Skid steer sprayer for prickly pear

[connaway]

I'm in the early stages of thinking about/ designing a skid steer sprayer to be used for spot spraying prickly pear. I do a lot of both spot spraying by hand and broadcast spraying on my ranch but I have a lot of cactus that are thicker than what I can do by hand but not thick enough that broadcast spraying would be wasteful. Some of my ideas on the sprayer are:
1. Between 25 and 50 gallon
2. Electric pump (12 v) with in cab control switch
3. Front bar that would push/damage the cactus before the spray hits them (this greatly improves the effectiveness of the spray)
4. Recirculation back pressure valve
5. 2 or 3 spray nozzles with manual valves allowing spray width to be selected

I normally spray prickly pear with Surmount or the generic equivalent. I have a Kubota SVL-75-2 although this idea would work on almost any skid steer.

Any ideas or thoughts on if this would work well or be practical?

 

[2manyrocks]

I'm in middle Tennessee and don't know anything about cactus, but I've sprayed a lot of kudzu with a couple of different handheld wands and with a rear mount sprayer arm working from a PTO pump. In some respects, the rear sprayer arm is more efficient because it is a finer spray that covers all the leaves and tends to kill kudzu more effectively than the coarser spray from the handheld wands.

The wands themselves basically allow for a wider spray vs a more concentrated spray, but neither is as fine as the rear sprayer arm. This is similar to one of my wands. Valley Industries SuperJet Trigger Spray Gun 22in., 8 GPM, 800 PSI, Model# 1700-02-022 | Northern Tool

With the price of herbicide going up, I can see the point in trying to make the more efficient use of it even if it means paying more up front to fabricate a spraying rigs specific to your needs.

I've never used an electric sprayer. The issue I've read about is battery drain. I don't suppose there are other cost effective options with the skid steer not having a PTO for a spray pump like a tractor?

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Prickly pear has a lot of uses. You have a skid steer and I would imagine a bucket too.

My dad is pro spray it. We have a big beautiful pond of 5 acres. Stream fed, spillway pipe flows year round, even in drought. My brother and I could go gig a mess of huge bull frogs. Not anymore. Spraying fence rows and a pasture or two stopped that. I Don't eat the frogs, but many in the family did. Then he says it ain't hurt nothing. It says right on the label kills amphibians, frogs are amphibians, frogs are gone. Plus my mother fishes daily, so chemical in the water, fish come from the water... Then he uses an open station tractor, crap blowing back all on him. Hospital time, liver and kidney problems. Bought a cab tractor and magically healed. But it wasn't, could not be, the chemicals blowing back on him in that open tractor, previously. Because he is going to buy them chemicals and he's gonna spray.

The liberal county government, when it comes down to buying that diesel fuel, they have tended to go chemical. Have a big truck with a tank, spray head on front right. They spray the ditch banks now, no tractor cutting. Kills trees and all itit touches. Plus it runs down the hills and gets in the creeks and streams. Ends up in the ponds. But we saved on diesel fuel...

 

[Tinhack]

Watch for Rattlesnakes when you're around cactus!!! They're after the rats and mice that like to burrow under the cactus.

 

[2manyrocks]

This article advocates a coarse spray. https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/...s-how-to-control-pricklypear-and-other-cacti/

If seated inside a Kubota SVL-75-2, the handheld wand option I guess would not be practical.

Forgot to say that I wear a respirator designed for fluid spray.

 

[connaway]

Thanks for the input. I've basically followed the Brushbusters method up to this point. I just need to increase the efficiency over hand spraying.

 

[jyoutz]

I'm in the early stages of thinking about/ designing a skid steer sprayer to be used for spot spraying prickly pear. I do a lot of both spot spraying by hand and broadcast spraying on my ranch but I have a lot of cactus that are thicker than what I can do by hand but not thick enough that broadcast spraying would be wasteful. Some of my ideas on the sprayer are:
1. Between 25 and 50 gallon
2. Electric pump (12 v) with in cab control switch
3. Front bar that would push/damage the cactus before the spray hits them (this greatly improves the effectiveness of the spray)
4. Recirculation back pressure valve
5. 2 or 3 spray nozzles with manual valves allowing spray width to be selected

I normally spray prickly pear with Surmount or the generic equivalent. I have a Kubota SVL-75-2 although this idea would work on almost any skid steer.

