I've had success with normal glosphate as long as you bruise foliage first. Mines appeared from next door and reappearing in same spots as last year but not spread much. Keep on top of it.
We had a horsetail infestation (which is ongoing, as it comes from next door....) and I'd tried all the usual weedkillers plus pulling them up every day. Nothing worked for long.
I was on the verge of getting Kurtail but was put off by it being pretty nasty stuff that is recommended for use only by professionals.
I then stumbled across ammonium sulphamate (note the 'm' in sulphamate) - you can buy it on Amazon or Ebay. It is a 'crooked fertilizer' similar to ammonium sulphate, which kills plants when they take it up. It is currently only licensed in the UK for use as compost accelerant, because the makers were not willing to have it tested on animals for licensing as a weedkiller. It is however, pretty safe stuff and used in the US and Canada etc.
It kills everything, horsetail, roots and all, included. And after being in the soil for 6-8 weeks, breaks down from sulphamate to sulphate, fertilizing your garden.
I'll never be buying roundup again!
Recommended dose is 200g per litre of water, plus a squirt of fairy liquid as wetting agent.
Hello - I have the dreaded horsetail - think I've just about read most of the threads on here .... I've been put off Kurtail - seems to work for some - mostly worried about using it and then having dog and kids in the garden, and my gardens full of fledgling birds. So I'm keen to see if the ammonium sulphamate & fairly liquid limited future growth? How toxic is it? How long would I need to keep my dog away from treated areas? Clearly, there is no quick fix solution - it has completely taken over the patio at the rear of my garden - would I treat it the same? how do I deal with it on a patio?
Virtually everyone on this thread no longer posts here @suzy-cadhMrWIkg so you're unlikely to get a reply from any of them. You'd need to tag their name using '@' [as I did with your name] and see if any of the names come up. They may then respond. @KT53 and @Dave Humby are about the only ones still around.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Hi @Fairygirl, hope all is well with you. I don’t pop in so much nowadays. I’m certainly no expert on the dreaded horse / mares tail but I did have some success. Mine was mostly in the lawn so I did what many did and ‘bruised’ the plant first, then applied Verdone Extra in a solution of a tiny amount of fairy liquid which kept the VE in contact with the plant longer and wrapped it in tinfoil to avoid (or attempt to) contamination to the grass. It was mildly successful. By the way, I believe VE may be known as Weedol or some other brand name now.
Interesting that my golf club has quite an infestation of it. It’s currently in a rough area but is working it’s way towards a green which they are obviously nervous about. The greenkeeping team obviously have access to chemicals that joe public doesn’t have but they are really struggling to contain it, let alone kill it off. They spray it, it looks dead, then it’s back.
I read somewhere that the best approach if you have it.......was to move house !
Hi @Dave Humby - it wasn't me that needed help with it, but a new poster had resurrected the thread and I said it was only you and KT53 that still posted. Glad you're doing ok. We're all ok here too I'm quite lucky that I don't have it here, although other people do, and I had it in a previous garden. It's a fighter though, and vigilance is key. I use Resolva for spot weeding - easily the best that I've used. They have one specifically for use in lawns, and that's probably a better way of dealing with odd bits there. I use it for dandelions and buttercups. I don't have much trouble from weeds there apart from those.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Posts
I've had success with normal glosphate as long as you bruise foliage first. Mines appeared from next door and reappearing in same spots as last year but not spread much. Keep on top of it.
We had a horsetail infestation (which is ongoing, as it comes from next door....) and I'd tried all the usual weedkillers plus pulling them up every day. Nothing worked for long.
I was on the verge of getting Kurtail but was put off by it being pretty nasty stuff that is recommended for use only by professionals.
I then stumbled across ammonium sulphamate (note the 'm' in sulphamate) - you can buy it on Amazon or Ebay. It is a 'crooked fertilizer' similar to ammonium sulphate, which kills plants when they take it up. It is currently only licensed in the UK for use as compost accelerant, because the makers were not willing to have it tested on animals for licensing as a weedkiller. It is however, pretty safe stuff and used in the US and Canada etc.
It kills everything, horsetail, roots and all, included. And after being in the soil for 6-8 weeks, breaks down from sulphamate to sulphate, fertilizing your garden.
I'll never be buying roundup again!
Recommended dose is 200g per litre of water, plus a squirt of fairy liquid as wetting agent.
£16 for a 5litre treatment. And I thought Kurtail was dear!!!
It's not cheap, no. But it works better than anything I've tried - and with kids floating around the garden, I didn't want Kurtail all over the place.
I've got 20kg of the stuff in my shed
You'd need to tag their name using '@' [as I did with your name] and see if any of the names come up. They may then respond. @KT53 and @Dave Humby are about the only ones still around.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Interesting that my golf club has quite an infestation of it. It’s currently in a rough area but is working it’s way towards a green which they are obviously nervous about. The greenkeeping team obviously have access to chemicals that joe public doesn’t have but they are really struggling to contain it, let alone kill it off. They spray it, it looks dead, then it’s back.
I read somewhere that the best approach if you have it.......was to move house
Good luck in your fight.
I'm quite lucky that I don't have it here, although other people do, and I had it in a previous garden. It's a fighter though, and vigilance is key.
I use Resolva for spot weeding - easily the best that I've used. They have one specifically for use in lawns, and that's probably a better way of dealing with odd bits there. I use it for dandelions and buttercups. I don't have much trouble from weeds there apart from those.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...