Spraying Roundup and Insecticide in Same Sprayer

Alan L. · Mar 11, 2005

I stopped at Northern Tool today and ended buying a 15 gallon ATV sprayer for $129. It has a 1.8gpm pump, with maximum pressure of 60 psi. It came with a spot-spraying wand, no boom. I'll just put it in the the little truck-bed of my Mule.

I decided on a spot sprayer because the area I am spraying, while 3 acres or so, is next to our pond and some desirable trees, and I just don't want to broadcast indescriminately. It might take a while to spray it all with the spot sprayer (maybe someone can enlighten me), but I think I can be much more careful.

I also got a gallon of Glyphosate (41%) with surfactant for $31 called Tuf something or other. I haven't checked the application rate but it seems like its about 3 oz per gallon, so whatever about 40 gallons of spray will cover, a gallon should do.

I did some internet research and everything I read was that for glyphosate, plain water is the recommended cleaning agent. I will do the roundup and clean it good, then I may or may not ever use it for other sprays, such as the BT for killing the inch worms or webworms or whatever it is we get all over everything every spring.

Gatorboy · Mar 11, 2005

You are asking for trouble doing it with one sprayer. I'd hate to see you KILL something unintentionally.

Alan L. · Mar 12, 2005

Well, I got the Glyphosate spayed today. Took about 2 hours to do the 3 acres using the spot sprayer. Next time I will rig a boom and at least do the open areas with that. Would have been a whole lot faster.

I am also concerned about how uniform the coverage was, and how well the stuff was mixed. I put a quart to 15 gallons and ended up emptying 3 tankfulls. There isn't a good way to agitate the mixture, so I drove the mule around for a little bit, hitting every bump I could.

When I got done, I filled up the tank with water and then ran it out the drain. I then filled it up with water again and sprayed it all out. This was pretty much the recommended cleanout instructions.

I can't say that I will ever use this sprayer for anything other than roundup. But just how many of the big things can a person buy and then store? One for roundup, one for broad leaf weed killer, and one for insecticide? I guess I will deal with when the time comes. The first time I need to spray something will be the BT for the trees.

Jim_Fisher · Mar 12, 2005

Alan,

( There isn't a good way to agitate the mixture, so I drove the mule around for a little bit, hitting every bump I could.)

Can you agitate by putting the wand into the fill port and circulating using the sprayer pump?

Sprayers with a constant running pump (gasoline engine or pto driven) have a pressure relief valve that returns to the tank. Turning on the pump without without opening the spray valve does a pretty good job of mixing if that's the way the sprayer is set up.

( I can't say that I will ever use this sprayer for anything other than roundup. But just how many of the big things can a person buy and then store? One for roundup, one for broad leaf weed killer, and one for insecticide? I guess I will deal with when the time comes. The first time I need to spray something will be the BT for the trees.)

Be sure to test on something expendable a week or two prior to spraying non-expendable trees and plants. I've never heard it suggested to use plain water to neutralize a sprayer until reading it in this thread. I know that when I switch my hand pump sprayer from Roundup to 2,4-D, a lot of surfactant seems to carry over. I always assumed that if the surfactant was present, so was the chemical.

EastTexFrank · Mar 12, 2005

( There isn't a good way to agitate the mixture )

My 25 gallon electric rig is like that, there's no recirculating line. What I do is 1/2 to 3/4 fill the tank, add the chemical and then top it off. The force of the water from the hose mixes it pretty good. It will foam up but if it's a problem, I have been known to put in a few drops of spa/hot tub defoamer that will keep it down a little. I then stir the blazes out of it for a couple of minutes with a metal rod.

( But just how many of the big things can a person buy and then store? )

As many as they can afford, though I must admit that that's the reason I don't have a dedicated sprayer for Round-Up. I don't use enough of it to justify a large, dedicated sprayer. I use a 3 gallon, hand pump spot sprayer. I may have to fill it 2 or 3 times but that's about as much as I spray at one time. Now, selective herbicides and insecticides, that's a different story .......