True lies

As I await the start of the 2011 lawn season, I am appalled at some of the rumblings I am hearing concerning the lawn care industry.

A few posts back I noted the rampant slander present, as one company slags another in order to gain advantage in a competitive market place. Now I'm hearing the potential customers are not immune to the lies.

One company has been touting the return of chemical spraying for weeds, spray approved by the government. Another claims exclusive rights to a new German weed control no one else has. Yet another is proclaiming the use of a new weed control for 2011 and again...acting like they have exclusivity.

Most people don't know much about their lawn and when they are given this information they take it and run with it. However, be aware of the truth shrouded beneath a haze of misinformation.

These three separate companies from above are actually talking about the same product. That's right. It's the same weed control I've done a number of posts on already. This is because I, like pretty much every other company out there have been using it since May of 2010.

The product is called Fiesta. The active ingredient is iron and it is an organic control so it can be used under the pesticide bylaw. However, it is not a systemic control and must be applied in two applications not more than 30 days apart.

It's also very expensive.

So I ask, is this missinformation deliberate to try and woo/fleece customers back to the already untrustworthy, or is stupidity really that ubiquitous?

It's no different than the kerfuffle surrounding Sarritor a few years back when one company cornered the market on the only available weed control for use under the bylaw. Later the truth about the lack of effectiveness of Sarritor surfaced and that company is still putting out fires while trying to repair their damage credibility.

In revisiting the statements of the three companies in question; I guess because it's a concentrate and requires certain precautions when using it, it's the same process as when we had chemical control...but a true chemical weed control as you, the homeowner knew it....no.

It is manufactured by a German company called Neudorff who are California based, but Fiesta is not sold under the name Neudorff...so German yes, but every lawn care operator with a licence has access to it, so exclusive....no.

New weed control? well in the scheme of things I guess so, since it's still under a year old in the market place, but new as in, no one has used it before....no. Hell, you've probably purchased the diluted Scotts version of it called, "Weed-B-Gone".

You have to ask yourself, if these companies are lying to you about this product, what else are they twisting the truth on?

Don't be an April Fool. Recognize what you're being told for what it's worth: a clever marketing ploy and nothing more.