Backyard Style - Outdoor, Backyard Pond and BirdingTuesday, August 26, 2008 National Hummingbird Day - Celebrate and Save!- CLICK HERE! BackyardStyle announces a 1-week sale: August 26th to September 3rd to celebrate National Hummingbird Day in the US. Buy $75 of wild bird supplies (any kind) and save $5.00 on the already discounted prices. (use coupon code: rachels5) Say YES to supporting National Hummingbird Day with Backyard Style.com Celebration of Hummingbirds in North America is not just about the beauty of this tiny bird. The Ruby Throated Hummingbird is theorized to play an important role in cross-fertilization of plants and flowers. As the Ruby Throated Hummingbird searches among flowers for a sip of nectar, it serves as an important pollinator of plants throughout its range. It is not clear whether some plants may actually be dependent on the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds for cross-fertilization, but there are some that are heavily visited by hummingbirds during prime pollination season. There is on-going study regarding this that still needs to be completed. Ruby Throated Hummingbirds are also predators; they prey upon myriad tiny insects that serve as the main source of protein in their diets.Along with nectar and pollen, hummingbirds eat flies, ants, bees, and beetles--all of which are quite small. If a hummingbird is sitting on a perch and repeatedly flies out a short distance and returns to the perch, it is probably "gnat-catching"--even if the human observer is unable to see the miniscule insects it is catching. Celebrate these wonderful creatures and save at BackyardStyle! Labels: Hummingbird Feeding
Sunday, August 17, 2008 Pond Algae 101 (Part II) - The Role of Pond Plants- CLICK HERE! If your pond is built properly and you've maintained the right balance between plants, fish and scavengers, controlling algae problems isn't difficult as mentioned in our previous article on pond algae. Algae problems in water gardens are usually the result of excess nutrients in the water. One simple way to control excess nutrients is with aquatic plants. Plants take nitrates from the water, which deprives the algae of the nutrients it needs to live. Surface plants also provide shade to the pond, further reducing algae. Water Lilies Work! The lush, floating leaves of the vibrant lily sweep across the pond's Oxygenating Plants
Marginal Plants These attractive, hardy plants come in a myriad of sizes, shapes and colors. These plants benefit the pond by removing excess nutrients that could otherwise feed algae. Marginals grow best in shallow waters and should be submerged to a depth of 10 inches. Labels: Pond Algae, Tetra Pond
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 Pond Algae 101 - Basic Simple Backyard Pond Algae Removal- CLICK HERE! Plankton, - the pea-soup algae that most pond owners are familiar with is probably the most common type of algae in ponds -both large and small. Plankton is the type of algae that makes the water look green. It causes you not to be able to see your fish as clearly as you may want to. Getting rid of pea-soup algae is fairly simple if you understand how it got there in the first place.Plankton requires sunlight and nutrition to grow. The sunlight comes from the sun and the nutrition comes from bi-products from fish waste, dead and decaying leaves, decomposed fish food and plants. The way to get rid of or reduce the amount of algae in your pond is by reducing the amount of sunlight and nutrients available to the algae. First and foremost is to have the proper size pump and filter. Next, sunlight can be reduced by providing shade to your pond. Pictured above is Pond Water Shade by Jungle Labs which is a chemical sun blocker. Another simple way to add shade is by adding aquatic plants such as water lilies. Floating plants including water hyacinths can also help. The leaves of these plants help to cover the surface area of your pond and they make your pond look better to boot! Nutrients can be reduced in a couple of different ways.
Happy ponding! Labels: Pond Algae
Sunday, July 27, 2008 Espoma Organic Plant Foods - Benefits of Phosphate- CLICK HERE! Espoma Rock Phosphate is a natural way to supply phosphate to your plants and flowers. The potential and occurrence for phosphorus deficiency is second only to nitrogen in plants and flowers. A couple quick facts about phosphate in gardening:
Phosphorus plays a vital role in energy transfer, photosynthesis, nutrient transport, sugar metabolism, plant genetics, cell division and as a structural component of the plant. So no wonder professional agriculturists and garden hobbyists both consider phosphate to be so important. Crops with adequate phosphorus show steady vigorous growth and earlier maturity. This means larger fruits and vegetables in the fall. Earlier maturing crops are less susceptible to summer drought, disease infection and frost. Espoma® Rock Phosphate is the finest, highest grade, all natural rock phosphate available. It is far superior in total phosphate content to all other natural forms of rock phosphate including black and colloidal rock phosphate. Organic source of phosphorus & micronutrients. Rock phosphate contains 32% total phosphate (P2O5). Phosphorus is an essential nutrient required by plants that is primarily responsible for healthy root development and fruit and flower production. In addition, rock phosphate is rich in minor elements such as boron, zinc, nickel and iodine which plants need in small amounts for optimum growth.Long term, slow-release feeding, Rock Phosphate becomes naturally available as the plant needs it. Plant roots give off carbon dioxide and certain organic acids which react with the rock phosphate in the soil, making it available for plant use. Because Espoma® Rock Phosphate is ground to a fine powder, a sufficient part of it is immediately available to the plant because the particles are so tiny that the organic acids and carbon dioxide produced by the plant roots and bacteria in the soil can break them down quickly. Spend $75.00 on plant food this week and save $5.00 with coupon code: googlerocks Labels: Espoma Organic Plant Food
Monday, July 21, 2008 Sonic Pest Chasers - Do they work?- CLICK HERE! The short answer is YES, sonic Pest Chasers work to repel rodents and NO, sonic Pest Chasers do not work to repel insects. In fact, the US Government has ruled that ultra-sonic product devices are NOT proven to repel insects. Ultrasound repels rodents by subjecting them to auditory stress. In terms of humans, it is like a continuous scratching of a chalkboard with your finger nails. Very simply, ultrasound hurts rodent's ears. Sonic pest chasing devices use a classic animal behavior modification technique. Unlike traps and poisons, ultrasound does not kill rodents. The Pest Chasing units have the ability to provide long-term reductions in rodent populations by creating a "rodent-unfriendly" environment that discourages rodent infestations. Unfortunately, if you have pet rodents of any kind - you can not use pest chasers in the same room as your pet! Rodent pets include mice, rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, ferrets, and squirrels. Never install an ultrasonic pest chasing device in a room that is inhabited by rodent pets. The sound will cause your pet severe auditory stress. The ultra sonic devices can't go through walls .. but better save than sorry. Keep your pets a couple rooms away! Sonic pest chasers will not work effectively outside - although some manufacturers have developed squirrel chasers that work on this theory that can keep squirrels away from bird feeders. The PestChaser emits high frequency ultrasonic sound waves between 32 and 62 kHz to create an acoustically hostile environment that repels rodents from sound-protected rooms. It's kinder than traps, safer than poisons, and completely inaudible to people and non-rodent pets. Unlike traps and poisons, the PestChaser minimizes human contact with disease-bearing rodents (no dead rodents to dispose of). It is very important to note when thinking of purchasing an ultrasonic pest chaser the following SCIENTIFIC facts:
Given this information, How can an ultrasonic device situated in a room repel rodents inside a wall? NO Can an ultrasonic device situated in one room repel rodents in other rooms? NO Therefore .. you need to get a device per room. Labels: Pest Control
Friday, July 18, 2008 Escape from the Backyard - About Dog GPS Locators- CLICK HERE! Global Positioning Systems. They are cropping up everywhere and making our lives easy, safer and more convenient. There isn't a person that I know that hasn't raved about a new GPS product. Most notably are the car GPS systems - but as you know there is much more out there and much more to come. If you are a pet owner, I am sure that you guessed that GPS locators for dogs would be coming soon - but the part that I DIDN'T guess was the ease of use of some of the systems and the way they are incorporated with an excellent online account experience and great customer support. We carry the PetSafe system and we have heard nothing but great reviews from anyone that has had experience with it. The PetSafe® GPS Locator collar is a powerful tool that helps you find your lost pet using assisted global positioning system (AGPS) tracking and two-way wireless technology. APGS is just GPS with a friendly person and technology helping you out. This GPS system has simple-to-understand features and a dedicated live support team standing by 24/7/365. Petsafe makes it easy for you to pinpoint the location of your roaming pet so you can bring him back home quickly and efficiently - without too many tears shed. The "Home Zone" is the key to how this innovative system works. You establish a Home Zone in a 3 step quick process. Once you've established that Home Zone™ area for your dog, the system will notify you (through any methods that you choose) whenever he crosses the Home Zone boundaries. You will get an escape alert via phone, email or text message if your pet goes outside without your permission. At that point, call PetSafe. A PetSafe Customer Care Specialist will walk you through recoving your pet. You get the peace of mind that comes from always knowing where your dog is and service that keeps the recovery process fast and easy. Best of all, the PetSafe GPS Locator comes with a money-back guarantee. If Labels: GPS Dog Locator
Friday, July 11, 2008 No More Geese! - Liquid Fence Goose Repellent- CLICK HERE! Smile and scoop up your last Goose turd. Goose, Duck and Turkey habitat can be greatly reduced with Liquid Fence's ingenius product. In a nutshell, the way that Goose Repellent works is that it makes the food supply ( where you apply it) very undesirable to geese, turkeys and ducks. They hate it! In essense, this safely contaminates the geese and duck food source. Take away the food source and those ducks and geese will migrate right out of the area to find food somewhere else. And you will be left with a doo doo free backyard, pond or lawn. Although we love animals and birds here at BackyardStyle - we are also aware of the damage that geese and duck can do to your home and yard. They can damage grass and other vegetation, pollute ponds, and spread disease. Geese can actually endanger both children and adults with aggressive, nasty behavior. Geese generally nest on shorelines, ponds, islands, man-made structures, golf courses and even in pools. If an area provides a water source, cover for a the geese nest and a good place for the bird to have a lookout, it is likely a goose will build its home there. Geese are also attracted to lawns with short, mowed grass. If the geese are migrating to your home - Liquid Fence Geese Repellent will do the job! Liquid Fence Coupon: Save $5.00 on any Liquid Fence order that totals more than $75 with coupon code: rachels5 Labels: Pest Control
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