Best brush killing spray

[crown]

I have a large rock formation in the backyard of my property. The problem is it is to rocky and steep to bush hog but the weeds and brush grow an a very rapid rate. The wife hates the weeds and I hate having to sickle the weeds down. Can any of you fellow TBNers suggest a good brush killer I have never had very good success with Round Up.

 

[njrqs]

Hmmm

Roundup or its derivatives seem to work a treat for me.

Best to apply when the weeds are growing well (eg. summer after rain for example)

When the weeds are dormant, the roundup is not adsorbed as well.

Make sure it is mixed correctly and add a bit more for good luck and see how you go.

Cheers

 

[BB_TX]

I have had good success with Roundup. If I am spraying heavy weeds, grass, and brush, I mix it a little heavier than usual and try to make sure I get it on all the leaves. Seems to work best in warm wet weather when everything is really growing fast.

 

[budman72]

Roundup gets my vote as well. One trick the guy at the SS Co-op told me was to add a bit of diesel fuel to the mix (about a tablespoon per gallon) It helps keep the roundup on the leaves and of course gives a great aroma to the area (I love the smell of diesel fuel in the morning) /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[gmason]

My preferance the last few years is the Spectracide brand. It kills in ~24hours so that I withing a few days I can see exactly what I missed and can hit it again. Roundup takes a good week to see the results.
For crabgrass, I'll add a few drops of cheap dishwashing soap to the sprayer to wet the leaves better, but I'll try the diesel fuel to see how that works.
gary

 

[mikim]

Roundup makes a brush killer too - the household type for crabgrass etc maybe won't do but look for the brush killer one.
mike

 

[MikePA]

<font color=blue>Roundup makes a brush killer too </font color=blue>

TSC has this in 5 gallon containers.

 

[WVBill]

According to the Material Safety Data Sheets for the Roundup line:

Roundup Weed & Grass Killer Concentrate = 25% Glyphosate, Isopropylamine
Roundup Weed & Grass Killer Super Concentrate = 52% Glyphosate, Isopropylamine
Roundup Brush Killer Concentrate = 27% Glyphosate, Isopropylamine

They're all the same active ingredient and since you mix them yourself, buy the cheapest PER unit of active ingredient and mix to the strength you need.

Ortho also makes a Brush B Gone which has a different active ingredient. I've never used it though.

I have had good luck with Round Up on anything I've used it on -- including a few of the wife's plants that I thought looked like weeds - oops.

 

[geneP]

"Roundup makes a brush killer too "

From reading the labels on Roundup products, it appears to me that the ONLY difference from product to product is the concentration of the active ingredient. I've seen it sold from premixed to a concentrate of ~47%. The only diffenence is the amount of concentrate to a gallon of water. Seems to be a marketing ploy to offer a product just for your application. Does anybody know of any differences in their products other than the concentration of mix?

BTW, I have had good results using Roundup on all vegetation when mixed properly. I've found the hardest to kill is Wisteria vines. I have an old home site that was taken over by it. I cleaned the site off, and started spraying the Wisteria as it emerged. I almost always had to treat it a second (or third)time.

 

[MODiesel]

Howdy!

Incidental fact, but Roundup works well on really large poison oak/ivy vines. You know, the 1-2in thick variety!

Just cut the vine and stick the "live" end in a cup or bucket of pure Roundup. Let it sit for a day or two, and the vine will absorb the Roundup straight down to the root. Ergo, dead vine & root.

Best Regards,
Jay

 

[Boondox]

We've been battling Canada Thistle on our property in northern VT for years. The wife is into organics, so chemicals like Roundup are off limits. Was mowing them down regularly and burning them on occasion. Lot of work. But this week's Time magazine suggested spraying regular vinegar on weeds. We tried it and it nuked the thistles overnight! Doesn't seem to hit other weeds as hard, but it does a number on Canada Thistle!!!

Pete

 

[WVBill]

Understand your desire to be environmentally friendly but.
Only question I would have is the Vinegar giving you "top kill" and not getting the root? - (same as mowing them)? Watch them for a while and see if the same thistle comes back up. Roundup actually gets the root. The plant will not regrow from that root.

 

[exeter_acres]

I use RoundUp as well ... one thing I didn't see anyone mention (sorry if I missed it if someone did/w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif) is the fact that RoundUp kills EVERYTHING!! It is NOT the same as a WeedB Gon, etc. etc. that are designed to kill weeds but be gentle on grasses etc. etc..
If you are spot spraying a weed, be very careful about spraying on anything nearby that you want to save 'cuz I found out the hard way /w3tcompact/icons/tongue.gif that just a bit on nearby fragil plants will damage them enough to kill them.

That being sad RoundUp does well for us.

Good Luck
Curtis

 

[Boondox]

Time will tell. My neighbor -- the Trapp Family Lodge -- uses the commercial grade of Roundup. Seems to work on everything except the two problems we have on my side of the hill: burdock and Canada thistle. The burdock laughed at me when I sprayed it with vinegar, but the thistle went into death throes within a couple of hours.

Pete

 

[Wiz]

I've had excellent results with Roundup if you want to kill everything that you spray. I neighbor just recently told me to try Crossbow on Multiflora Rose. It is supposed to kill it, without killing everything else that happens to get sprayed. Haven't tried it yet, but will soon.

 

[cowboydoc]

Crossbow is excellent if you want to preserve the grass.

 

[dummy]

I use Pramitol, a severe duty killer, on areas like yours. Usually only needs to be sprayed once a year. Seems to do away with everything it touches, weeds, grass,etc.

 

[stmiller2]

A low-cost (and relatively effective) alternative for broadleafs would be 2,4-D.

 

[fishman]

Roundup (Glyphosate) mixed to max strength (50%) and sprayed in the morning of a warm sunny day. Works every time. It does not work nearly as well in cool weather.

You can buy generic glyphosate in some places for a lot less money.

 

[tdenny]

Vinegar is great and cheap. It will do the job but it normally is a very temporary solution. The vinegar changes the PH balance in your soil so that nothing will grow in it. Unfortunately it "washes" itself out. Sounds like it worked well on the thistles - although I wouldn't try using it on a gravel road to stop weed and grass development. There is a product - not sure of the name sorry - that is called something like blackberry bush killer and it completely changes the soil PH composition so nothing will grow. I don't think I'd go so far as to say it's permanent but it lasts much longer than the vinegar. Costs much more too. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif