Tomahawk Backpack Fogger Sprayer Leaf Blower ULV Machine for Garden Spraying with Gas Powered Engine

We live in a very wooded area in eastern Missouri and had long ago ceded our yard to marauding hordes of mosquitoes. Our humming bird garden could only be tended early in the morning, the gazebo, BBQ and fountain sat idle unless we would dispense 3 or 4 cans of yard-gard for an hour or so of relative release. We had looked at these backpack sprayers but couldn't bring ourselves to pull the trigger. But with the onset of tiger-mosquitoes that attack all day long this year we had finally had enough. The sprayer arrived quickly as promised and was well packed and undamaged. Assembly wasn't difficult but the instructions were not the best. My wife and daughter assembled it using for wet-spray using the pictures in the manual, not the quick-start. The 2-cycle oil mixture is 30:1 which equates to 2.5 gallons of gas to the standard 6.4fl oz 2-cycle oil bottle. The blower started very easily and we were ready to roll. We used Permethrin 10% mixed 2.5fl oz to 1 gal of water. We mixed 2 gallons at a time, in the tank by adding 1 gallon of water, then 5fl oz of permethrin and then another gallon of water. Permethrin is safe for pets and more importantly safe for chickens which we have over 30 of. Still I wore long sleeves, hat and paper dust mask as recommended.This unit is heavy! That's why we only mixed 2 gallons at a time instead of the available 3.5 gallon capacity. My wife helped me hoist it on my back and I was off and spraying. Mosquitoes rest on the bottom of tree leaves so it important to cover the grass and the trees up high. This blower has no trouble reaching up high but remember that it is gravity fed so watch the mist and use an up and down motion to reach the heights. I covered our entire 2.5 acre yard in short order and then sprayed the tree-line around our yard. You can control the spray volume with a directional valve and also set the engine blower speed and then not have to hold the trigger the entire time. Permethrin kills mosquitoes on contact but it is not immediate. It also denies them any place to land so be aware that every mosquito on your property will be airborne and ticked off for a few hours after spraying. But the next day....It was a Christmas miracle in July! My wife and I are now able to enjoy morning coffee in the hummingbird garden, a cool beverage in the gazebo in the evening and we can BBQ at any time. It really is life changing. No more dousing ourselves in Off waiting for the whelps in the places we miss, buzzing around our ears or running from the car to the house. The treatment is supposed to last a month, but I would happily treat weekly to enjoy this amount of freedom. If you are plagued by mosquitoes as we were you should seriously consider buying this blower. This blower does everything that it says it does and our quality of life has improved exponentially because of this purchase.****4-year update****We are still very happy with this product! I waited too long to start spraying this year so the mosquitoes had a good start. The ticks were awful as well! I dusted off the sprayer, filled it with permethrin solution and went to work about an hour before dark. I run the blower at lower RPMs with the gravity feed valve wide open to saturate the ground and the ticks are no longer an issue. I run it at full speed with the valve half-open to create an aerosol to reach the leaves and any structures in our yard. When it ran empty I put it up and dashed to the house. The next day the results were amazing. We had a few stragglers (as we always do the first time) so after 3 days I sprayed again and we were mosquitoes and tick free. We live in a densely forested area so our mosquitoe safe haven is ringed with the beasts. We usually have to spray every 2 weeks as I spray at the first sign of them. The price has gone up but I would not hesitate to purchase again.Lessons learned: Permethrin is toxic to cats when wet but completely safe after drying. Screw the top (fill) lid on extremely tight to avoid leaking, my wife holds the unit while I tighten with both hands. Use hearing protection and a help is nice to get it on your back.It’s your yard, take it back!

I must admit, I was skeptical, but this unit is decent! I would give it an A- grade. I used it immediately yesterday after it arrived, with TalStar Pro (BIFEN) !! Amazing results! I mixed up 4 tankfuls for my 7+ acre property, which is wooded, in rural NH and was FULL of Ticks, Mosquitos and Biting Deerflies. While filling up for the 1st use, I was being attacked by the deerflies and skeeters, after loading up and spraying the area, (****You WILL need help, or a table, or truck tailgate to strap this thing on, It is 65-70 lbs when full !), the flies and skeeters were immediately knocked down. I then proceeded down some tall grass, brushy,overgrown trails and sprayed three more tankfuls, black nozzle knob on 2, water valve on full, (as this was my 1st time spraying this heavily infested area) and sprayed side to side as I walked, watching the mist and fog pattern carefully, it was laying down a good pattern. ( I will probably use Black nozzle knob setting 1 for future sprays). I did get quite a few... 30+ !! Ticks on me while spraying, BUT, as I walked back to the truck, close to the area being sprayed I only had 2 on me ! The few ticks I did find died within 10mins of application.****WARNING**** PLEASE WEAR a good Respirator ! Niosh approved, for Paint fumes, NOT a Dust mask! I could smell the stuff thru the Sanding/Dust style cheapos, Which I IMMEDIATELY swapped for Pro Dual Cartridge Breather,Charcoal Style ! DO NOT MESS WITH THESE CHEMICALS ! , long sleeve shirt and pants and a hat (I'm bald...sooo ) Read Your Pesticide of choice Recommendations !!!. I blew mist into underside of trees and shaded areas for Mosquitoes, which penetrated well, and and was very aware to see that the grass and leaves were disturbed, so as to be sure to get the product deep into the paths. This large area had NEVER been treated, and is not lived on yet, as I just purchased it. We tried to camp there twice this summer and it was unbearable ! There are damp areas nearby and the Skeeters/Horseflies/Ticks were unbearable. On our first 2 camping trips, my dog had over 50 ticks on her, and all of us were covered with at least 20 ticks each, all while swatting flies and skeeters...MADNESS, The bug sprays we used had No effect ! ! I'm Happy to report, I was back there today, and had only 1 tick on me, after 30 mins of walking the treated trails and never saw a Deerfly, or a mosquito either... I mixed the Chemical as recommended, 1 oz to 1 gallon H20, it has a 3.7 gallon tank, so i just mixed 4 oz to a tankful (this time) for a good, strong 1st application. I will do again, using a less heavy spray, and less product, probably 3 oz to 3.7 gallons H20. The solution does need to be mixed well, add half the H2o 1st, then Chemical, then finish filling with H20, it will be somewhat milky white when done. If you watch the clear hose while spraying, you can tell when its empty, also the mist /spray will diminish. Easy Stuff, and, It's gets lighter as you go, thankfully, This baby is 70lbs on your back full !!!I highly recommend this system, it ran well, and It only used minimal fuel mix ( 2 stroke, 50:1 ratio with non-ethanol gas, if using ethanol gas, increase the oil amount in the mix to 30:1, as recommended in the manual...) **You DID Read the Manual, RIGHT????***, The primer bulb is well hidden under the carb, I almost didn't see it, and you WILL need it !You won't be disappointed with this baby, and the best thing is we don't need stinky/greasy/ somewhat dangerous Bug sprays anymore !!!! Better for you,Kids,dogs and just a pleasant experience being outside and BUG FREE !!!Pardon the Pun, But BE a HAPPY CAMPER Again !!!!!

Expensive with plastic materials. Not your Stihl type quality but if you want to cover a lot of ground, I would recommend over a cheapcutter brand from hardware store. I didn’t buy the expensive solution last year but it misted locally purchased or Cutter brand stuff fine.