Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I set out with the intention to stop paying the "T" pest control service nearly $450 a year for coming out to my property only 4 times a year. If this is your plan too, read on. I asked the sprayer tech the last time he was at my house, what pesticides are used and are they available to the public. After hearing about Talstar P and its availability on the Do My Own Pest Control site, I decided to jump in, get a good quality sprayer and buy some Talstar. I bought the 96oz jug (best value) which will last about 2 years at my current dilution rates (1oz per gallon of water works great). The jug only costs 35 dollars. That plus the cost of the sprayer will be made up during the first year of not using a service. Good deal. On to the sprayer. Getting to the point of performing my own pest control is only worthwhile if I have the right tools and materials to do the job. This sprayer does the job VERY well, and after my first test spray with water(to check for leaks), and my first full property spray, I recommend it highly. I've used many hand pump sprayers that were killing my back lugging them around and having to re-pump far too often. Those sprayers would work OK for a few years and then would develop seal issues and other quality problems that required replacement. This powered sprayer is very quiet and the 20v battery is just as strong after a 45 min session as it was when I started. It's also nice that the battery isn't some no-name proprietary one but something you can get drills, and other tools for. For those that have back issues, I filled the tank with only 3 gallons on the full property spray on the recommendation of others and I find this amount is the right balance of weight/having to re-fill for my lower back issues. The unit is a bit bulky when first strapped on. I use a high top table to rest/fill the sprayer and then back up to it when I need to put it on. This is much easier than merely lugging it off the ground and trying to put it straight onto your back. The unit puts out a nice volume of spray per trigger pull and you can hold down the trigger for continuous spray. If you find the pump speeding up and slowing down, just adjust the nozzle slightly and it will settle to an even purr. The pump shuts off quickly after each trigger release. When you run out of material, the pump will run continuously until you press the on/off rocker switch to off. This can be done with the backpack on your back. The tank is quite empty when the pump can no longer maintain a steady flow. Some sprayers leave as much as a half gallon in reserve. This sprayer leaves very little. Once emptied of your spray material, It's highly recommended to fill the sprayer with about a 1/2 gallon of water and spray continuously until that runs out to clean out the pump and the wand for next use. Anything I'd improve upon: The threads of the large mouth lid on the top of the sprayer are not cut precisely and lead to a very tight turning effort to get on and off. It can also be a struggle to get the threads seated properly to avoid cross threading. It may be I just have to work mine in after several uses. Not sure if this is the norm or just my unit. It would have been a bit handier for the hose coming out of the pump unit to be positioned on either side of the unit instead of straight out the back. The current position makes for an entertaining dance to pick up the wand once you have the pack on your back. The above are minor minuses about a very nice sprayer. I'm trying to cover all bases here so you can make an informed choice. I would buy this again in a heartbeat and will post a follow-up on both the sprayer and Talstar in about 6 months. I will have had ample opportunity at that time to test the strength of the battery and the overall build quality. UPDATE 3/2016: I've now used this sprayer 3 times for both pest and weed abatement uses and I still stand behind my positive review of this sprayer. You should be careful to not tip too far from side to side or a bit of liquid may drip out of the big red cap threads on top. As others have mentioned, it doesn't do the best job of sealing but it's ok. Pest control spraying is easy with this since you are generally following a building wall to ground line or fence line path. Not a big challenge for most sprayers. Weed control spraying is where this thing really shines. A far reaching spray, nice wide pattern, and the ability to hold 4 gallons makes this the perfect sprayer for weed killing. A job that used to take 2 hours (flat terrain with some hillsides) and killed my back with a pump sprayer was done far better (more coverage, especially through chain link fence areas) and in 1/3 of the time. Will post another update later in the year to give an idea of wear. UPDATE 8/2016. This sprayer just won't let me down. It sprays now (after 10 uses at 3-4 gallons per use) just as well as it did brand new. I have had no issues with leakage of the pump or hose assembly. I thoroughly rinse and spray clean water through the pump (only need to do about 1/2 gallon) after each use. That single action, as recommended by Chapin will help this sprayer last a long time. I pest spray my house every 6 weeks and have been pest free thanks to the nice material delivery achieved by this sprayer. About the tight threads I mention on the big red cap above, they do work in a bit over time. I find it quite easy now to find proper threading to tighten the lid and avoid cross threading without any hassle at all. UPDATE 5/31/2017. The sprayer is still going strong. No reduction in spray performance or battery life. This item has exceeded my expectations. I use it every 6-8 weeks for both weed and pest abatement. I had to use a hand pump sprayer at a time when I didn't have the Chapin with me and I really missed the strong spray of this battery operated unit. This is also a long term review of Talstar P. The pest control chemical works awesome. I can go 2-3 months without seeing any ants or other pests we have in the area. Great substitute for paying big $$ for pest control companies.