Make Your Weeds Bleed with OSM’s New Scratch Pad!

The new patented Scratch Pad is OSM’s latest answer for stubborn weeds. An applicator bar designed specifically with custom operations in mind, The Scratch Pad is effective on all kinds of weeds, from hard-to-kill velvetleaf, to grasses of all sorts, and more typical varieties like pigweed and hemlock.

The secret to The Scratch Pad’s success lies in its rather ferocious looking design. Manufactured with two rows of jagged teeth pointing downwards into the plants, it certainly looks like a weeds nightmare come to life. Each tooth on The Scratch Pad is sharpened to a point, and it is these points that give The Scratch Pad its name. The teeth drag across the surface of the plant, scratching the exterior, and drawing moisture to the surface. This plays a dual function; firstly, it creates a more conductive surface on the plant, and secondly, it creates a direct conduit for electricity to flow through the stem of the plant, and into the root.

It is particularly useful on weeds growing in hot, dry weather like that of the Southwest United States, where weeds can develop thick “skins” that don’t conduct electricity as well. It is also a game changer when it comes to electrocuting weeds like velvetleaf, which is covered in fine hairs that tend to disperse electricity, because the scratches that the applicator puts on the plant eliminates the need for the outside of the stem to be conductive. Too, grasses are no longer an issue- where before, the lack of contact against grasses made them harder to kill, The Scratch Pad expedites the process. Check it out here! https://www.facebook.com/share/r/16WWkx9eD4/

Or here: https://theweedzapper.oldschoolmanufacturing.com/scratch-pad-applicator/

One downside to The Scratch Pad is that it is not available for all years of The Weed Zapper. The Scratch Pad requires a greater electricity load that can easily be carried by the 2024 and newer model’s larger generators, but previous years will not be able to generate enough power to run it effectively. (Authors Note 6/25/26: OSM is now offering select years reconfiguration update to be able to run The Scratch Pad applicator system. Contact us today to see if your machine is eligible!)

Another feature of The Scratch Pad that makes it so beneficial for custom operators is that the larger payload of the bigger generators means that operators can increase their speed per acre, so that more acres, and fields, can potentially be hit in a day.

As always here at OSM, we work to make all of our products run as effectively and smoothly as possible- so while there may not be an option for a Scratch Pad on our older models, new updates are constantly in the works.

New updates for each year can be found here: https://theweedzapper.oldschoolmanufacturing.com/support/product-updates/. Instructions and in-depth descriptions of what updates provide can also be found at the link. And, as always, our tech support line is available. Just give us a call at

(660) 851-8800, and if you don’t get through the first time, leave a message. Leaving a message will get your call in the queue, and you will receive a return call asap.

Happy Growing!