sprayed round up... nothing died

[fbclpastor]

I know I'm going to get haters because I used roundup, but I did. And... 4 days later, nothing is dead. Is it because the temperatures are not warm enough? Ugh, this was a huge area where grass is growing in our mulch. Will it die eventually? Can I go ahead and put underlayment on top?

[JosephsGarden]

Roundup is slow acting. In cool weather it may take 10-14 days to kill the plants.

[webmaster]

There are no haters here. Civility is rule #1.

[imafan26]

Here we usually found out people first try to starve or cut out the plants they want to kill first. The plants usually respond by going dormant especially when water is cut off.

It seems counter intuitive but since round up needs to be absorbed by the plant for it to work, you actually have to feed the weeds and make sure they have leaves. A little miracle grow will encourage them to absorb.

There are different concentrations of roundup and other brands. Make sure the one you are using the one that kills the kind of weeds you are after. Ground Klear, and Brush killer are usually stronger than the ready mixed roundup and it is sometimes better to mix your own. Read and follow all the directions on the label.

Make sure you cover everything within over spray range. and on a windless day.

Don't water the day before and water early in the morning. Do not water after spraying. You may have to repeat the spray. Most roundup is rainproof in 10 minutes but do take days or up to a week to work. Make sure you have good coverage on the top and bottoms of the leaves.

[rainbowgardener]

no haters and everyone has to make their own choices for their own circumstances. I have in the past been known to put Roundup on poison ivy myself, because I am so susceptible to it and it is difficult to deal with other ways. But as more and more info comes out about Roundup, I quit doing that.

I do think people should make informed choices, based on true information not what the company puts out. Many of my environmentalist friends used Roundup for awhile, because the company sold it on the basis that it was biodegradable and disappeared from the environment within just days. Turns out Roundup and its toxic break down products are extremely persistent in the environment. Especially in conditions of hard water, it bonds with elements in the water to form very strong, persistent compounds. Glyphosate (active R-u ingredient) residues have been found in crops that were planted a year after glyphosate was sprayed on the fields. Glyphosate was found after a year in one study of three Canadian forestry sites and after three years in a study of a Swedish forestry site and 250 days in a study of Finnish agricultural soils. Cox, C., 1995b. Glyphosate, Part 2: Human Exposure and Ecological Effects. J. Pesticide Reform 15 (4), 14-20. In US agricultural studies half life (the time at which half of the product has broken down) averaged 44-60 days (Kollman and Segawa, 1995; WSSA, 1989). When used in conjunction with phosphate fertilizers, it may last much longer, because they inhibit the breakdown.

It is harmful to beneficial insects: Test conducted by the International Organization for Biological Control show that Roundup caused mortality of live beneficial species when tested on predatory mites , lacewings, ladybugs and predatory beetles. A study found that exposure to glyphosate killed more than 80 per cent of a test population of predatory beetle and 50 per cent of parasitoid wasp, lacewing, ladybird and predatory mite. (Hassan, S.A. et al., 1988. Results of the Fourth Joint Pesticide Testing Programme carried out by the International Organisation for Biological Control/WPRS-Working Group “Pesticides and Beneficial Organisms”. J. Applied Entomology 105, 321-329. ) It is hazardous to earthworms (Springett, J.A. and R.A.J. Gray. 1992. Effect of repeated low doses of biocides on the earthworm Aporrectodea caliginosa in laboratory culture. Soil Biol. Biochem. 24(12): 1739-1744.)

It is also hazardous to birds, fish, and people. RoundUp has been much in the news lately, because of a newly discovered connection between RoundUp and a kidney failure disease, that occurs in conjunction with hard water and the binding of RoundUp to the hard water elements. I would cite more references to all this, but I just looked at the time and I have to leave.

see also https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/vi ... php?t=1749 and many other threads here.

Suffice it to say, RoundUp is non-benign. You can just smother weeds.

[ElizabethB]

Fbclpator - Temperature may be your problem. Round Up does not work at low temperatures. Check the label for optimum temperature. I do not have any right now to check.

Do use with caution. Do not use if it is a windy day. Drift will kill desirable plants. Read the label - if it is a long lasting herbicide with a pre-emergent you will not be able to plant seeds after spraying.

Good luck

[rainbowgardener]

Round-up has no pre-emergent action. You can plant seeds right after it and they will grow. However, if you plant veggies, be aware that they will have traces of RoundUp residue in them.

[webmaster]

However, if you plant veggies,

That's not a consideration in this context because the OP is discussing their lawn. Also, the OPs reference to haters was anticipating lectures about how bad roundup is. The OP was hoping to avoid those posts.

Thanks.

[imafan26]

I do believe that if at all possible there are other ways to get rid of weeds. But, there are some weeds that are not so easy to dig out, shade out, or out compete. I have bind weed, and ivy gourd and even the experts said it will be hard to kill the roots without using an herbicide.

I try to avoid spraying it though, because of over spray. I use the medicine dropper methods for the nut sedge and I paint the leaves with a foam paint brush for weeds that are close to my other plants. My black bamboo escaped from it's pot and ran under the weed mat, I have tried to pull the runners, but it keeps coming back so painting with roundup is my best chance of killing the roots.

I cannot get rid of nut sedge and kyringa, so now I crowd them out with dwarf St. Augustine. It is not my favorite grass, but it was the best grass to tolerate shade. It's blades are similar enough to kyringa and nut sedge that the weeds are camouflaged. I dig out the clumps but the grass can compete as long as it is healthy and I keep the weeds trimmed to prevent them from seeding.

[ElizabethB]

There is a product called Image that actually works on nut sedge. After having the patio re-done and a sidewalk added I had a10' x 12' area of soil that was infested with nut sedge. I know better than to try to pull it. The Image worked. The infestation was so bad that it took several applications to get it all. The Image also killed all or the other weeds. That was 3 years ago and I have had no nut sedge pop up in that area.

Using a dropper or sponge brush is a good idea. In close areas I use the rubber glove - cotton sock approach on nut sedge. A heavy kitchen glove covered with a cotton sock. Wet and wipe. I also use that method on poison ivy. Toss the sock after applying.

I try to avoid chemicals and hand weed and use a heavy layer of pine straw mulch but nothing works on nut sedge. It is a beast.

Good luck

BTW the "Long Lasting" Round Up does have a pre-emergent.

[imafan26]

I have Image. I cannot use it on dwarf St. Augustine. It is safe on zoysia though. I had to get a different product for dwarf St. Augustine, Sedge Hammer. It is a powder and has to be mixed and used in a very short time. It is very expensive. I have yet to actually use it though.