PRODUCT FOCUS: Pest prevention

The pansies superintendent Mike Bankert has growing on the three public golf courses he oversees are not only a treat to the eyes but also to the palates of the local deer population, and he has experimented with numerous control products to curb their snacking.
Recently, Bankert has had success using Liquid Fence at the Myrtle Beach National Golf Course in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Without use of a wildlife control product the annuals would have to be replanted, a time consuming and expensive process for three 18-hole golf courses.
Bankert estimates the cost of maintaining the course’s annuals, sans wildlife repellents, is between $250,000 and $300,000. Given that his total annual maintenance budget for the three courses is about $2 million, a wildlife control product like Liquid Fence helps Bankert stay well within his budget range. "Liquid Fence generally costs us about $400 to $500 (annually)," he says.

At this price point, Bankert is able to better focus his time on spending his budget on other priorities, such as maintenance workers.

Out of the roughly 40 maintenance employees he has working at Myrtle Beach National Golf Course, only one is responsible for applying the wildlife control product. The product is applied every three to four weeks according to its directions. Ultimately, the amount of rainfall the course receives determines the frequency in which it must be sprayed to remain potent and repelling the deer.

Comparing Liquid Fence to other remedies he has used in the past – such as blood meal and coyote urine – Bankert says there is a noticeable difference. For example, many wildlife deterrent products available to superintendents simply taste bad to the deer. Bankert has noticed that an awful taste does not seem to be enough of a long-term deterrent to drive them away for good. "They kind of just get used to the hot (spicy) flavor and they eat it anyway," Bankert says.

The distinction with Liquid Fence is the product smells bad, eliminating the need for deer to make contact with the plant. A short-term drawback, though, is the deer are not the only ones susceptible to Liquid Fence’s scent, Bankert says. "It’s very obvious when we spray," he says. However, Bankert has not received any complaints from players and the odor lifts after a day. Bankert will take the short-term smell over costly plant loss.

In addition, Liquid Fence is an all-natural product. And since Myrtle Beach National Golf Course is one step from receiving its Audubon certification, the course is eager to use an environmentally friendly deterrent.

"I would say we probably wouldn’t be able to plant certain beds out here if I didn’t use Liquid Fence," Bankert says. GCI