Want to kill grass....not trees

[shooterdon]

My goal is to eliminate using a trimmer around the fence line and trees. Is there something I can use to kill grass and not harm trees. Trees are oaks, maples, spruce, birch.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

Roundup... it only kills what it touches; won't hurt spraying the bark on your trees.

 

[hube2]

Roundup... it only kills what it touches; won't hurt spraying the bark on your trees.

Agree with this. I use roundup around the base of all my trees, just far enough so that I can mow and I don't need to trim. I also use it at the base of my permanently places snow fences. For the fence it does help with mowing but in this case is is to prevent the weeds from getting tangled in the fence as they grow which will eventually pull the fences down..

 

[RalphVa]

Generic glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.

 

[shooterdon]

Thanks guys. Round up it is.

 

[MoKelly]

Thanks guys. Round up it is.

You should be fine. But - below is what the manufacturer says.

Good luck.

MoKelly

 

[hslogger]

You can purchase cone like shields that go on the end of wands. I have them on my Solo back pack sprayers, and they are easily removed or installed. It will absolutely control drift. Check em out

 

[mikester]

drag a roundup soaked rope. Roundup does affect small trees and some evergreens.

 

[Fuddy1952]

Our neighbors had this pretty tree (weeping plum) in their yard near house. He said he was going to spray Roundup around to kill weeds and grass. He was careful but the tree died, I'm thinking it got into the soil killing roots.
Me...I'd spray Roundup along fence lines and mulch around trees/shrubs.

 

[workinonit]

I've been spraying Roundup's generic around my 38 Live Oak trees since they were 6' tall. They are over 20 years old now and probably 30 to 40 feet tall. I'm fairly certain the intent is to spray around and not directly on the trees. Roundup is a contact herbicide not a systemic.

 

[blee03]

Roundup has been directly linked to cancer. We got rid of all of all our roundup years ago.

Google roundup and cancer, you can read for days on this subject.

 

[sixdogs]

Roundup/glyphosate is what to use. I spray a 1.75% to2% mixture of concentrate in a backpack sprayer in the yard and zero problems over 30+/- years.. I lightly hit some of the evergreens with spray but never an issue. I also use it to spray the suckers that come off of my ornamental flowering trees in the dirt around the base of the tree and it stops the suckers for a long time before they reappear.

As others have noted never spray Roundup or generic on any cut surface of a tree. That means if you snip a sucker off an apple tree, no spraying for a while. I don't know how long but would presume a few days. I just don't cut suckers but spray them. This is what works for me.

 

[workinonit]

Roundup has been directly linked to cancer. We got rid of all of all our roundup years ago.

Google roundup and cancer, you can read for days on this subject.

I heard that somewhere.

 

[kenmbz]

Note: do not spray roundup around the trees if you know rain is coming within 24 hours or so.
If will saturate surface roots if you get enough rain.
I have used it around bushes with no problem, but once I had rain come through a few hours after application,that was not in the forecast and one of the bushes had partial die off

 

[MoKelly]

Roundup has been directly linked to cancer. We got rid of all of all our roundup years ago.

Google roundup and cancer, you can read for days on this subject.

Not as bad as tobacco - yet both are still sold readily. Interesting.

MoKelly

 

[blee03]

Not as bad as tobacco - yet both are still sold readily. Interesting.

MoKelly

Good point, but I’m pretty sure the tobacco users know the risks... roundup users, not so much

 

[hube2]

Do not breath it, get it in your mouth or eyes and avoid skin contact while it is wet.

You should read and follow the warnings and precautions. This is why there is an entire book attached to every bottle https://natseed.com/pdf/Roundup Pro Label.pdf, see section 3.1 where it covers PPE. This has been there as long as I can remember.

Farmers/workers spraying this stuff in fields should probably be wearing respirators, I know I would be. I will not spray it if there is the slightest breeze that could blow it back on me or into the air. But I still use it, or one of several others that contain glyphosate.

U.S. EPA reaffirms that glyphosate does not cause cancer

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday it finished a regulatory review that found glyphosate, the most widely used weed killer in the United States, is not a carcinogen.

www.reuters.com

Note that on the page it says

EPA has concluded that there are no risks of concern to human health when glyphosate is used according to the label

No, I don't work for RoundUp

 

[blee03]

“Multiple studies have presented that Roundup formulation is far more dangerous than glyphosate alone...”

“The chemicals added as inert ingredients are oftentimes more toxic than the active ingredients...”

The Unlisted Ingredients In Roundup May Be Even More Toxic Than Glyphosate | Atraxia Law

Even though glyphosate has been found to be toxic, it is not the only dangerous ingredient in Roundup. It has been found out that many inert ingredients and secret ingredients from the herbicide can combine into a highly toxic and deadly cocktail.

www.atraxialaw.com

I guess there are a lot of unlisted “inert” ingredients in the roundup formula that are questionable.

Roundup is settling lawsuits left and right... and they have a fund going to pay for future lawsuits. Not a good sign

 

[workinonit]

It doesn't present much of an issue with farmers in my area because they all have hiboys with cabs. Besides that they are using something different now that controls grass and weeds much better. Roundup is really not a very diverse herbicide. We have a bad pigweed infestation and Roundup won't kill pigweed. I use it mixed with 2,4,D Amine and surfactant. That makes a good and stable solution.