Top Performers from 2015 Part 2

Here are some more top performers from 2015:

Holiday Festival of Lights at James Island County Park. It is not the holiday season around our house without several trips through the light show. To think it has been going on for twenty-six years and the excitement is still there (with some of mine I think it is because the smores are still there).

Considered one of the:

“Top 100 Events in North America,” American Bus Association

 “Top 10 Light Shows in the USA,” America’s Best Online

“Third Best Public Lights Display in the US,” USA Today’s 10 Best Readers’ Choice  Award. Just to name a few of the Holiday Festival of Lights recent accolades. When travelling during the holiday season, I know I have toured other light shows, and none of them hold a candle to the Holiday Festival of Lights.                         

Growth regulators helped out with plants and pests this year. Bed bug, fire ant, roach and flea control success has been greatly increased by the addition of growth regulators. Customers controlling fleas outdoors and indoors were aided by the addition of growth regulators. The addition of a growth regulator to a contact kill product greatly increased the success of managing a pest population by disrupting the insects life cycle. Once you kill the pest, there are no new ones to replace them.

With all the rain plant growth regulators helped many contractors and brave homeowners control the growth of their plants or turf with a control product instead of a mower or hedge trimmer. With all the rain this fall, some yards were hard to keep maintained with a mower because they were too wet. The right application of a plant growth regulator can easily cut your need to mow in half to even a quarter of the frequency that you usually mow. If you do not want to do your whole yard, consider doing the edges along your sidewalk, driveway, and bed lines. Less edging means more time for other activities.

The growth of your shrubs can also be controlled by plant growth regulators. Less hedging means more time for other activities. Just think no hedging (extension cord?), no clean up, no paper bag by street – priceless.

Surrender Fire Ant Killer still smells but still effective! The old 75% Acephate product (most people just called it Orthene back in the day) is still a big seller for mound treating fire ants. With all the rain and warm fall weather, fire ant mounds are prolific and the cooler weather might render a bait ineffective.

Invict Gold Cockroach Gel for roach control is one of those products that friends tell friends about. Customers will walk up to the counter and say, “my neighbor (substitute brother, sister, cousin, guy I drink beer with, girlfriend, buddy, mother, father, person I go to church with … you get the idea) says I need to try Invict Gold Cockroach Gel.” Invict Gold Cockroach Gel is a great product to rotate with to introduce a new bait matrix and new active ingredient to avoid bait aversion.  Invict Gold Cockroach Gel is a very fast acting bait compared to other baits.

Top Performers 2015

Here is a list of some of the top performers in 2015. These products would either be shared with neighbors as great products or talked about in a whisper to protect secrets of success. This list is not in any particular order of importance because different customers have different situations.

SeaHume G has produced spectacular results for a few years. A humic acid and seaweed combination product really does some amazing things to the soil and the plant. The comments I get the most are that the plant is stronger and has a better root system, requires less water, see far less disease, and less insect damage. SeaHume is a natural organic product, so people feel comfortable using it around pets, people, and fish.

In the fall of 2015, I did one of my little experiments. I put a bag of SeaHume out in my front yard and the front yard has remained brown patch free. In my back yard and in my mother’s yard I didn’t put any out and the disease is present.

The conditions for brown patch have been extended by the mild winter and moisture.

Is this fungal reduction coincidence or science? Try it for yourself and see how SeaHume works for you.  

SeaHume L is the liquid version of SeaHume G and also has quite a following for its bio stimulant activities.

The tag added to Wet & Forget This tag is very red and states:

Failure!

This product is only

 effective if you read the

 instructions thoroughly.

Failure to do so will result in

 you moaning and groaning

that the product doesn’t

work and generally being

a pain in the bottom. Make a

positive change in your life

will you, and read the

instructions

This tag makes my, “Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law,” seem pretty tame. Products have to adhere to EPA guidelines. To get the “label” for a product the manufacturer must do extensive research on the formulation and on the efficacy of the product.

I have been selling control products since 1991and using them for longer than that and I cannot remember the product ever not working when used according to the label (maybe because I’m so old and forgot).

Cyonara L&G RTS helped many people get through the long, wet mosquito season of 2015. In 2009 I tipped my hat to the RTS packaging (except for herbicides – I heard of too much over applying issues), and Cyonara L&G was the perfect product to be used this way. RTS simply means ready to spray. You connect the bottle to the hose and you are ready to spray. Cyonara kills many different pests around the yard and the RTS container makes the application very fast and easy. Always read, understand and follow product label.

Soil Test and Custom Programs probably should top the list, but someone with bed bugs in an apartment would not need these services. I recently was handed this testimonial from Greg Lienert. “I started using Possum’s recipe for my lawn 3 years ago and I have never had a better lawn in the 35 years that I have been trying to grow the perfect lawn. Possum’s is awesome! I have the best lawn in the neighborhood.”  That’s what I’m talking about proactive lawn care!

Repellex Granular Mole Repellent was a new product for us in 2013 and the general feeling is that it performs better and costs less than the product it replaced. You have to like that! The product is organic and works! Repellex has quite a following and continues to spread.

Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law.

New Years Resolution 2016

“I started using the Possum’s recipe for my lawn 3 years ago and I have never had a better lawn in the 35 years that I have been trying to grow the perfect lawn. Possum’s is awesome! I have the best lawn in the neighborhood.”  Greg Lienert.

“Through Possum’s soil analysis program our yard has improved immensely.  We were one of three “Yard of the Quarter” winners in Dunes West. ” David and Deborah Oyster

“With fertilizer, pest and disease control program everything worked great and we won “Yard of the Month” in Dunes West.  The 15-00-15 with its secret ingredients, lawn insect control, Cleary’s 3336 fungicide and Deer Stopper worked great for us!” 

Merrill Craven

“Helped rid yard of fungus damage, chinch bug damage.  Deep green, healthy, lush look and texture.  A lawn program is far better than random purchases at discount store.  Cotton Burr compost is noticeably effective within 1-2 weeks.  Worth the price.”  Eugene V. Babich

“Possum’s soil test and monthly program has turned a weak sickly lawn into lush dark green lawn – winning a Letter of Award from Park West for Landscape Appearance.”  Pat Piglia

“The Best!  Cookbook program very user friendly—plus the support!!”

Bernard Arnold, O.D.

“Great, explaining what to do in my yard at the proper time of year”.  Bess Knight

“Possum’s Fertilizers with their secret ingredients are far better than Scott’s fertilizer-no doubt about it and I used Scott’s for a long time.” Jim Bayne

“Great products for my lawn.  15-00-15 Lawn Food!  My lawn never looked better!  Better than Scotts!  Great Products!”  George Bryant

“I had mostly depended on Home Depot for yard treatment, before finding out about Possum’s. I went to Possum’s and explained my yard issues. They got me on a regular schedule with treatments. Now my yard is the greenest and prettiest in the neighborhood.  Possum’s is the only place I’ll go.” Julia Jacobs

Resolution one – get on a Possum’s Custom Program.  Resolution two see resolution one.

Happy New Year!

Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law.