How to kill Mare's Tail

Shefwedfan

thira wrote: »

I use Basta, same active ingredient (glufosinate ammonium)
Available in any Agri suppliers

Have contacted a few places. Recommendation is Finale 150
https://www.pitchcare.ie/shop/professional-total-weed-killers/finale-herbicide-burning-in-lines-5l.html

Costs a few quid but Agridirect will have 1ltr option for 50 quid next week....

I am going to buy and try it out

I had a look over the bit I cut and sprayed last week. Some of it looks to be dying off with the barbarian weedkiller. Will see how it goes over next few days. I found some more of it along river at house so didn't cut that and sprayed it last night. More of a test to see if Barbarian can kill it off without killing

I did talk to a friend who is horticulturist and he said not to use gloves, instead get a paint brush and brush the Roundup/Barbarian direct onto it....

Going to try that tonight/tomorrow depending on time

thira

I honestly wasn't aware it was "Professional use only".
It was recommended to me, and I innocently went in and asked for it in the Agri Merchants
They supplied it no questions asked.. I better go do the training!

Shefwedfan

_Brian wrote: »

Curious.
Do you have pesticides application training or do they ask when you bought it, it would be registered as professional use only.

I would have guessed everything we are talking about here needs a licenses?

I know to get the barbarian I had to supply my details or they would not have sold it to me

I guess the MCPA and Grazon90 you referred to is only available with a license?

_Brian

Shefwedfan wrote: »

I would have guessed everything we are talking about here needs a licenses?

I know to get the barbarian I had to supply my details or they would not have sold it to me

I guess the MCPA and Grazon90 you referred to is only available with a license?

Yea, all listed as professional use only.

lazybones32

Gallup 360 - 12mls + Grazon 90 - 6mls per litre of water will kill mates tail and everything else it touches.

cornet

_Brian wrote: »

I mixed two selective herbicides last year and it worked a treat with one application.
MCPA amd Grazon90, in 15l knapsack.

One application and its gone.

Doesn't burn grass but stunts it a bit.

I arranged for this mixture to be sprayed around two weeks ago and all the horsetail has turned brown and collapsed. What's the next step? Improve the soil?

_Brian

Good stuff !!

I would be reluctant to touch the soil, wait until you are sure no further horsetail grows, if it happened to be lurking in there still digging up the soil would spread it awfully.
It was ok for me as where it was I just wanted it killed and had no plans to dig.

Shefwedfan

cornet wrote: »

I arranged for this mixture to be sprayed around two weeks ago and all the horsetail has turned brown and collapsed. What's the next step? Improve the soil?

I sprayed some of it that is out on its own twice with Barbarian. It has started to die from what I can see.....

taxusbaccata

IMO using chemical poisons is a disaster for your soil and the environment. If you want to stop a plant growing then know your "enemy". Try to change the conditions that it thrives in. Change moisture content, light, pH, fertility etc. Consdier introducing a completing plant.
Another approach is to embrace the native wild plants that spontanrously grow in an area. We are very much programmed by marketing forces over more than one generation now to see one plant type only as attractive but this monoculture is completely unnatural.

cornet

taxusbaccata wrote: »

IMO using chemical poisons is a disaster for your soil and the environment. If you want to stop a plant growing then know your "enemy". Try to change the conditions that it thrives in. Change moisture content, light, pH, fertility etc. Consdier introducing a completing plant.
Another approach is to embrace the native wild plants that spontanrously grow in an area. We are very much programmed by marketing forces over more than one generation now to see one plant type only as attractive but this monoculture is completely unnatural.

I put in extensive land drainage last year and the soil is noticeably drier. I had hoped this would help the situation however it has spread like wildfire and is worse this year.

I have the area designated for wildflowers (150m2) but all I have is horsetail. I'm open to all suggestions so if there are competing plants or ways to improve the soil let me know.

_Brian

cornet wrote: »

I put in extensive land drainage last year and the soil is noticeably drier. I had hoped this would help the situation however it has spread like wildfire and is worse this year.

I have the area designated for wildflowers (150m2) but all I have is horsetail. I'm open to all suggestions so if there are competing plants or ways to improve the soil let me know.

The digging likely spread it.

Spraying is the only route.

This plant has survived since prehistoric times with two great tricks, it spreads very easily and is near impossible to kill.

taxusbaccata

"Infestations of horsetail can be weakened with weedkiller. "

The UK RHS site has great info to know your enemy:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=257

Shefwedfan

Ok, looking for some advice, landscaper came in today. Said he has seen Mares Tail before but said once you are not lazy and keep garden cut you wont notice it.

I did say I would prefer to try and eradicate it. So I asked him not to touch the area and I marked it out with yellow spray. He said no problem and he mentioned to use Finale 150 as it is best to kill it. So tick in box

My wife says I am mad and I should get them to finish the full lawn now, brother said the same. I am doubting myself now, it is costing a lot to get garden done, they are not finished so I could ask him to run over it tomorrow, any idea's?

From the pic you can see the section that is covered in it. The grass is dead as I killed everything to reseed.

