I need to spray some herbicide in areas that will be close to fruit trees, vegetables and flowers. Has anyone made a shield to fit around the nozzle of their hand sprayer to control drift? I usually use a big piece of cardboard that i carry along with me, placing it between the sprayer and the plants i want to protect. This is kind of cumbersome and not as effective as I need it to be. I figured there are so many inventive minds in this forum, someone has already thought of how to quickly make an effective shield. I would rather make one than buy one. Ideas?
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Cut the bottom out of a suitably sized plastic jug, stick the nozzle through the spout, and tape it all up with Gorilla Tape?
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You might benefit from changing the nozzle to a fan shape spray. I originally got one for spraying the trees but its terrible for that purpose because of the larger droplet size - perfect for spraying herbicide though.
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Hey that’s a good idea Mark! An old gallon vinegar jug might be perfect.
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My spray nozzle is really not very good. It doesn’t do a fan shape. I have thought about buying a whole new wand anyway, that is longer in length to increase reach. Thanks for the tip!
It occurred to me that it might wobble around a lot- might want to cram something into the neck of the jug after the wand goes in to help stabilize it. Or maybe a dowel taped to the jug and the wand - I know there has to be a way. I hope it works for you!
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I do the opposite, meaning I cover the plant I want to protect with a bucket. For larger plants I cover it with a stall cleaning tub.
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I have done that for smaller plants too. Currently I have a lot of border areas around the garden and flower beds I want to spray, so covering plants wont work as well in this case.
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Mark, I was thinking the same thing. I have some corks and I am going to see if there are any big enough to fit the opening in the jug. If so, I will drill a hole through it to allow the wand to fit through. Will have to detach the nozzle first I suppose. Anyway, I will try figure out an easy way to stabilize it and give it a go. When or if the winds ever calm down! It has been clipping along around 20mph but is supposed to steadily decrease and we should even below 10 mph by evening.
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