Take a trip to your local garden centre, hardware store or grocery outlet and you will see a complete range of weedkillers. To ensure you spend your money on the right product, we would suggest the following:
- Identify what type of weed you have and where the problem is. This is really important because you will then be able to buy the right product and avoid disappointment.
- Read the product usage label on the back of the pack to ensure the product will do what you want.
- Decide on the application format that suites you. Are you happy mixing? in which case the concentrates will be better value; or do you need just a little, in which Ready to Use would offer the best delivery format.
This may be daunting, but the manufactures are trying remove the confusion for us and understanding our needs. Reading the products claim on both sides of the pack, will enable us to buy the right product and get the desired results.
Examples of why the above is important are:
- We often get a call from people who have bought a weed control to kill Dandelions in the lawn, only to discover after two weeks or so the lawn is also being killed off. They have used the wrong product. Lawns require a specialist product, we call this a selective weed killer such as Verdone® which is specially formulated to kill the weeds and not the grass.
- Annuals weeds in beds and borders, need to be treated with something fast acting, before they sow their seed which will become next seasons problem. A slow acting control such as Glyphosate will be too slow. A fast acting weed killer is needed such as Weedol® Fast Action, this will show effects within one hour of application.
- You have a gravel path, but the weeds keep coming back. We would suggest that a weed control with a residual action is used, this will apply a preventative barrier that will stop weeds germinating for 3-4 months. An example would be Pathclear®
- Are you trying to kill tough weeds e.g. bramble, but they keep coming back? Then try a tough weed killer, we recommend Round Up® Tree and Stump killer, its suitable for tough weeds and also the only approved product for the control of Japanese Knot Weed, but you will get the best results applying just before the weed naturally starts to die back, this will ensure the active gets right down to the root with the plants sap.
How do weedkillers work?
When you read the pack it will name an “Active Ingredient”, this is the bit that does the killing, but they can also be broken down into systemic, slow acting but effective and Contact, fast acting but generally don’t always kill down to the root. Looking at products on the shelf, the most popular brand is Round Up®. Its active ingredient is Glyphosate and works systemically by working its way through the plant killing the root tips which ultimately kills the plant.
We recommend that you always wear gloves when gardening.
Use plant protection products safely. Always read the label and product information before use
Greener Gardens are able to help with all your seasonal lawncare needs including weed and pest control. Contact us on 0115 837 8439 or visit us www.greenergardens.co.uk