wyododge

Ok so some may think this is weird...

We feed our chickens and dust our coop with Diatomaceous earth for fly control. It works amazingly well BTW. Anyway, we had some cows in the chutes for AI and I decided to sprinkle some of the DE on their backs to keep the flies off of them. Three days later, the two I dusted still had no flies on their backs, but had some on their bellies. It got me to thinking that if I could spray the powder on them, it would be much easier and waste a lot less. I thought of a sock or a cloth bag of some sort but it will take forever to blot it over the whole cow.

Ohh and by the way the DE costs 30 bucks for a 50 lb bag. and maybe 1 pound per cow, and there is the added benefit of no insecticides as with pour on fly control which costs about $10/cow. Plus you can't use pour on when they are nursing, or at least I won't.

I'n not really interested in buying a made piece, powder coating guns have ionizers and such that I really don't need, just need to blow powder in a somewhat controlled manor at a fairly low pressure.

So to the great minds of DTR

I thought of a mason jar and a bunch of fittings that run through a spray nozzle from my compressor...

but I imagine there are many other better and simpler ideas out there...

What say you ohhh DTR fiddlers and tinkerers!!!

Totallyrad

Give em a quick, light spray with a misting head on a garden hose just to make it stick better then use a regular pump type duster to apply it or....... you can buy a type that you mix in their feed. There's also a back pack blower type of applicator available too. Look through this link.

http://www.dirtworks.net/Diatomaceous-Earth.html

wyododge

Thanks Rick,

Thought of that already and have visited that site. I just don't really want to buy anything. Figured I could rig something up pretty cheap.

chaikwa

Just BUY something and be done with it, move on.

Or spend countless hours and who knows how much in fittings and hardware to find out what you rig up doesn't work.

baddodges

My wife and I have been using that for years on our horses pigs and dogs and sprinkle around perimeter of the house to get rid of spiders.great stuff.

Bark

Wonder if a drywall texture sprayer would work if you mixed the DE with a little water.
If we were talking sheep you could probably get some DTR members to blot the stuff on for free.

wyododge

Or maybe just get a little enjoyment out of making something, and sharing good ideas between friends. Right now money is tight and I HAVE a bunch of odds and ends taking up space. Why not put them to a good use, if it does not work, I still have the parts, I just have to take them apart.

Ever consider that???

I guess Yankee ingenuity died some time back...

Who's the now!!! Grumpy old phart

wyododge

NOW that is a good idea... I have one of those...

That... not so much

chaikwa

I'm all for Yankee ingenuity, but I'm also a proponent of an economy of motion. Why reinvent the wheel, especially when the wheel is already built!

Take apart parts of your parts and you'll have a part-tee.

Dang flat-landers!

Redrammer99

Some sort of bellows pumps... first thing that comes to mind is those old things you would use for a fireplace or I've seen foot/hand operated pumps for kids inflatable toys and the like... just have to figure how to siphon the powder through it...

wyododge

I like that Idea... Good thinking!!!

Hmmm, you mean like Timbo apps?, BHAF, those kinda wheels??? or maybe you had something else in mind??? Lord knows if you have made, seen it, or built it, it it must not ever be able to be improved...

Or MAYBE, this is kind of a custom application and I was looking for some ideas to make my initial thoughts work a little better. Could it be possible there is a situation you may not be aware of??? Maybe something you don't know and there fore maybe should withhold comment??? I always kinda thought the main purpose of this site was to fix the wheels that were already built in order to get a better wheel. I guess I have been sorely mistaken.

News flash, everything has been made. No need to modify or try to improve anything from here on out. It is what it is, like it or not.

Flat lander??? we have bigger speed bumps than the 'hills' you dream of!!!

chaikwa

Man! Take a pill or something! Or stop drinking. Or something. Never knew you could get wound up tighter than a cheap Timex so easily. And about NOTHING!

Totallyrad

Dry powder fire extinguisher.

irocpractice

Jeff,lets take "Rad's" idea a little further.An old soda/acid extinguisher but dry.Pop the cap,drop a small packet of desiccant in the bottom,add the diatoms and pressurize thru a schrader valve with a 3/8 ball valve on the hose end?

Justwannabeme

yup, same thought. we use a fire extinguisher to powder the pear and apple trees. use to use a pastry bag (think decorating cakes) for the rescue dogs to powder for parasites without scaring the animal. nice hand controlled puffs so we didn't get overwhelmed, but coated the animal's skin very nicely. depending on how many heads of cattle you have to do....fire extinguisher would be a good, simple dispenser; refillable from the air compressor and changed out for the type of vectrine you need....

we use 40 lb pressure for the trees to coat even with wind blowing. about a 16 inch circle each pull/dispense.

from a yankee