How Many Ounces of Remedy Per Gallon of Water?

For most foliar spot-spray applications, Remedy Ultra Herbicide is mixed at roughly one-half ounce to two ounces per gallon of water, with the exact amount depending on the target plant species and how you are applying it. The product label expresses rates as a percentage of the final spray volume rather than a flat ounces-per-gallon figure, which is the root of most of the confusion around this question. Broadcast spraying, basal bark treatment, and cut stump applications each follow entirely different math, so the answer depends on more than just the jug and the tank.

Foliar Spot-Spray Rates

Remedy Ultra’s active ingredient is triclopyr, formulated as an ester concentrate designed primarily for woody plant, brush, and broadleaf weed control in pastures, rangeland, fence rows, and rights-of-way. When the label recommends a “1-percent solution” for a particular target species, it means one percent of the finished spray volume should be Remedy. Since a gallon is 128 fluid ounces, a 1-percent solution works out to about 1.3 ounces of product per gallon of water. A half-percent solution is roughly two-thirds of an ounce per gallon, and a 1.5-percent solution is about 1.9 ounces per gallon.

For most brush and broadleaf weeds treated with a backpack or handheld sprayer, the label calls for somewhere in the 0.5- to 1.5-percent range. That is where the “about one to two ounces per gallon” shorthand that circulates in ranching forums comes from. Lighter broadleaf weeds in a pasture might need only the lower end, while tougher woody species like mesquite, oak brush, or multiflora rose often call for the upper end. The label’s species-by-species table is the only reliable guide for a specific plant — not a neighbor’s recipe.

Broadcast Spraying Uses a Different Calculation

When you shift from spot-treating individual plants to broadcasting Remedy across an entire pasture, the label switches units. Broadcast rates are given in quarts per acre rather than ounces per gallon. Typical broadcast recommendations run from one to four quarts of Remedy per acre, diluted into enough water to get adequate spray coverage, often 10 to 40 gallons per acre depending on equipment and vegetation density.

In a broadcast setup, the final concentration in the tank depends on how many total gallons of spray mix you plan to apply per acre. If you are applying 20 gallons per acre and the label calls for two quarts (64 ounces) per acre, you would add 64 ounces of Remedy to every 20 gallons of water. That comes to about 3.2 ounces per gallon, noticeably higher than a typical spot-spray mix because the spray volume per acre is lower. Someone who has been told “use one ounce per gallon” for their backpack sprayer and carries that figure over to a boom sprayer will consistently under-dose.

Basal Bark and Cut Stump Treatments Use Oil, Not Water

If your plan is to paint cut stumps or apply Remedy around the base of standing trees, the diluent isn’t water at all. Basal bark applications typically call for mixing Remedy at 20 to 30 percent concentration in a commercially available basal oil or diesel-type carrier. Cut stump treatments use a similar oil-based carrier at concentrations that can run from 25 to 50 percent, sometimes even undiluted for large hardwood stumps.

Water-based mixes don’t penetrate bark effectively, which is why oil is specified for these methods. If your goal is to kill a standing tree or prevent regrowth from a freshly cut stump, mixing Remedy into water will waste product and leave you with a live stump weeks later. Always confirm which application method the label recommends for your target species before you start measuring anything.

Why Getting the Rate Right Matters

Mixing “a little extra for good measure” or cutting the rate to stretch a jug further are both common habits, and both create real problems that go beyond a single failed spray job.

Under-Dosing Promotes Resistance and Regrowth

Skimping on the rate doesn’t just give you mediocre weed control. Research on herbicide resistance has shown that applying lower-than-recommended rates allows surviving weeds to accumulate minor resistance traits across generations, accelerating the evolution of herbicide-resistant populations. The practical lesson is that rates ensuring high weed mortality minimize the likelihood of minor resistance genes building up in surviving plants.

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The relationship between dose and resistance is more nuanced than “always use more.” Modeling work has suggested that lower doses combined with other control methods, such as mowing, grazing management, or rotating herbicide classes, can actually slow resistance development. But that only works when the reduced rate is part of a deliberate integrated strategy, not just someone eyeballing the measuring cup and hoping for the best.²

Over-Dosing Damages Desirable Plants

Going above the label rate is equally counterproductive. Excess herbicide can injure the forage grasses you’re trying to protect in a pasture, burn the leaves of nearby ornamentals, or damage soil biology. Research on concentrated spray products has documented that exceeding recommended application concentrations causes visible leaf burn and phytotoxicity.³ Over-application also drives up your per-acre cost for no additional weed control, since the active ingredient can only bind to so many receptor sites in the target plant.

There is a legal angle as well. In the United States, federal law requires that pesticides be applied according to label directions. Applying at rates higher than what the label allows violates FIFRA (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act) and can expose you to liability if the product migrates off your property.

How Water Quality Changes the Effective Dose

Even if you measure Remedy perfectly, the water you mix it in can undermine your results. Spray-water quality parameters including hardness, pH, alkalinity, turbidity, and dissolved solids all influence how well the active ingredient stays in solution and reaches the target plant. Hard water is the most common culprit in rural areas: calcium and magnesium ions can bind with certain herbicide molecules, reducing the amount of active ingredient available to penetrate the weed’s leaf surface.⁴

Remedy Ultra’s triclopyr ester formulation tends to be less affected by hard water than some amine-based herbicides, but heavily mineralized well water or water drawn from a limestone-fed stock tank can still reduce performance. If you suspect your water is hard, adding a water-conditioning agent like ammonium sulfate to the tank before the herbicide can tie up those interfering ions and restore efficacy.

Water temperature matters too. Research has found that herbicide solubility drops in very cold water, potentially leaving undissolved product settling to the bottom of the spray tank. Performance stayed stable when spray water was between about 65°F and 110°F but fell off at temperatures below roughly 40°F or above about 130°F.⁵ On a cold early-morning application, letting your tank water warm up before mixing can make a noticeable difference in weed kill.

Mixing Order for Tank Mixes

When Remedy is the only product going into the tank, the process is simple: fill the tank partway with water, add the measured amount of Remedy, then top off with the remaining water while agitating. Complications arise when you tank-mix Remedy with other herbicides, surfactants, or fertilizer carriers.

The widely taught rule for multi-product tank mixes follows the acronym WALES (sometimes DALES): dry formulations go in first, then agitate, then liquid flowables, then emulsifiable concentrates, and finally surfactants or adjuvants.⁶ Remedy Ultra is an emulsifiable concentrate, so in a multi-product mix it goes in after any dry granules and liquid flowables have been dissolved. Adding it in the wrong sequence can cause the formulation to clump, separate, or gel in the tank, leading to uneven application and clogged nozzles.

A jar test before committing a full tank is worth the two minutes it takes. Mix a small batch in a clear glass jar at the same proportions you plan to use in the sprayer, shake it, and let it sit for 15 to 30 minutes. If the mixture separates, gels, or throws off solids, the combination isn’t compatible. Dumping a full tank of ruined mix is an expensive lesson that a jar test prevents.

Protecting Yourself During Mixing

Mixing concentrated herbicide is the riskiest part of the job from an exposure standpoint. Research on pesticide handling has found that the mixing and loading phase accounts for the highest operator exposure, with hands contributing roughly 50 to 75 percent of total skin contact with the product.⁷ Once the product is diluted in the tank, the concentration you encounter per accidental splash drops dramatically, but those first few minutes of pouring and measuring are where chemical-resistant gloves and eye protection earn their keep.

Remedy Ultra’s label specifies minimum personal protective equipment: long-sleeved shirt, long pants, chemical-resistant gloves, and shoes plus socks. Eye protection is strongly recommended during mixing. It is tempting to skip the gloves on a hot afternoon, but a single splash of concentrate on bare skin delivers far more active ingredient than a full day of spraying diluted mix.

Measuring Tools and Common Mistakes

Getting the right number of ounces into the tank requires actually measuring, and “a good pour” doesn’t count. A few details that make a real difference in the field:

• Use a graduated cup: Dedicated pesticide measuring cups marked in ounces and milliliters cost a few dollars and prevent the guesswork that leads to poor results. Don’t use kitchen measuring cups — they lack precision at small volumes and you’ll contaminate them for food use.
• Account for sprayer volume: Backpack sprayers typically hold 4 gallons, so if the rate is 1.3 ounces per gallon, you need about 5.2 ounces per full tank. Rounding to “about 5 ounces” shaves roughly 4 percent off the rate, which is minor. Rounding to “a few glugs” could put you 30 percent off in either direction.
• Know your sprayer’s actual capacity: A nominally 4-gallon backpack sprayer might only hold 3.5 gallons to a comfortable fill line. Fill it once with a known volume of water, mark the level, and use that number going forward.

These small details compound. If your water is hard, your sprayer holds less than you think, and you eyeballed the pour, you could easily end up delivering half the intended dose to the target. That means brush grows right back, and you burn through a second jug of Remedy retreating the same acre.

What to Do with Leftover Tank Mix

A practical question most product labels don’t answer clearly: what do you do with leftover spray solution? Remedy mixed in water doesn’t store well over extended periods. The emulsion can break down, the active ingredient can degrade or settle out, and overall effectiveness drops. The better approach is to mix only what you expect to use in a single session.

If you have leftover mix, spray it on a labeled use site at the labeled rate rather than dumping it. Pouring unused herbicide onto bare ground, into a ditch, or down a drain is illegal and ecologically harmful. Field research has documented that surfactant-based formulations can facilitate the unexpected downward movement of contaminants through soil, reaching depths of over two meters in just a few months.⁸ That finding wasn’t specific to Remedy, but it underscores why concentrating leftover herbicide in one dump spot is a groundwater risk, particularly in sandy or well-drained soils.

Keeping Spray Away from Water Sources

Remedy Ultra’s label includes buffer-zone requirements near bodies of water, and those setback distances exist for good reason. Environmental monitoring has shown that pesticide concentrations in runoff during storm events can spike far above baseline, sometimes exceeding toxicity thresholds for aquatic organisms like algae, invertebrates, and fish.⁹ Even a properly mixed and correctly applied herbicide can reach a creek or pond if you spray too close to the water’s edge or right before a heavy rain.

Check the label’s setback distances for your specific site. For Remedy Ultra, those distances vary depending on whether the water body is flowing or still, and whether the application is aerial or ground-based. Applying on a calm day when the soil is dry enough to absorb the spray without immediate runoff keeps the product where you put it. If rain is forecast within 24 hours and you can postpone, that is usually the smarter call.