Lawn Spraying

[NCLAWNMASTER]

I was looking through the truck and trailer advertising post today and only saw one truck with a spray rig. Are most of you missing out on the earnings potential that lawn spraying can add to your business? I have a Fimco 60 gallon skid sprayer and a 300ft hose reel and the whole setup only cost around $700. I currently bill about $12,000 per year on lawn spraying alone. It has really helped my business grow, so I thought I would pass the idea along since it is relatively inexpensive to get started with. The liquid weed control is much more effective than a granular application and can be applied at the same time as the fertilizer. For those of you who are spraying already, please post the weed killer and fertilizer you have had the most luck with and what state you are from. Thanks

Lawn care business tips

Dont you need a license for that? Isnt it a pain to get?

[Steve]

Hi NCLAWNMASTER,

Can you tell us how you got started in that field?

[Walker-Talker]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (Quick Cutz @ April 24 2005,8:58)]Dont you need a license for that? Isnt it a pain to get?

It can be difficult, but it will vary from state to state. Go to the home page of your state's department of agriculture to find out what is needed. In short, this is what I did. Took my certification test. Went and got insured. Mailed proof of insurance to get business license. There is somewhat leg work, but the benefits are great. I used a backpack sprayer for a very short period before buying a spray tank. I am talking in the neighborhood of a month or less. I bought the 200 gallon space saver unit from Lesco. The first year I made eough to pay for my yearly insurance. The first year I had 3 clients. The seond year I had around 6 clients. This year I have 13 clients. Sure, that's not much but my equipment was paid off by the end of the second year. I could not imagine starting this service without a tank sprayer. Compared to mowing, much less equipment and expenses are involved and much higher profit margin. Sure, there is a lot to learn and there are risks involved, but the rewards are great. I love the challenge of improving a lawn.

Without going too much in detail, imagine dropping your trailer gate and mowing, edging, trimming and cleaning for 40 minutes to make $35 and now imagine dropping your tailgate and fertilizing for 7 minutes and making $35. Which would you rather do?

what did it cost you to get through all the testing and stuff?

I am running the same equipment here in Oklahoma as listed above. I found my results to be the same as the origional post.. little investment, big return. The first year the total cost of certification and business license was $190. That was $50 for each business catagory, and $20 for each test I took. I just did the terf and ornimental and the right of way catagories for my local area, so two test, two business licenses. (One application form and check ofcourse.)

Well worth the investment. This year, by spraying will rival my mowing service, and possibly exceed my mowing income.