Backpack sprayers are an essential piece of equipment for maintaining a beautiful lawn, alongside things like trimmers and mowers.
Key Points:
- Backpack sprayers are essential for lawn maintenance as they allow for easy and even distribution of various products like pesticides, herbicides, and liquid fertilizers.
- These sprayers are designed to be carried on the back, freeing up both hands for spraying and avoiding the strain of carrying a heavy handheld sprayer.
- Most backpack sprayers feature battery or gas-powered pumps, ensuring a steady stream of fluid and uninterrupted spraying until the job is done.
They sit atop your back, conveniently out of the way to keep your hands free. They’re a staple for applying pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, and liquid fertilizers, like those you might find in your lawn care subscription box.
But why exactly do we think a backpack sprayer is a must-have tool for lawn maintenance? We’re here to tell you, so stick around to learn more!
What Is A Backpack Sprayer?
As you probably guessed, a backpack sprayer sits on your back like a backpack. The tank is equipped with straps that slide over your shoulders for convenient carrying, just like a backpack.
A tube extending from the tank is fitted with an elongated nozzle, complete with a trigger at the top of the nozzle to facilitate easy, safe spraying.
Most backpack sprayers hold between four and seven gallons, so they can be pretty hefty. For example, four gallons of water weigh around 33 pounds, while seven gallons tip the scale to about 58 pounds.
However, the weight is evenly distributed throughout your upper body via the straps over your shoulders, so carting the weight is more manageable (than carrying it in one hand with a handheld sprayer).
Many backpack sprayers feature a battery-powered or gas-powered pump, ensuring you have a steady stream of fluid flowing to the nozzle when needed. However, some of these sprayers feature manual pumps.
If you buy a sprayer with a manual pump, you’ll need to periodically remove the apparatus from your back to rebuild pressure in the tank. The process is simple – you pump the handle a few times to increase pressure in the tank, which will force the liquid into the tube and down to the nozzle.
While the battery and gas-powered models are convenient, manual pump backpack sprayers work too.
What Is The Purpose Of A Backpack Sprayer?
Backpack sprayers are ideal for lawn and garden care, as they offer a simple, convenient way to distribute various products evenly. You can use the sprayer to treat your lawn or garden plants with pesticides, herbicides, or insecticides.
Or, you can use the sprayer to apply liquid fertilizer, making it easy to ensure the entire lawn gets the fertilization it needs to thrive.
What Are The Benefits Of A Backpack Sprayer?
Backpack sprayers are undoubtedly convenient, but they bring a few specific benefits to the table that a typical handheld sprayer cannot offer. Here are a few of our favorite backpack sprayer benefits:
No Handheld Carrying
The backpack design of these sprayers is one of the best benefits of the entire setup, as the backpack design offers better comfort (over handheld sprayers). Unlike a handheld sprayer, these sprayers are perched on your back.
While carting around heavy stuff (like a full handheld sprayer tank) is excellent for building forearm strength, it’s not ideal for applying lawn care products to your grass.
So, if you opt for a backpack sprayer, you don’t need to cart a heavy sprayer around in one hand while you walk across your lawn applying the product. Instead, you’ll have one free hand, even when you’re actively spraying the lawn.
Battery or Gas Powered
Most backpack sprayers feature battery or gas-powered pumps to simplify the process. So, instead of stopping every now and again to pump the handle and build pressure, you can continue spraying uninterrupted until the job is done.
While you can find gas or battery-powered handheld sprayers, they usually feature manual pumps. Of course, pumping the handle to raise the pressure in the tank isn’t difficult, but it can be inconvenient to stop constantly to do it.
Even Application
When applying products by hand, ensuring an even application is tricky. You might accidentally pour too much product in one spot, leading to issues for that part of your lawn. With a backpack sprayer, it’s much easier to apply products evenly.
The sprayer function ensures you apply an even coating of product on each section of your lawn, allowing you to use steady sweeping motions for an even layer. Some sprayers even come with multiple spray streams to ensure you only apply the product to areas that need it.
Multi-Functional
While backpack sprayers are ideal for conveniently applying lawn care products, their use doesn’t stop there. You can use them all over your property to complete various tasks.
For example, maybe you have a few fruit trees needing pesticide application. Fill the tank with a pesticide of your choice, heft the apparatus onto your back, and head outside to spray those trees.
Or, maybe you have a flower bed that needs a precise herbicide application. Fill the tank with the correct herbicide, select the right stream setting, and carefully spritz the areas that need it.
You can even use the sprayers for watering! For example, maybe you have a few potted plants out of reach of your garden hose. Rinse the tank thoroughly to flush old products, fill it with water, flush the nozzle, and start watering!
Are Backpack Sprayers Worth It?
We think backpack sprayers are well worth the investment, especially if you regularly apply products to your lawn, garden, and trees. They don’t cost much and are relatively inexpensive (depending on the model). On top of that, they’re ideal for a variety of applications.
While you could invest in the cheaper handheld sprayer, we think that backpack sprayers are the ideal choice for convenience and easy applications.
Of course, the best option for your home varies based on factors specific to you, so choose what works best for you.