I have put one covering of Finale on Tuesday this week, doesn't look to have killed anything yet

blackbox

taxusbaccata wrote: »

IMO using chemical poisons is a disaster for your soil and the environment. If you want to stop a plant growing then know your "enemy". Try to change the conditions that it thrives in. Change moisture content, light, pH, fertility etc. Consdier introducing a completing plant.
Another approach is to embrace the native wild plants that spontanrously grow in an area. We are very much programmed by marketing forces over more than one generation now to see one plant type only as attractive but this monoculture is completely unnatural.

Unfortunately mare's tail is a native wild plant.

CaraK

Having spent the last 3 years getting rid of a clump of Japanese Knotweed through a mixture of first getting neighbour onboard and then regular spraying, injection into stems and digging/ sifting the soil and with no signs of regrowth it's time to move on to tackling the Mares tail problem

The mares tail has being consistently sprayed in the last 3 years ,initially by spraying with a mix of gallup and SBK but it shows no signs of dying off constantly popping up here and there. This year I started brushing the weakened stems with undiluted Gallup and grazon mix, this kills the top stems but doesn't kill it off.

So next stage is to dig and sift the soil in areas where I want to establish grass.
And in other areas to continue with brushing them with a neat solution of Gallup or SBK. Mares tail is just as invasive as Japanese knotweed but so far the roots do not seem to go as deep down as the JW ( at least 2 metres down) but they are very brittle and new growth can be seen on seemingly dead roots, so If I want to gain back control sifting the soil into a wheel barrow and getting all pieces is crucial. JW is much easier to identify with its distinctive orange and is easier to see how far the Gallup got up not so with Mares Tail all my efforts to date appear to just kill the top but doesn't travel down to the roots

dauhee

I have a LOT of marestail to kill. It looks like MCPA+Grazon mix is most cost effective method for me i.e. Euro to m2 coverage (also taking into account # of applications required to do decent job).

Based on this thread mostly and other research:
MCPA amd 2 bottles Grazon90 - 5000 m2 - (50 + 69 + 69) 188 Eur - still have a load of MCPA left over
KURTAIL - 4000 m2 for 161Eur
KURTAIL - 1000 m2 for 71Eur
PEARL - 2000 m2 for 101Eur
NEUDOFF - 1800 m2 for 237.5Eur (states that need to whack with bamboo first, very expensive anyhow)

So it looks like if doing a "middling" amount of marestail killing, kurtail is cheaper. In my prices I factored in shipping. I didn't include my links but think I found cheapest out there. Not sure if any problems using parcelmotel as it doesn't ship direct, and it is classified as a hazardous material.

Shefwedfan

dauhee wrote: »

I have a LOT of marestail to kill. It looks like MCPA+Grazon mix is most cost effective method for me i.e. Euro to m2 coverage (also taking into account # of applications required to do decent job).

Based on this thread mostly and other research:
MCPA amd 2 bottles Grazon90 - 5000 m2 - (50 + 69 + 69) 188 Eur - still have a load of MCPA left over
KURTAIL - 4000 m2 for 161Eur
KURTAIL - 1000 m2 for 71Eur
PEARL - 2000 m2 for 101Eur
NEUDOFF - 1800 m2 for 237.5Eur (states that need to whack with bamboo first, very expensive anyhow)

So it looks like if doing a "middling" amount of marestail killing, kurtail is cheaper. In my prices I factored in shipping. I didn't include my links but think I found cheapest out there. Not sure if any problems using parcelmotel as it doesn't ship direct, and it is classified as a hazardous material.

I got Finale 150, sprayed it around the tress as it will not kill mature trees. Killed it all. It hasn't come back up since so it might do the job....

dauhee

I think I have a winner - scotts hammer. I have ordered this list on price ascending. The m2 coverage as per container volume sold

• Scotts Hammer (5l) (ebay.ie) - 5700 m2 for 61Eur (Difficult Perennials and Brush Weeds 87.5ml/ 2 to 5 Litres water treats 100 sq m) - kills everything, stains concrete
• finale 150 (5l) (pitchcare.ie) - 10000 m2 for 231.12Eur - this is second best on price, may be preferred if need to more selectively kill
• MCPA (10l) and 2 bottles Grazon90 (1l) (agridirect.ie) - 5000 m2 - (50 + 69 + 69) 188 Eur - still have a load of MCPA left over so may be even more cost effective
• KURTAIL (2l) (progreen.co.uk) - 4000 m2 for 161Eur
• PEARL (1l) (chemigro.co.uk) - 2000 m2 for 101Eur
• KURTAIL (0.5l) (progreen.co.uk) - 1000 m2 for 71Eur

From what I gather, all of these work.

Barbarian was mentioned but I can't see how it works as active ingredient listed is only Glyphosate. People say whack the marestail with bamboo stick first, higher concentrate glysphospate + add wash up liquid. Maybe is an option but probably put more effort and money into doing multiple applications due to the process not being perfectly applied.

