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Weed killer harmful to cats?

ManderMander Posts: 349
in Problem solving
I've got a problem with brambles and some other horrible shrub that I keep forgetting the name of taking over the vacant field behind my house. I have had vague ideas of getting some SBK and spraying it all, but my neighbour is concerned that it will be harmful to all the neighborhood cats that like to roam around the field. Is this a realistic concern?
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  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Who does the field belong to?  If it's vacant are the brambles causing a real problem? A thicket of brambles is a wonderful wildlife resource.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I don't know about SBK being harmful or not but I had a similar situation and needed to clear brambles, nettles, ivy etc. in my garden.
    I used Glyphosate 360 (there are lots of brands) and sprayed 3x over about 8 weeks.
    It killed all of it. Most died about 3 weeks after the 1st application, but the ivy took another 2 sprayings.
    Glyphosate once dry is harmless to animals.
    It also breaks down on contact with soil into harmless compounds.
    It will kill almost any plant it lands on, so use with care and set your sprayer to droplets and not a fine mist that will blow about - so best used on a calm and cloudy day.
    As to whether you should be killing weeds on ground you don't own is another matter.

    SBK may be fine also, but I don't know.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • ManderMander Posts: 349
    Belongs to the council who won't do anything about it because it's too inaccessible. They used to mow the field twice a year but have declared it to be a health and safety risk now. It might be a wonderful resource but it's a nuisance to have to constantly cut back the brambles and other invasive plants, and I am concerned that it will end up becoming an impenetrable thicket that will attract foxes. I had that problem in my previous flat and I was unable to use the garden because of the stench. The brambles are already starting to spread across the field.
  • Chris-P-BaconChris-P-Bacon Posts: 943
    Mander said:
    I've got a problem with brambles and some other horrible shrub that I keep forgetting the name of taking over the vacant field behind my house. I have had vague ideas of getting some SBK and spraying it all, but my neighbour is concerned that it will be harmful to all the neighborhood cats that like to roam around the field. Is this a realistic concern?
    I think that's now called rewilding.
    Forgive me but if it's not your field why do you think you have the right to spray it with weedkiller? 
    Keep complaing to your council, they'll get sick of you in the end and probably do something about it..or better still get all your neighbours to complain as well.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    It will harm cats and lots of other things, too. Unhappily, you can't explain to wildlife that they must go away until it dries. Can you not sneak in with a brush-cutter and force them back a bit? Or just have a mighty trim on your side from time to time.
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    edited May 2022
    If you spray in the morning (which is also best for weedkiller up-take by the plant) on a sunny day, you should minimise the potential for cats and animals to come in contact with the wet product. AFAIK it's the wetting agents in glyphosate which cause the worst toxicity issues for wildlife etc.

    Removing the brambles is in-and-of-itself a detriment to wildlife though; they are good cover and a good food source. But I understand you don't want them encroaching on your garden. Could you limit to maintaining a bramble free margin adjacent to your plot? Or occasionally strim the plot so the brambles never completely take over? 
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    there's a pylon which blocks my view. 
    Can I knock it down?
    Devon.
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    edited May 2022
    As others have said, it would be trespass if you used weed killer on land you don't own. You could be prosecuted.
    I am unclear about the legality of bunting on pylons but I imagine it's frowned upon
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Just suppose the brambles are sprayed and killed ... then what ?... a pile of dead brambles? ...  they won't disappear ... they'll still be there providing shelter for foxes etc ... until they dry out and become a fire hazard ...

    If you pay to have the dead brushwood cleared away and taken to landfill or wherever, what's going to happen to the field then?

    Will someone mow it regularly?  Or will more seeds that are already in the soil, or that blow in from elsewhere, germinate and grow there? 

    Thistles, Ragwort, Goat Willow and Fireweed may cover that field within a couple of years  ... they'll all spread on the breeze into the surrounding gardens ... I think I'd rather have a field of brambles and birdsong. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • ManderMander Posts: 349
    The field is on a steep slope and is already full of weeds. Nobody wants to deal with it because of the slope.

    The only part of the field that is problematic is the bit along everyone's fences, which is where the brambles and other garden escapees are becoming a problem. I have asked the council, and my councillors, over and over if something can be done and the council refuses. Other neighbours have complained to me about it because they know I'm friendly with the councillors and I still haven't been able to get anything done. If I can get in there and remove the brambles I would have them taken away at my own expense.
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