Separate sprayers needed

Q. Is it necessary to have a dedicated sprayer for pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides?

Anonymous from Mahoning County

A. In general, we call everything that prevents, kills, or eliminates a pest a pesticide. That includes herbicides (for plants), insecticides (for insects) and fungicides (for fungus). Pesticides have a wide range of toxicity and include organic and conventional options.

In general, yes, you want to at least have a separate sprayer for herbicides that are never used for the application of insecticides or fungicides. Why? If you accidentally forget to clean out a spray or if you didn’t do as good a job as you should have, you’ll end up spraying an herbicide on your desirable plants. There’s a complete review of why you should use separate sprayers on the Internet at this website: http://go.osu.edu/separatesprayers

You need to clean your sprayer after every use. Cleaning chemical residue from the sprayer and sprayer parts will keep the sprayer in the best working condition.

Some tips:

Always know what you’re controlling before you try to control it.

Never use more than recommended on the label. Too much is never a good idea when it comes to chemicals. It’s bad for the environment and a waste of money.

Never use less than the range recommended on the label to avoid resistance issues and damage to your plants from insufficient control.

Always read the label and use the correct product. For example, use “insecticidal soap” if your intention is to control soft-bodied insects. Do not use dishwashing liquid, as you can damage your plant by removing natural oils, and some soaps can coat leaves, resulting in phytotoxicity to the plant you want to keep. Thus, it’s worth the extra $1 or so to purchase the insecticidal soap.

Twist the end of the sprayer to make larger or smaller droplets. Larger droplets will minimize drift onto nontargeted plants. Use clean water and rinse the filter/screen after each use.

To clean hand-held sprayers, be sure to rinse them three times.

Eric Barrett is OSU Extension educator for agriculture and natural resources in Mahoning County. Call the office hotline at 330-533-5538 to submit your questions. Clinic hours are 9 a.m. to noon Mondays and Thursdays through October.