From looking at mortone, it is designed for waxy coated grassland such as reeds etc so looks perfect for marestail. Only thing is can't see it available anywhere (for a general consumer)

Shefwedfan

dauhee wrote: »

I think I have a winner - scotts hammer. I have ordered this list on price ascending. The m2 coverage as per container volume sold

• Scotts Hammer (5l) (ebay.ie) - 5700 m2 for 61Eur (Difficult Perennials and Brush Weeds 87.5ml/ 2 to 5 Litres water treats 100 sq m) - kills everything, stains concrete
• finale 150 (5l) (pitchcare.ie) - 10000 m2 for 231.12Eur - this is second best on price, may be preferred if need to more selectively kill
• MCPA (10l) and 2 bottles Grazon90 (1l) (agridirect.ie) - 5000 m2 - (50 + 69 + 69) 188 Eur - still have a load of MCPA left over so may be even more cost effective
• KURTAIL (2l) (progreen.co.uk) - 4000 m2 for 161Eur
• PEARL (1l) (chemigro.co.uk) - 2000 m2 for 101Eur
• KURTAIL (0.5l) (progreen.co.uk) - 1000 m2 for 71Eur

From what I gather, all of these work.

Barbarian was mentioned but I can't see how it works as active ingredient listed is only Glyphosate. People say whack the marestail with bamboo stick first, higher concentrate glysphospate + add wash up liquid. Maybe is an option but probably put more effort and money into doing multiple applications due to the process not being perfectly applied.

From looking at mortone, it is designed for waxy coated grassland such as reeds etc so looks perfect for marestail. Only thing is can't see it available anywhere (for a general consumer)

I mentioned barbarian but I did confirm it didn't work. Finale worked. I didn't bash them or anything with Finale...

Are you able to get Scotts Hammer from ebay? I think you will find they won't ship...even if using ParcelMotel etc they would not ship when I checked.

dauhee

Its not listed as a prohibited item, but did just find out they don't accept corpses, dam

A2LUE42

Is there anywhere that sells these in the country. All sources seem to be online.

_Brian

A2LUE42 wrote: »

Is there anywhere that sells these in the country. All sources seem to be online.

Most Agri stores have MCPA & Grazon90, small warning though, these are listed as professional use only, pesticides application training is required to legally apply them, €250 fine.
MCPA in particular is a serious danger to groundwater and indeed the EPA are looking for an outright ban on its use in Ireland.

_Brian

_Brian wrote: »

Most Agri stores have MCPA & Grazon90, small warning though, these are listed as professional use only, pesticides application training is required to legally apply them, €250 fine.
MCPA in particular is a serious danger to groundwater and indeed the EPA are looking for an outright ban on its use in Ireland.

This so called training wont do much to stop people using them improperly. I sat through three days of it. Inside the 1st 10 minutes this came from the instructor. "Don't worry lads. Everyone will pass no matter what."

Shefwedfan

A2LUE42 wrote: »

Is there anywhere that sells these in the country. All sources seem to be online.

I have local agri store but they only stock standard weed killers(barbarian etc). So for specific stuff I have found agridirect very good. Also a guy down there who gives very good advice. Would recommend them

mr chips

Just saw yesterday evening that the top of the grassy bank on the other side of the road from me is covered with mare's tail - in fact, it goes all along two sides of that field. The area affected isn't directly across from my place, but rather from the one next door to me - however it's still close enough as the two gates are opposite each other, with mine in the left corner of my ground and the other gate in the right corner of that field, if you see what I mean (kind of like diagonal squares on a chessboard!).

It's not on my property so it's not really my place to try and treat it, but I plan to mention it to the farmer who owns it (I know him to speak to and he's a friendly enough sort) and I'm fairly sure he'll do something about it. But how likely is it that spores could cross the road into my own place? I've spent a huge amount of time & effort getting it in order, sorting out drainage, getting reeds out of there, planting with native trees etc and I really don't want to have to deal with that sort of infestation.

dauhee

Just to note, Scotts Hammer kind of works. Kills weaker strands, takes multiple applications (at high strength mix) for the more established patches, still not fully dead. So I'd recommend to use an alternative.

Shefwedfan

dauhee wrote: »

Just to note, Scotts Hammer kind of works. Kills weaker strands, takes multiple applications (at high strength mix) for the more established patches, still not fully dead. So I'd recommend to use an alternative.

It kills everything doesn't it? Grass included?

How you end up getting it? Did they ship to Ireland

dauhee

yeah it is non-selective, just doesn't fully do job for marestail, kills a lot, but after multiple applications, seems to just weaken/discolour more established patches.

Can get A1Lawns from uk to ship direct, cost around 10Eur.

countrywoman

I hate this invasive weed
Had a few bits outside our driveway. When getting the drive tarmaced, I got that piece done too
Guess what - bloody thug burst up through the tarmac!!!!!

Shefwedfan

Sorry to pull this thread back up....I thought I had got rid of it, at least in the trees but it is raising its ugly head again.

I am just wondering is the solution below killed it for this year as well?

I mixed two selective herbicides last year and it worked a treat with one application.
MCPA amd Grazon90, in 15l knapsack.

One application and its gone.

Doesn't burn grass but stunts it a bit.