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I have just returned back home and as per usual the block paved drive is covered in weeds of a dozen varieties. Also the overspill has gone into the rose bed as well. I wouldn't say that I have a million weeds but it certainly looks like it.
I know that weed killers are not as strong as they once were and I don't fancy removing each weed individually, so can anyone suggest a really lethal weed killer or what about a flame gun type of thing ?
All suggestions welcome.
Roundup.
A friend told me that whilst it used to be strong, it's like pouring a cup of tea over it now a days.
Have you used some recently ?
I've used weedol and resolva recently and killed nettles and blackberry with them.
They've laid waste to an incredibly overgrown garden with ease, i struggle to see how much stronger they could need to be.
Perhaps if you just gave each weed a light spray they might survive but used generously they work perfectly well.
Roundup works perfectly well on my patio weeds, and my neighbours’ Virginia Creeper that they planted directly below my Sky dish.
Cover up with gloves etc. if you are using it.
Before it gets banned, go on line and get a gallon of full strength Glyphosate and make it up really strong. I put about an inch of the glysophate in the bottom of a 1l spray bottle and then fill up with water. Spray. Wait 2 weeks and should be dead. Repeat regularly. I have a permanent spray bottle made up and easy to hand so if I'm in the drive or garden with a few mins spare (e.g. waiting for SWMBO to stop mucking about and come to the car if we're going out) I'll grab the spray and spend a couple of mins going round. If you keep at it then you only have to do this every couple of weeks.
I use Nuedorff from Amazon, amazing stuff, weeds turn brown and die off in hours rather than days. Forget Roundup, Weedol etc. they are too weak these days.
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Use it regularly. No complaints, kills weeds.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mick P
Clinic up 360g/l glyphosphate......nuclear strength.
20 to 30 ml per litre should kill just about anything.
Yes that's the stuff. £30 from ebay for a gallon.Quote:
Originally Posted by magpie215
Quite.Quote:
Originally Posted by Raffe
It's not great for bees either:
https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/e...on-honey-bees/
Weeds 'wild flowers growing in the wrong place'.
Yes , Gallup 360 is all you will ever need if you want a super strength killer , I spray the paths and driveway in spring and it lasts the summer , zero weeds . Use in an accurate sprayer as you don’t want this stuff going on anything else. This does stop the need for repeated applications like the usual well known ones.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mick P
Not sure if they still sell it but Wilko used to do an own brand Glyphosate (the active ingredient in Round up, as far as I recall) concentrate which you can dilute to whatever strength. If you use a pump spray thing, you don’t need to use much. Don’t like using too many chemicals but it really gets the job done.
There's a lot of misconception about how glyphosate based weedkillers work. Glyphosate needs to be taken down to the roots to kill the weed & for that to happen the weeds need to be growing & not killed off quickly. Using a higher concentration (in a domestic environment) won't do the job any better & may be worse - the foliage dies off too quickly to get the weedkiller to the roots. Nor will glyphosate stop weeds reseeding as it gets inactivated on contact with the soil.
There are very few weedkillers availble on the domestic market (Monsanto & the EU have seen to that) but that doesn't mean the chemical isn't still for sale, it's just not allowed to be described as a weedkiller. One popular one is Ammonium Sulphamate which used to be available from Amazon but seems to be out of stock. You can still get it on ebay though:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/items/?_n...ium+sulphamate
Amazon reviews here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lancelot-Am...ews/B004MMTVJI
I use roundup pro vantage at work and if you put something like pistol or chikara in with it it will stop the weeds coming back for a while depending on what they are
I used my strimmer on the path this year - it did quite a good job of getting into the cracks and I actually found it less of a slog (and much healthier) than the usual pump and spray. And the results are instant.
Yep Roundup.Use sparingly .It kills the grass around the weed too if You overdo it on a lawn.
There is only one way to be sure link
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QRbDpnQiv...ls-400x280.jpg
Many thanks for the replies, much appreciated.
I think I will give the glyphosphate a miss, it seems overtly brutal and I would rather have weeds than no bees.
I will give the Roundup a go and give it a second dose a week afterwards and repeat until the damn weeds are deceased.
I'm pretty sure the active ingredient in roundup is glyphosate. I've also bought the weedkiller from Aldi and Lidl which also use glyphosate as their main ingredient. Does the job and is cheaper.
Roundup = GlyphosateQuote:
Originally Posted by Mick P
No idea what Glyphosphate is....
Try not to use Roundup it is glysophate with a pretty name. It will kill pollinators and yourself it has been tied to cancer in humans. Boiling hot water and string trimmers work just as good and don't cause cancer.
Please think twice before using herbicides and pesticides!
