he Mantis
Tiller/Cultivator is the incredible lightweight tiller that has made
gardening easier for more than a million people. The Mantis
Tiller/Cultivator is lightweight, but powerful enough to till through
sod and compacted soil. Originally designed to help landscapers get
their jobs done quicker, our 20-pound tiller is the world's best
selling tiller. Our tines are guaranteed for LIFE against breakage.
Mantis tillers are backed by a 5-Year Warranty!
The Mantis tiller
features our patented, serpentine tines that easily break new ground
when you are ready to start a garden. Our tines turn soil into a fine
texture, ready for planting. Once your garden is established, use the
Mantis Tiller to cultivate and weed your garden with ease. You'll use
the Mantis Tiller to create new flower beds and vegetable gardens,
maintain existing gardens, quickly dig planting holes for trees and
shrubs, and more.
Over 30 years ago a small red tiller was first
introduced to American gardeners. Its manufacturer boldly promised
that the little dynamo would make gardening easier.
Back then, all tillers were big, heavy behemoths that were
difficult to maneuver. Running a tiller was a big, manly man chore.
After tilling a garden with a giant beast of a machine, every muscle in
your body ached.
By comparison, the little red Mantis Tiller/Cultivator looked
like a toy. It weighed in at just 20 pounds, and you could easily pick
it up with one hand to move it from garage to garden. But when you
pulled the cord to start the gas engine, the Mantis Tiller's patented
tines chewed up soil with amazing ease. Here was a piece of power
equipment that actually delivered on its promises. It really did make
gardening easier by taking the backbreaking strain out of tilling garden
soil.
Still, when the Mantis Tiller was first offered for sale in
1980,
no one could have predicted
how popular the world's first mini-tiller would become.
Initially, the Mantis Tiller was largely shunned by men (who,
apparently, did not want to be seen operating a diminutive "20-pound
wonder"). But women and seniors wholeheartedly embraced the
little tiller and made it a bestselling sensation. They loved
the little red tiller because it was simple and easy to us –
and it did exactly what the product ads said it would: take
much of the hard work out of America's favorite leisure activity.
Today, men and women alike are happily tilling their gardens
with Mantis Tillers. In fact, it's hard to find a gardener who will say
anything disparaging about a Mantis Tiller.
Mantis receives hundreds of unsolicited testimonial letters and emails
every
year. Many gardeners become quite fond of their Mantis Tillers.
We especially love the letters from customers
who at first did not believe the claims made in the company's
ads. Kenneth Porter of Copperas Cove, Texas, was one of those
skeptics. Porter admits that the only reason he bought a Mantis
Tiller was because of
the one-year
"no questions asked" return policy.
"When I first got this little thing [the Mantis Tiller], I
thought to myself, ‘What a waste of money!'" wrote Porter. "But when I
started tilling, I was so amazed... My son even wanted to use it. We
want to tell you, we love this little jewel – it's great and I would
tell anyone that it is well worth the money! Especially when you can get
the kids to do the work!"
And then there are the fanatics. Rhonda Schmidt of Sheboygan,
Wisconsin, freely admits to being in love with her Mantis Tiller. "I
love my Mantis Tiller, and I will never give it up," says Schmidt. "I
tilled my garden all by myself this year and it looks great!"
THE LITTLE TILLER THAT DOES IT ALL
In an age of products that are imported from overseas,
the powerful little Mantis Tiller is a
made-in-America
success story. The Mantis Tiller has proven
itself to be durable, efficient and remarkably versatile.
Over 30 years ago, and more than one million units sold, the
Mantis Tiller is still
assembled
in a small factory in suburban Philadelphia.
In spite of its many imitators – and there are quite a
few mini tillers offered by other manufacturers – the Mantis
Tiller is still the best-selling tiller in the world.
It's the patented "serpentine" (curved) tines that still set the Mantis
Tiller apart from other tillers, giving it the ability to cut through
sod, tough soil and even vegetation with ease. (Other small tillers
use a scaled-down version of the "bolo" bent tines found on big, heavy
tillers, a design that is significantly less effective on a lightweight
machine.)
The Mantis Tiller's
high-quality
craftsmanship and powerful commercial-grade
engine consistently get rave reviews. And gardeners are pleased
with the handy way the Mantis Tiller tills garden plots and
effortlessly weeds around trees and landscaping.
Like the proverbial Swiss Army knife, the mighty Mantis Tiller
can effectively perform a wide variety of tasks. The tiller tines can
easily be removed and many optional attachments can be quickly
installed. These optional attachments convert the Mantis Tiller into a
border edger, furrower, plow, lawn aerator, lawn dethatcher, crevice
cleaner – and even a hedge trimmer. Thus, one Mantis Tiller and its
attachments can do the work of eight different power tools.
Over the years, the Mantis Tiller has received many impressive
official awards, including a Consumers Digest "Best Buy" award and a
"Member Tested and Recommended" Seal of Approval from the National Home
Gardening Club. The Mantis Tiller was also honored as the most-often
praised garden power tool in the Organic Gardening Buyer's Guide. The
lightweight Mantis Tiller/Cultivator does a great job of getting garden
soil ready for planting – and it can be used for dozens of other jobs
throughout the year.
Back in the 1990s, after the Mantis Tiller had
thoroughly conquered
North America, the little tiller was test marketed in
Europe.
The result? European gardeners embraced the little
tiller in
much the same way Americans had. As the Mantis Tiller
celebrates another anniversary, happy tiller owners in every state in
the USA, every province in Canada, throughout Europe
and around
the world in countries such as South Africa, Israel
and China
are using their Mantis Tillers to cultivate soil, weed
gardens,
dig furrows, aerate and dethatch lawns, edge borders,
dig holes
for planting trees and shrubs, and even trim hedges.
All with
a little red tiller that many people laughed at when
it was
first introduced.
It's safe to say that no one is laughing at the little tiller now.
Mantis Tiller Trivia: Why is it called a Mantis Tiller?
Because the tiller handles resemble the shape of praying mantis
arms, and the praying mantis is a beneficial insect in the garden.