"Permanent" herbicide

[S854]

This is the best pic I have when we moved into our home 7 years back... there is some growth in the drive but it was manageable...

I picture was taken today, after I mowed as close to the ground as I dare (don't wanna screw up Julie's zero turn)

There are other areas around our property which are also being taken over by the native vegetation, seldom used roads, turnarounds, front of the barn etc...

I've been using a mixture of 2-4d and Milestone to spot treat some invasive weeds... it works well on knapweed, houndstongue, thistle etc... but has little to no effect on the grasses/weed in our drive..

I purchased some Ortho Groundclear from Costco... sprayed the two gallons on the drive over the course of several weeks... you can see the results... $40 bucks wasted...

I tried the vinegar/salt/dishsoap concoction from YouTube... basically, the same results-- grasses turn brown for about a week then come back...

So I'm looking for suggestions for large area coverage which might make the ground sterile for more than a few weeks... wild guess is roughly 1/3 mile of road needs to be treated... there is no plant life along the road that I'm worried about if overspray is a concern...

One more thing: burning isn't an option due to dry grasses, wind and lack of available water

 

[rgr33]

2-4-D with Roundup should do the job, unless your weed population has developed a resistance.

The one thing I would do in your scenario is to add in a pre emerge, I have good results with Goal, and switch out your chems every year, because sometimes, one herbicide will work better than another, for a particular kind of weed.

I don’t buy anything from retail box stores, they are expensive, and often diluted for weekend gardners

 

[ronjhall]

If I want permanent weed control. I use RM43.

5 Commonly Asked Questions About RM43 | Ragan & Massey | Ragan & Massey

RM43 is effective on brush, vines and more than 150 weeds including the really tough ones like kudzu, poison ivy and poison oak and many more. We get a lot of questions about RM43 so we thought we’d share a couple.

www.raganandmassey.com

Here in Michigan I mix 6 oz to a gallon water.

 

[JethroB]

I use a mix of Remedy (triclopyr) and Roundup (glyphosate 42%.) 2-3 ounces of each per gallon of water in an ATV sprayer. Powerful stuff so be careful.

 

[dodge man]

Last year I box bladed my gravel area and this year I’m just using round up. The best way is heavy traffic but obviously most people don’t get that. A couple things I learned is hard water makes roundup less effective. I’ve been adding ammonia sulfate to my water first and letting it sit a few minutes before dumping in my sprayer. Then I add a little surfactant.

I also have been using name brand roundup. It’s not because I think it’s better but when I calculated how much it made compared to the off brand stuff it was cheaper.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, Arsenal (Ecomazapyr) should kill basically Everything, Pramitol is another soil sterilizer. Be careful you only spray area were you want Nothing to grow foe the next 3-12 months.

 

[Torvy]

I cannot find an article to back me up, but I seem to remember some years back they changed the formula for ground clear. Used to make something called Triox that was for the same purpose, too.

Those products work more slowly than Glysophate but it lasts up to a year. I wonder if the new formula is a different chemical or just a different concentration.

 

[Complete Turf Care]

Glyphosate (Roundup) and 2,4-d are contact herbicides. In other words, they have no residual (pre-emerge) activity.

Imazaypyr (Arsenal) and pramitol are more of a soil sterilant type herbicide.

RM43 is a pre mix of glyphosate and imazapyr. So, it will have contact and residual activity. I have mixed these two active ingredients and had good results.

The thing to keep in mind with soil sterilants is that they have a much greater potential to move in the soil with heavy rainfall. I have seen really bad results when these products are not used properly.

One of the benefits of glyphosate is that it is 100% neutralized the instant it touches soil. That's also why it does not work well when mixed in hard water, or dirty water, such as from a ditch, or when sprayed on plants that may be covered with dust, such as along a gravel road.

Imazapyr, pramitol and RM43 should be good products to use on a road to keep vegetation down for a longer time than glyphosate alone will.

Always read and follow the label of any pesticide, for best results.

 

[S854]

After much reading (and quite a bit of handwringing) I’ve decided to give the RM43 a try this year… I’ll report on my findings …

Thanks for sharing your knowledge, thoughts and experiences

 

[ultrarunner]

I was mixing RM43 on the outside bench near Star Jasmin...

Just mixing 16 gallons in proximity was enough for the mist to take out the Jasmin.

