Arborjet Quick-jet

[arborman3]

I read in past posts that the Quick-jet system can be slow for injecting ash trees for EAB. I look forward to hearing of first hand experiences.

 

[ATH]

I tried it with TREE-äge at 5 ml per inch (rate i have been using on trees under 15") and it is a big NO! Way too slow and too much effort to sit there and squeeze that thing. Tree IV is the way to go.

After having tried that a few times I would have given the thing away. Well...this spring I tried some Phospho-jet and Arbor OTC with the Quick Jet and am glad to report on thinner liquids work MUCH better and you can't have my Quick Jet.

Now I see Arbor Jet is selling TREE-äge G4 which sounds like it is a thinner formulation with same concentration of active ingredient. (As an aside....sounds "interesting" if you have been following the lawsuit Arbor Jet filed against Rainbow\ArborMectin. Sounds like G4 is a copy of ArborMectin....which Arbor Jet didn't like because it was an alternative formulation of Emamectin Benzoate, but they have now copied???). I suspect the Quick Jet may be viable with G4 or ArborMectin, but I haven't tried it yet.

It would likely also work well with imidacloprid, but I am not a fan of trunk injecting that when the soil application is just as effective...so I haven't tried.

 

[Dbodave]

I bought one last year and blasted through small ash tree injections with it, 2.5 ml rate though.

I just looked up the lawsuit earlier today to find out what happened on rainbows appeal to the suit (Rainbow tree's head office is 6 blocks from us and they are weasels). Anyways, according to the article the original decision to not allow Rainbow to sell arbormectin has held up.

 

[ATH]

But you can still get ArborMectin directly from Rotam. If TREE-äge G4 is not too much more expensive, I'd buy that for Arbor Jet's (and the retailer - Midwest Arborist Supplies) customer support. I bought my supply back in January before I saw anything about G4 though, so I'll have to try it next year.

 

[ATH]

I bought one last year and blasted through small ash tree injections with it, 2.5 ml rate though.
....

If you are using the bigger (black) plugs and drill a deep hole at a low dose rate, it wouldn't be too bad because you are using most of the product to fill the cavity and less being pumped immediately up the tree. I have been doing 10ml for bigger trees. That often takes the Tree IV 30 minutes per tree...

 

[Dbodave]

Same here, we picked up our tree-age in jan as well, the early order discount evens the cost out with rotams arbormectin.
I haven't looked at the g4 yet but it's formulated for direct injecting without diluting and isn't labelled as a restricted use pesticide.

We're still at the 5 ml rate, I haven't seen any info that said 10ml is better and the way rainbow is price slashing and giving homeowners municipal rates we probably wont be able to increase the dose to 10ml anytime soon.

What drills and bits do you use? I really like dewalt 12v drills and titanium coated bits. They are good drills and last a solid 2 years. Were hoping to get more HOA jobs with 10-20 trees per site and I'm thinking I might need a drill with a bigger battery pack.

 

[ATH]

I use a Milwaukee M18. 1 battery will do 10 trees...obviously depending on size...but no problem getting 60 to 80 of the 3/8" holes. I always have a second battery but almost never use it. I have an inverter in the truck and plug the charger into that.

I have the drill that comes with an impact driver and 2 batteries for about $200. The bigger battery would go even longer, but costs a lot more and is a fair bit heavier...and frankly I don't think is necessary for this work.

 

[ATH]

I use Arbor Jets bits... I know...too expensive. But a good quality makes a big difference and I have tried a couple of others with not great results. The $4.73 in save on a bit gets eaten up pretty quick when it takes 10 min more per tree for the uptake! I also switch bits fairly regular. Don't keep track...maybe every 30 trees or so???

 

[arborman3]

I thank everyone for their input, great information.

 

[Dbodave]

Thanks, we might need to pick up an 18v for the bigger jobs. My coworker likes to drill deep and he burns up his 12v battteries quick. The titanium coated bits slice into ash like butter. I bought some arborjet bits at the dealer, used one once then tossed it and went back to titanium. It's hard to find in brad tip but normal bits work fine.

 

[ATH]

Yeah...no need for the brad tips. Not sure why they suggest that.

I'll give some new bits a try. Do you buy your bits locally or online? Do you know the brand - are you using Dewalt bits too? I'd rather buy something you know will work than guessing and "saving" money only to find out it is junk. Buying once is always cheaper than replacing trash.

 

[Dbodave]

Mastercraft bits from Menards are good. I've also gotten them from Ace but I don't remember what brand. I haven't tried dewalt.

 

[ATH]

11% rebate this week

 

[Michael Payne]

When to do TreeAge? And when not to do?

 

[Scottie Ash tree seed]

I inject each hole by utilizing a liquid dose hypo, free from my local Walgreens. And a homemade injection plug (whose outer flange receives the filled hypo), is a shortened Blue AWG that Electricians use to crimp two wires together. The only instance when its difficult to trunk inject a tree, is when Ash is too damaged from EAB. Since borers causes declining tree to produce two or three years of tight growth rings. Unlike when trunk injecting an Elm, there is no need to place sites low around the root flare for Ash. Then holes do not suffer from soil splashing up during hard rains on low sites. Both my plugs, and especially Arborjet's, get squeezed out from compartmentalizing tissue within two years.

Since the god sent Tree-age is now available in unrestricted G4 form, now any common tree owner in the USA can assemble their own homemade equipment to properly trunk inject their families American Ash. Always make sure to wear goggles.
Become your communities most knowledgeable Ash tree/EAB expert, by checking out my Scottie Ash Seed blog
https://scottieashseed.wordpress.com/