It’s going to rain tonight/tomorrow, will the spray wash off?
The lawn is wet, won’t the spray just slide off the weeds?
It rained ½ an hour after you left, won’t you have to do it again?
My lawn got mowed the day after you sprayed, you will have to come back and re-spray won’t you?
How long does the spray need to dry before the next rain event?
Isn’t it a bit windy to spray today?
What about pets, kids re-entering the area?
These are just a few of the questions that get asked of myself and our spray technicians during the cooler, wetter months.
Before I Go Any Further Can I Just Make One Thing Clear
At The Lawncare Man we pay a lot of money for cutting edge, safe, stable products. It is indeed my worst nightmare to have to return a month later as part of a warranty claim and re apply these products. Firstly, I have to pay my technicians to do it and still pay them as though it’s a paying job, and I have to supply respray products for nothing. My reputation also gets a hit as clients have had to in some cases wait 4-6 weeks for a result they should have received in 2-3 weeks. But thankfully these days after 30 years in the business this hardly ever happens.
WHY?
We have learnt patience.
We have honed our judgement calls on just what kind of weather conditions we can apply products in.
We have become semi-professional weathermen.
We maintain and service equipment on day when it too rainy and windy.
When our maintenance and training is done we go home when the day just isn’t condusive to applying hit and stick Herbicides, Fungicides and Foliar Fertilisers.
WHAT ABOUT THE TECHNICAL STUFF?
Just about every leaf absorbed herbicide specifies a surfactant, leaf wetting agent, sticker, penetrant or adjuvant to aid the products adhesion, penetration and effectiveness. Certain weed types are harder for a liquid product to penetrate and move throughout the plant from leaf surface to root tip. We know what these are.
At The Lawncare Man we know when to and what product to use. Is a wetter, a sticker, a water proofer, an adjuvant or a penetrant required? And yes, indeed some products have these as part of their make-up and don’t need any additivesb- unless it’s a waterproofer to fortify the product with impending rain.
WHAT ABOUT WIND?
Indeed wind is more of a concern in a lot of cases than rain. On our bigger machinery we use air inducted nozzles and wind proof shrouds. On our smaller gear we have drift guard nozzles and air induction. Wind speeds of over 20kmh generally stop us from spraying.
RE-ENTRY FOOT TRAFFIC AND PET TRAFFIC
Our base rule is no entry into the area until the products have dried. If we spray at 9.30 am we recommend no foot/paw traffic until the afternoon, if we spray at 2.30 pm, no traffic rest of day. Of course, the longer the better, but 2-3 hrs is sufficient even in a shadier, longer to dry section of lawn.
A GENERAL COMMENT TO FINISH UP
On a dry lawn ½ an hour is sufficient to adhere a waterproofer/sticker to a lawn deeming the product sealed on the weed. We try and work with at least an hour of guaranteed dry weather. We do not need 12-24 hours which is a common misconception.
Where it gets tricky for us is the day with fine periods not quite long enough to dry the lawn and weed canopy, finding that we are applying the product and having to wait on site until the product is dried, guaranteeing a satisfactory result.
OUR GUARANTEE
We apply products responsibly to guarantee performance as the manufacturer intended in weather conditions conducive to that products success. We return on request from client one month after application if client is at all concerned about the result to discuss and if needed respray. (Provided original bill has been paid, no grey areas, complete guarantee.