Years ago we used Triox on right of way with stellar results but no longer available here...

 

[Torvy]

Do you know what was in Triox? I always got good results with it.

 

[ultrarunner]

oxyfluorfen .70%
Imazapyr isopropylamine .08%

 

[EddieWalker]

My other farm is full of Mesquite trees. They are horrible, invasive, difficult trees to get rid of. I've been spraying them with a mixture of Remedy and diesel fuel. What has surprised me is how well this kills all the grass around the base of the tree. Is it the diesel fuel that kills the grass, or the Remedy?

I've tried a few variations of Roundup that work on what is growing there, but it always comes back in a few months. I also tried RM43 along my fence line, which acted the same as Roundup. Killed what was growing, but more weeds came back in a few months.

My neighbor had good results with Crossbow. It seemed to work for the year, but he has to spray it every year. He hasn't sprayed in the last few years and I'm not sure why he quite.

 

[paulsharvey]

Even the soil sterilizer doesn't necessarily kill the seeds; but it does stay in the soil area and prevent any from sprouting for an extended time.

Arsenal; I read, you shoot a 6" band of ground, you can expect soil creep to kill about an 18" wide area. Point being, it's strong stuff, and you kinda need/want to plan it out; don't just spray willy nilly, and hope for the best.

 

[319Quahog]

My other farm is full of Mesquite trees. They are horrible, invasive, difficult trees to get rid of. I've been spraying them with a mixture of Remedy and diesel fuel.

If that isn't working on your trees, try Tordon RTU. It excels at killing stumps, woody brush, and full size trees.

For fresh stumps, just a few drops on the cambium layer-basically where the bark meets the tree.
Older stumps, either freshen them up or cut and treat the stump sprouts.
For brush do similar-cut down and hit the exposed meat.
For full size trees, drill into the cambium and squirt some in. Every handful of inches around the tree. Tree will be dead within a year/maybe two.

Be careful as it can travel through mingled roots and kill something you don't want to kill. It will also stay present in the ground for up to a year supposedly.

Cheapest place I've found it online in the quart squirt bottles is Rural King.

I've been using it to tame this new lot I have. Knocking out the ginormous poplars and other things that I don't feel like chasing with a saw this year.

 

[plowhog]

My neighbor had good results with Crossbow.

I have been using Crossbow to knock back the blackberries. First it became illegal in CA, now is also illegal in NV. Not sure why.

 

[WM75Guy]

I spray the riding arena, driveway, and fence lines. I use Mojave 70EG mixed with Roundup. The Roundup gives it a quick kill and the Mojave prevents growth for a year.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

Following...
I've planted wildflowers in an area that was tilled then very aged/composted horse manure worked in. Wild flowers grew great year 1, year 2, whatever seed was in manure took over. For those in the know, am I chasing a pipe dream thinking wildflowers will grow unopposed by weeds? In another area, no manure worked in, and by year 3, hay (which was originally there) took over.
Being July, I'm willing to cut my losses for the year, if I can effectively treat the areas, killing everything off, to plant wildflowers later in year (if possible) to have flowers next year.
End goal is to reduce grassy areas, add color to area that will benefit pollinators etc.

 

[WinterDeere]

Weed kills (2-4D, glysphosphate, triclopyr, etc.) do just that... kill actively growing weeds. They aren't designed to offer weed barrier / block performance, in fact most are designed specifically to leave the ground safe for planting just 3 weeks after planting (or even less for Mesotrione).

As rgr33 already said, You need a weed block, preferably applied in March. This will form a mechanical barrier layer in the surface soil, to prevent new weeds from germinating. Generally called "pre-emergent" herbicides, usually purchased as granular, but also available as spray. If applying to gravel, I don't think spray is an option, as it will just sit on the surface of the gravel, never make it down to where the weeds are actually rooting and germinating... you probably want granular. These products are typically designed to block germination for 12 or 16 weeks, leaving soil ready for over-seeding in September when applied in March. In your case, you might want to apply 2x per year, just mind your yearly maximum thresholds, for ground water concern.

 

[WinterDeere]

I forgot one other thing. Weed blocks rely on rain to carry them into the surface soil, probably even more so when applied to a gravel drive. Hopefully you have some spring/fall rain, that you can time application with.