Hot take: I've been using a cheap spray bottle for bark beetle spray and it's way better than the expensive gear.

I mean, I know it sounds nuts. We had a bad beetle year here in Boise, and my usual backpack sprayer broke on the third job. I was in a bind and grabbed a two dollar spray bottle from the hardware store, the kind for plants. I thinned the permethrin mix a bit more, like 10% extra water, and just went for it on a big old ponderosa. Idk, maybe it's just me, but the control was way finer. I could get right into the crevices without overspraying the whole trunk. It took longer, sure, but after a week I checked and the new pitch tubes had stopped. I've been using it on smaller target jobs ever since. Has anyone else tried something this basic and had it actually work better than the 'right' tool?

3 comments

3 Comments

matthew_patel689d ago

Well, there's nothing like a broken piece of gear to remind you that the fanciest tool is sometimes just a complicated way to do a simple job. Sounds like you found the arborist version of using a butter knife for every screw in the house. Honestly, if it works and saves a couple hundred bucks, who's the crazy one?

dakota_miller939d ago

Had the same thing happen with my fogger. Switched to a basic pump sprayer for spot treatments. The cheap stuff just lets you aim better.

green.laura8d ago

Okay but I have to disagree on this one, sorry. That spray bottle trick might work for a single tree in your yard, but trying to scale that up for a real job is a nightmare. You're going to burn through so much time and your hand will be killing you after the first hour. The right backpack sprayer gives you the pressure to get the mix deep into the bark where it needs to go, and you can cover ground. I get the appeal of cheap and simple, but sometimes the proper tool exists for a real reason.