Lightweight Garden Dust Applicator, Made in USA

Wow. This thing really spreads the powder. No comparison to ‘sprinkling’ from a container. It creates a cloud that covers the whole plant(s) with a light film, and makes the powder go much further. I never really tried to get under the leaves before, now it’s easy. Incredible how quickly it makes dusting go, done in minutes and far better than the sprinling method. It’s worth the pricetag considering how well it works, not ‘beefy’ construction, but seems solid enough, and it’s light (and simple). I can’t imagine dusting any other way now that I’ve used this…

I bought this duster to spread DE in my attic to help fight scorpions. First, assembly took about five minutes, half of that time was getting up to get a screwdriver to attach the hand crank. Second, previously noted in some of the reviews, there is a small opening on the bottom of the blower which allows some of your powder to fall through. Less than two inches of duct tape solves the problem nicely.When using this blower in an enclosed space like an attic, make sure you are wearing a good quality dust mask, not one of the flimsy paper ones. It puts out quite a bit of dust, just as it's supposed to. I did notice that despite the mechanical screw inside the hopper to prevent the powder from clogging, it would occasionally stop blowing due to the powder not falling to the bottom of the hopper (not clogging). Turning it upside down quickly solved the problem.I read many of the reviews before I purchased this item. Several commented about the low quality of this product. I have now used my twice and haven't noticed any problems. The second time I gave it quite the workout and banged it about a bit in the attic. It is plastic with only a few metal parts but it does the job well and is not very expensive. If you expect a super high-quality product for under $40, you're going to be disappointed. This is not a professional grade tool nor is it advertised as such. If you are looking for a tool to use on occasion that will get the job done, this is it.

I bought a Dust Mixer when they first were sold. It lasted me for many years. I uses it to dust my garden and yard in addition to spreading diatamacioius earth . That earth is pretty abrasive on the machine in addition to coating and caking on the parts that impair their movement. But even brand spanking new and clean it is difficult to operate the crank. There is a lot of resistance to turning the hand crank. Still it works better at "fogging" and "dusting" for my purposes than any other machine excluding professional powered units. I can put it in the crawl space door and crank away and it will send plumes of dust that drift around under my house and kill any insect that has an exoskeleton, like roaches, ants, etc. I can stand upwind and dust my yard and garden. I think the unit is over priced, but then they probably don't have a large market or large sales so I guess they are asking a fair price to stay in business. I still have my original Dust Mixer but the metal parts are corroded. Replacement parts for the Dust Mixer are so expensive it was just cheaper just to buy a new one.MY RECOMMENDATION:This duster is not for every one. Someone with weak upper body strength, arms and hands will have difficulty operating it. If you are willing to buy knowing operating the duster is somewhat labor intensive then I think it may be worth it. I haven't found a better duster. Pace yourself and don't try to take on big jobs all at once. Spread the work into manageable units. Don't force the crank because you may break plastic parts that are hard to replace and cost more than you will like.

The duster works great. The attachment to get under the leaves is a back saver. It also makes the DE go over more area than if I had been applying by hand.

Terrific device and well worth the price, but I've docked it two stars because the ad doesn't mention that you need to buy add-on screens a $5 each (or $12 for all 4) to make it work with various insecticides and other powders. The order form should be in the package. Without the proper screen, some powders may either clog the screen almost instantly or may come out in clumps instead of a fine spray. (If output seems to drop, I find that a sharp rap on the side will shake up the powder and restore full flow).Aside from the obvious uses, I use this to repel cat pests from my garden and bird feeder. The chemical repellents either don't work very well or very expensive and need to be re-applied often, especially after rainstorms. I found the solution in ground cayenne pepper, which affects mammals but not birds. The pepper contains a lot of pepper oil (which is what makes it hot) and tends to clump badly so I mix it with some other appropriate dust (flour, diatomaceous earth, seven dust, etc.) and spray it one-cat-high throughout my garden and around the bird feeder and bird bath. This has to be replenished after it rains but the dustin-mizer makes that fast, easy, and cheap.This is VERY effective with cats and also works to keep various other critters out of my tomatoes. However, I should note that some people claim that cayenne pepper, if ingested, can make cats very sick. I only favor this solution because none of these cats are tagged and the only other alternative is to take them to the pound where they will most likely be killed.It goes without saying that you don't want to do any of this if there are kids or other pets running around the yard.Also, unless you want to find out what it's like to be maced, you need to wear goggles and a mask made for fine dust (which you should be doing for any fine powder - ESPECIALLY insecticides - anyway).