Purdue Extension Service

Vanderburgh County, Indiana

If It Sounds Too Good to be True....

By Larry Caplan, Extension Horticulture Educator, Vanderburgh County, IN

For the Evansville Courier and Press, May 16, 2008

I've really got to hand it to the advertising teams marketing various garden products. They make it sound so ridiculously easy to have a yard that's the envy of the neighborhood, or vegetables so robust that one tomato could feed a village. Or maybe by sprinkling some magic powder on your yard, you won't have to mow, or prune, or do anything other than sit back and enjoy the landscape.

Too bad that there's more manure in some of these ads than in our gardens.

Take, for example, some of the weed killer advertisements. The really push the speed of weed kill, even going so far as to mock the manhood of gardeners with slow-acting herbicides. Most fast acting herbicides simply burn the foliage off, which is satisfactory for annual weeds like shepherd's purse or purple deadnettle. Problem is, our most troublesome weeds tend to be perennials, and their roots must be killed to keep the weed permanently dead. Kill off the top of a dandelion or wild violet, and it will come right back.

One of the big lawn product companies is now marketing their lawn fertilizer to imply that it will reduce your lawn's need for water. The ad shows the grass throwing the water off, somewhat like a wet dog will. There's a grain of truth behind the ad, but a lot more hype than I'm comfortable with. The truth is that a properly maintained and fertilized lawn will have deep roots. Deep roots can pull moisture from deep underground. So, if the plant can reach water that an unfertilized and shallow-rooted plant can't, it won't need to be watered as much. There's no secret ingredient, though, that's making your lawn (or landscape) more drought tolerant.

And much as I'd wish differently, there's still no miracle grass variety that stays green all year and never needs mowing.

I've noticed an increase in advertising for various pest control devices that use ultrasonic noise to drive rodents and insects out of your home. One new product says that it sends electronic "pulses" through the wiring of your house, which somehow drives the critters out. I don't know what those pulses are supposed to do, but unless the critter has chewed through the wires, I can't see that having any effect.

Let me assure you unbiased research shows that there is NO ultrasonic device that works in repelling insects, mice, and other pests. First off, insects don't have ears, and while they feel vibrations, I doubt they'd feel anything from these devices (and if they did, whether it would scare them away). Sound emitters theoretically send out a constant sound, and the animals soon learn to ignore it, just like humans living next to a waterfall will cease to hear the water.

To learn about the techniques and products that really do work against household and garden pests, contact the Purdue Extension Service at (812) 435-5287.