The Mantis 2-Cycle Tiller Reviewed | Gardeners Path

We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.

This spring I had to replace my favorite garden implement, my Mantis 2-Cycle tiller.

This is the little red tiller that you see advertised everywhere in garden magazines and on television gardening shows. If I remember those old ads in Organic Gardening magazines about 30 years ago, the Mantis tiller used to be nicknamed the “Little Wonder”.

I believed it then, and I still believe it.

My first Mantis 2-cycle lasted through ten seasons of hard use, with no repairs. I wore it out.

I liked it so much, I bought a second one, and had it for nine seasons before I wore it out, too.

I’m talking seriously large garden here, where I grew enough to feed a family of five during the summer with enough in the freezer and pantry to last through the winter.

One year when extra events occupied my time (wedding, graduations, etc.) I took my second Mantis in to a local shop that worked on them to have it “tuned up”.

They did the annual maintenance tasks for me and adjusted the carburetor. That’s the only time I ever paid for any work to be done on any of models. I think the shop charged me about $30, and that included a new spark plug, air filter, and couple of bottles of oil, too.

There are only a few simple annual maintenance tasks to do with the Mantis 2-cycle tiller, and they are easy enough for anyone to do. The manual tells you how, with pictures and instructions.

A new model also comes with a DVD that tells you everything you need to know, too, for those who like the video explanations. Each year, you need to change the spark plug and