Teens' invention boots out weeds

Killing thistles and weeds is no longer a back-breaking job for Sebastian Bucher and his best friend, Richard Malcolm - they're giving them the boot.

The Taupo-nui-a-Tia College 15-year-olds invented the "Grub It", a small lightweight tool that attaches to boots and flicks weeds out of the ground.

This week, the pair are at the National Agricultural Fieldays promoting their product, which they designed for a school science fair as 12-year-olds.

The young entrepreneurs are now running* Grub It and have a patent pending for their thistle buster.

Two years ago, they won a certificate in the Innovations Inventions Under-21 section of Fieldays for their original Grub It and have since progressed through refinements to come up with their final product.

"The first ones were made of metal but now they are made of plastic, making them lightweight and durable," Sebastian said.

When he used to help out weeding on his father's Taupo drystock farm, he often got blisters and a sore back but said it was now effortless, requiring only a flick of the boot to destroy the pesky plants.

His father said: "It's neat. No more backache. You just chip the thistles out. You can just slide them out of the ground as you work or ride through the farm on your motorbike.

"You just screw the Grub It into your boots and it lifts them right off the ground. No pressure at all."

Richard's mother, Linda, said the two boys had thrived through their work promoting their invention. "They have really grown with it," she said.

"They talk to people about it now and they have learned a lot about themselves along the way."

- DAILY POST

* An earlier version of this story said Sebastian Bucher and Richard Malcolm were directors of the company. Under-18s cannot be company directors. The Companies Office lists the directors of the company as Kurt Bucher and Linda Malcolm.