2-4-D for Dandelion Control?

Mrwurm · May 21, 2002

My neighbor sprayed his whole lawn (2.75 acres) with 2-4-D today to control dandelion weeds. The bottle says broadleaf weed killer. I know this product has been around a long time. Any predictions as to what this will do to his lawn? He's never used this stuff before and a guy at the hardware store told him to do it. He diluted 1 gallon into about 30 gallons of water.
Jerry

TerryinMD · May 21, 2002

Mrwurm,

You needed to mention to your neighbor that he needs to spray everyone elses lawns also!! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif

Funny thing about Dandelions - they kinda spread their seed on their own. They have a knack for this. /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.24d.org/>2-4-D Website</A>

You may want to share this with your neighbor....

Terry

cowboydoc · May 21, 2002

2-4-D is made to spray on grass. It will leave the grass unharmed and kill the weeds.

TerryinMD · May 21, 2002

I just did a further seach and used the proper term "2,4-D" and came up with a hit that just made me cringe.... Agent Orange - yes, the stuff used in Vietnam. Agent Orange was a 50/50 mix of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T (sounds ominous to me!!).

Not trying to sound like a tree-hugging environmentalist or an alarmist, but I try to limit the use of any pesticide or herbicide.

The wholesale use of chemicals to make a yard look "pretty" makes no sense to me.... especially if you live in a rural area. /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif Oh well - to each his own.

Terry

rf33 · May 21, 2002

2,4-D is not all as bad as the Agent Orange makes it sound. Probably the majority of the beef that people eat has been on pastures sprayed with 2,4-D. It is a very common broadleaf herbicide, and has not been linked to any serious medical conditions in humans as far as I know. Probably the best site for information on this herbicide is <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.24d.org>http://www.24d.org</A>. You can find just about anything you are looking for about 2,4 on this site. I understand your concerns, and I prefer to go with a natural solution over a chemical one myself, but until we come up with a more natural way to control weeds which is cost effective, 2,4-D is likely here to stay.

Phred · May 21, 2002

Terry,

It turns out that the problem with the agent orange was dioxin, which is very toxic.

This chenical was a byproduct of the production process used to create the 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid) and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) mix.

Modern 2,4-D contains no dioxin and is a result is pretty harmless.

If you have ever used weed & feed or similar you have used 2,4-D.

Fred

Anonymous Poster · May 21, 2002

I use it all the time,knocks the snot out of Dandelion,Buckhorn and any Broadleaf including Cover.

But,the "drift" of 2-4-D is very tough on garden plants and flowers.A use product called Triamec around the house and shrubs.It's a bit higher in cost but does'nt have the odor of 2-4-D.

Also I put on 1-1/2 qts. with 50 gallons of water per acre.A gallon to 30 gal. sounds pretty stiff to me,but it would depend on the % rate of the chemical itself.

Mrwurm · May 22, 2002

Thanks to all that responded, some good information was dispersed.
Jerry

TerryinMD · May 22, 2002

Thanks all for the additional information.

Again, I'm no environmentalist or alarmist. However, I try to stay away from using any chemicals. Now for the caveat.... unless we MUST to control noxious weeds. In the 10 or so years that we've had our market garden, we may have used two gallons of pre-mixed Roundup. We would rather cultivate prior to the weeds setting seed. Of course, we have less than an acre to worry about so that makes it somewhat more manageable.

Now to change the subject and concentrate on a little problem I'm trying to correct. /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

There is only one weed that has eluded our attempts to manage. It is Bind weed. What is the BEST way to get rid of it. The problem with this weed is that it's roots spread quickly. If you till the area and break the roots into smaller pieces you end up with many more plants.

Any ideas??

Terry

rf33 · May 22, 2002

I have heard that Cashmere Goats will eat most broadleaf weeds down to a point where they cannot survive, and then the grasses (in a pasture at least) crowd them out. If this is in a garden, I suppose the goats might not work out so good though...