OK I will give the Roundup a miss.
What about a flame thrower thingy ?
Flames will kill plant above ground but leave the roots untouched....so will prob grow backQuote:
Originally Posted by Mick P
Not to be seen rushing to the defence of glysophate, but the issue isn't really with the home user spraying some weeds on their driveway, it's the farmers that spray whole fields to either kill weeds or immature wheat. For example, a couple of weeks before harvesting a farmer will spray his field of wheat to kill off any immature sprouts. If these are left in then it can taint the crop. It's this mass spraying which is the current source of contention. A litre of dilute on a driveway is immaterial compared to a thousand gallons on a 20 acre field!
Also the cancer link is if you use it for your job on a daily basis and breathe in the mist. Home users should be fine. I found that it was the only thing that killed bindweed.
Ahh, all good then.
Can I spice up my food with it, too?
Not sure about that one. I'd say probably not but I'd be interested in your findings ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by Raffe
Agreed and unlikely to be bees foraging on a driveway.Quote:
Originally Posted by solwisesteve
I am 70 years of age, so getting cancer holds no fear for me. We all got to die sometime and I expect to pop my clogs anytime but I don't want to needlessly kill off wildlife whose only crime is to walk around in my garden.
Therefore I have purchased a thing that is basically a long broom handle with a small very stiff brass brush on the end. You scrub it between the block pavings and the weeds come out, roots and all.
I killed off the weeds in the rose bed with a Dutch hoe.
This is how our grand parents did it and if it was good enough for them, it is good enough for me.
Good man.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mick P
You don’t need to use Agent Orange in a domestic setting.
That's 2,4-D....Quote:
Originally Posted by j0hnbarker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2,4-Di...oxyacetic_acid
Itself, not particularly dangerous and that and and similar compounds widely sold as lawn weedkillers (garden aisle in local Tesco stinks of the stuff) - the problem in Vietnam was the presence of trace amounts of dioxins (manufacturing impurities) which affected the local population.Quote:
Originally Posted by solwisesteve
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ironmonk3y
Yes I think that's the case, regular occupational use will result in much greater exposure than occasional use in you garden, but it's also important to ensure good hygiene and apply sensible precautions.
I use roundup spray on the odd weed in my drive and always use hand protection, try not to inhale when applying and wash my hands thoroughly afterwards.
Simple common sense measures that just require a little thought and don't cost anything.
And the real upside, you get some exercise in the fresh air instead of being stuck in front of telle, iPad or laptop. What not to like?Quote:
Originally Posted by Mick P
The real upside is that this morning I felt virtuously smug, now a few hours later, I ache in places I never knew I had.Quote:
Originally Posted by VDG
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mick P
What Magpie said.Quote:
Originally Posted by magpie215
I use a flame gun after a spray on weedkiller once the weeds are dead. It cleans up the patio and the pathways nicely. There's a lot of it, so a pain to do by hand.
One thing you have to watch though in this hot spell is accidentally setting fire to things. The gun I have is basically a roofer's torch, and it doesn't half produce a big flame front on full welly. I make sure I have a hose to hand, just in case.
This ^^^^Quote:
Originally Posted by Mr Pointy
[emoji1] I did this very thing last week. Set fire to some railway sleepers we have in the garden, didn’t realise and came back to a decent size fire........ and because they have oil in them took bloody ages to put out!!Quote:
Originally Posted by Incredible Sulk
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I was going to suggest a gardener (that's what I use), but it looks like you've made the right choice.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mick P
I wouldn't touch any sort of weedkiller.
The biggest problem with weedkillers is the homeowners who use them. They don't read the label and figure whats a little extra going to hurt and so the problems begin. Given how many pro's vs the average homeowner are using herbicides and pesticides the homeowners out number them. Putting extra dioxins in the environment hurts everyone especially pollinators and to think that they don't leach from your little secure slice of land is completely wrong.
The world ran smoothly without them for a long time but with their introduction like DDT, Agent Orange, Roundup we have seen what these can do to the environment and people.
My uncle was 82nd Airborne 2 tours in Vietnam with the 1st Cav under Colonel Moore (think Movie) and a purple heart recipient hit with grenade shrapnel in the face as a door gunner on a Huey and Agent Orange ended up killing him. They used to walk through the jungle and fields with 5 gallon buckets and spread it by hand when he came home his skin would get orange and white patches all over it and his hands would grow welts and eventually it got into his lungs suffocating him.
Herbicides are not friendly nor are they choosy they kill anything and everything.
Where is Greta Alabed sorry Thunberg to educate us about man made harm to the environment cased by Dow, Monsanto/Bayer et al products when you need her?!