O/T - does anyone use Roundup?

[KrisK]

I HATE using any kind of herbicides/pesticides and do my ultimate best to avoid it. Dandilions have a good life with me However, I have a nasty infestation of burdock and I mean nasty. I managed to keep the burdock controlled in the dog area by constant mowing but this isn't feasible in the other areas. Some of these plants are almost 2 metres tall! I spent an entire day lopping them down with tree branch cutters. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get to them before SEEDS I can't afford to have these spread into our hayfields which we hope reseed in the next year or so. I understand Roundup is effective but is also non-selective so it will kill other plants as well...no problem there since the burdock is so DAM* big nothing else is growing.

I would appreciate any alternatives if there are any.

Thanks

[MaggieDog]

My dad uses roundup and likes it. I just learned in biochem that the process it interferes with to kill plants doesn't exist in animals, which makes me feel a tad bit better about him using it on the driveway at home.

 

Have you tried boiling water? I've heard that can be effective in some cases. I've only seen it used on grass/clover but it seemed to do the job.

[bcnewe2]

I've used roundup around my livestock (fencelines and pokey plants). The dogs may have come into contact with it during stocktraining or manageing the sheep, but I've never had a issue suface with it.

I alway thought it was safe to have around the dogs after it dries.

Kristen

[Jack & Co.]

My father uses white vinegar sometimes. The big jugs at Wal-Mart are cheap.

 

I use Preen granules (weed preventer) in a juniper bed so I don't have to pull winged elm seedlings all the time.

 

I use a dandelion digger on my dandelions.

[Sue R]

In my limited experience, white vinegar is not effective as it won't kill the roots but rather just burns back the leaves. The plant will resprout from the roots after some interval.

 

Burdock is a biennial so the seeds that have gotten into the ground this year will not produce seeds themselves as plants until the year after next. Since your plants have gone to seed already this year, you have this year's seedlings (last year's seed) which will flower and produce seed next year, and this year's seeds which will sprout next year and be productive the following year.

 

Roundup will kill virtually all plants if applied properly and at the right time of year. It must be applied to actively growing plants as it works by causing them to grow "out of control" and die. If you can "spot spray" the burdock at the proper growth stage (active growth), you might be able to get ahead of the problem if it isn't extensive.

 

If you kill all your perennial grasses and broadleaves with Roundup while trying to kill your burdock, you will still have burdock seeds in the ground. By killing your beneficial species, you will just improve conditions for the spread of the burdock.

 

As far as animals are concerned, I would not want to have them consuming plants that have been sprayed but Roundup is relatively safe and is inactivated when it comes into contact with soil.

 

Do you have a Cooperative Extension office or the Canadian equivalent? If so, go to them and find out what is labelled for the use you need. What is legal in the US may not be legal in Canada. They should be able to advise you on what is effective in your area, and how and when to apply it consistent with label directions.

 

Best wishes!

[Atlanta Smitty]

Roundup works great. I know a lot of landscapers who use it. It can get expensive though.

 

A friend of mine told me of a roundup like chemical that was much much cheaper and came in a larger bulk. He got it at a feed store or something along those lines.

 

I've heard it's pretty safe but it will kill any plant it touches. A friend of mine sprayed a large area. After walking through it for a while he walked through the nice grass. Not long after you could see his foot prints

[muddy bob]

We now avoid these types of herbicides. They have been linked to lymphoma in dogs. I know the exposure would most likely have to be great but it just makes us feel slightly better having lost a dog to lymphoma.

The trouble with vinegar from the grocery store is that it is a very weak acetic acid. In order to be really effective one needs a less dilute form a vinegar. St. Gabriel makes an herbicide that is very strong vinegar combined with clove oil. We have been experimenting with it on clover and thistle and it has been effective. Sometimes the weeds require two applications. On other weeds this seems to be just a top burner but at least it would prevent formation af seed heads. I'm not sure what it would do for your

burdock.

It is not a selective herbicide so it would effect any plant it came in contact with. I believe St. Gabriel has a website.

 

muddy

[INU]

OT but I just looked up Burdock and realized it is the same as Gobo - which is what we, Japanese eat all the time. The roots mostly but it's funny how on one side of world, people are trying to kill and on the other side, people are growing to eat them

[trailrider]

Roundup has risks to the pets and people. I had a few afticles researched years ago. I have lots of burdock, and patches in the pastures. I have been hiking with the dogs, and cutting them at the base before they make the burrrrrs. The sprouts for next year are developing now, so I pulles a lot of the leaves. Using risky spray such as roundup for the present plants will accomplish nothing because they have gone to seed and are dead for all purposes. The ground in the burdock growth areas will contain a lifetime of seeds for the future. Dealing with the sprouting and growing plants does a good job.