presence of biting insects such as mosquitoes, fleas, ticks, black flies and gnats.  And it lasts up to a full week!  We are so happy to welcome this new granular to our growing family.  Give the granular a try today!

This year’s event gathered 500 volunteers, representing 95 companies.  The goal was to beautify and work in Arlington National Cemetery’s 200+ acres of land.  According to Eric, a lot was accomplished. Team Liberty (including Team Liquid Fence and Team Weed Man) covered 19.8 acres and dropped over 17,250 lbs of lime.

Check out the slideshow and videos Eric took to share from the event, and of course we would like to extend a big thank you to PLANET for letting The Liquid Fence Company be involved.