Any ideas or thoughts on if this would work well or be practical?

I used a 25 gallon electric sprayer mounted on 3ph with hand wand. Herbicide used was Surmount, with purple dye and a tackifier. Didn’t do anything to scar the prickly pear before spraying. I sprayed early summer and by August, every cactus on twenty acres was dead. The hand wand allowed me to target the cactus and not surrounding vegetation.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

I used a 25 gallon electric sprayer mounted on 3ph with hand wand. Herbicide used was Surmount, with purple dye and a tackifier. Didn’t do anything to scar the prickly pear before spraying. I sprayed early summer and by August, every cactus on twenty acres was dead. The hand wand allowed me to target the cactus and not surrounding vegetation.

Where did you get the Surmount ? Need to get rid of some cacti here.

 

[jyoutz]

Where did you get the Surmount ? Need to get rid of some cacti here.

You need a pesticide applicators license to buy that product. Mine expired, but I still have some that you can have.

 

[connaway]

I've started using the generic Surmount (Triumph XTR). Its a little cheaper and seems to work just as well. Still requires a license though.

 

[jyoutz]

I'm in middle Tennessee and don't know anything about cactus, but I've sprayed a lot of kudzu with a couple of different handheld wands and with a rear mount sprayer arm working from a PTO pump. In some respects, the rear sprayer arm is more efficient because it is a finer spray that covers all the leaves and tends to kill kudzu more effectively than the coarser spray from the handheld wands.

The wands themselves basically allow for a wider spray vs a more concentrated spray, but neither is as fine as the rear sprayer arm. This is similar to one of my wands. Valley Industries SuperJet Trigger Spray Gun 22in., 8 GPM, 800 PSI, Model# 1700-02-022 | Northern Tool

With the price of herbicide going up, I can see the point in trying to make the more efficient use of it even if it means paying more up front to fabricate a spraying rigs specific to your needs.

I've never used an electric sprayer. The issue I've read about is battery drain. I don't suppose there are other cost effective options with the skid steer not having a PTO for a spray pump like a tractor?

For my electric sprayer, I mounted it on a 3ph carryall on a pallet. Then strapped on a deep cycle battery. Worked great.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

You need a pesticide applicators license to buy that product. Mine expired, but I still have some that you can have.

I 'll let you know.... I am going to try some generic OTC stuff. Does the Surmount prevent regrowth?

 

[jyoutz]

I 'll let you know.... I am going to try some generic OTC stuff. Does the Surmount prevent regrowth?

It killed prickly pear down to the roots and they don’t resprout. I went around and picked up the dried cactus with a pitchfork, threw in loader and hauled off to a burn pile. I do get occasional seedlings establish each year due to animals scattering seeds from adjacent areas, but they are so minimal that I just drive around the property and dig them with a shovel now. My land has been largely cactus free for 10+ years and the grass has really responded well. You might be able to kill prickly pear with 2-4-D that doesn’t require a license, but if I tried that I would injure the cactus and apply herbicide incide.

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

It killed prickly pear down to the roots and they don’t resprout. I went around and picked up the dried cactus with a pitchfork, threw in loader and hauled off to a burn pile. I do get occasional seedlings establish each year due to animals scattering seeds from adjacent areas, but they are so minimal that I just drive around the property and dig them with a shovel now. My land has been largely cactus free for 10+ years and the grass has really responded well. You might be able to kill prickly pear with 2-4-D that doesn’t require a license, but if I tried that I would injure the cactus and apply herbicide incide.

I might try to beat them up first, If I'm standing there to spray them, wouldn't be too hard to take out some frustration on them first! Thanks.

 

[jyoutz]

I might try to beat them up first, If I'm standing there to spray them, wouldn't be too hard to take out some frustration on them first! Thanks.

Try strong mix of 2-4-D with diesel. But nothing else will grow there for awhile. If you want grass, use water mix instead of diesel. For single plants a shovel works well, but herbicides are needed for big cactus mats. The Surmount absolutely destroyed the cactus but not the grass.

 

[Smokeydog]

I have a receiver hitch on top of the bucket to hold a trailer hitch platform to hold the sprayer tank. Electric pump, 15 gallon, 60psi, 2.2gal from Northern tool. Reach about 30’ from wand. Lot easier to wand from a open station tractor than a skid steer.

Have a 25 gallon also that the wand can clip on the tank, fan tip, and area spray behind a four wheeler. Might be able to run switched power and use the bucket and skid steer controls to move the wand?

Grow prickly pear on top of the stone wall. Keeps people from climbing over. The big thorns aren’t nearly as bad little fine ones that stay with you. Don’t have to worry about it spreading because of meaner plants will kill it.

2-4-D is about the only thing I spray sparingly.

 

[2manyrocks]

For very limited spot spraying of the isolated kudzu plant that crops up in the field, I have considered using an electric spot sprayer because I could spray the plants when I spot them while bush hogging. I hadn't thought of mounting an electric sprayer to the receiver hitch on my FEL until I saw Smokeydog's post. That's helpful to me. Thank you.

I'm curious about what the OP is considering because the OP mentions "Front bar that would push/damage the cactus before the spray hits them (this greatly improves the effectiveness of the spray)" and mentions using a
Kubota SVL-75-2 which to me sends the idea of a front push bar into some other very heavy duty realm? What kind of push bar is envisioned?

My experience has been that I get better coverage if I'm using my rear boom because the herbicide is reaching the plant from a couple of different direction, but the wand is easier to point from a tractor seat.

But I suspect the OP has a sort of hybrid approach in mind that isn't a boom sprayer, but isn't a wand either. He could braze mount spray tips on his push bar aimed at a couple of directions that would more completely cover the plant if that's the best way the herbicide should be applied. A momentary electric push button switch similar to those used on electric diverter hydraulic controls could be used on the joystick to spray the herbicide.

The spray tips themselves are available in a variety of spray patterns. There is also a specific conejet nozzle mentioned in the article already posted. brush-busters-how-to-control-pricklypear-and-other-cacti

 

[jyoutz]

For very limited spot spraying of the isolated kudzu plant that crops up in the field, I have considered using an electric spot sprayer because I could spray the plants when I spot them while bush hogging. I hadn't thought of mounting an electric sprayer to the receiver hitch on my FEL until I saw Smokeydog's post. That's helpful to me. Thank you.

I'm curious about what the OP is considering because the OP mentions "Front bar that would push/damage the cactus before the spray hits them (this greatly improves the effectiveness of the spray)" and mentions using a
Kubota SVL-75-2 which to me sends the idea of a front push bar into some other very heavy duty realm? What kind of push bar is envisioned?

My experience has been that I get better coverage if I'm using my rear boom because the herbicide is reaching the plant from a couple of different direction, but the wand is easier to point from a tractor seat.

But I suspect the OP has a sort of hybrid approach in mind that isn't a boom sprayer, but isn't a wand either. He could braze mount spray tips on his push bar aimed at a couple of directions that would more completely cover the plant if that's the best way the herbicide should be applied. A momentary electric push button switch similar to those used on electric diverter hydraulic controls could be used on the joystick to spray the herbicide.

The spray tips themselves are available in a variety of spray patterns. There is also a specific conejet nozzle mentioned in the article already posted. brush-busters-how-to-control-pricklypear-and-other-cacti

I have found that using a tackifier mixed with the surmount herbicide makes it stick to the cactus and there is no need to damage the cactus before spraying. I had near complete kill with one early summer application. A spray boom would be easy but is less controllable than a wand, so the boom will likely result in more non target plant kill. A dye added to the solution is necessary so you can track your completion and not miss cactus.

 

[2manyrocks]

Surfactant makes a huge improvement in the effectiveness of herbicide used on kudzu.

I wonder if the OP is going to be using a totally enclosed operator's station with AC? If it's open, I can see using a wand. If it's closed, I wouldn't want to give up my AC in order to use a wand.

 

[jyoutz]

Surfactant makes a huge improvement in the effectiveness of herbicide used on kudzu.

I wonder if the OP is going to be using a totally enclosed operator's station with AC? If it's open, I can see using a wand. If it's closed, I wouldn't want to give up my AC in order to use a wand.

Surfactant is the word I was looking for instead of tackifier. Thanks.