Advice for Using Hort Vinegar and Orange Oil

[pinksand]

I purchased horticultural strength vinegar, orange oil, and a large sprayer last year based on reading various recommendations online for concocting a good strong weed killer. I have honestly been nervous about using it. Some questions...

1. Are rubber gloves sufficient to protect my hands from the acid? I was planning to wear my rain boots and cover up my arms and legs.
2. One place I'd like to use this is on the honeysuckle climbing the wire of my fence and possibly along the grass at the bottom of the fence just so we don't have to weedwack along the wire. Is it safe to use on my fence or is it too corrosive?

Here's a photo of the honeysuckle climbing the fence...


3. I'd also use this to kill grass and weeds coming up in a rock garden and in between bricks. Will the solution cause any problems for the rocks or brick?

I know to use the concoction on a sunny warm day without a chance of rain and have used similar solutions, just nothing quite this strong... I'm upping my game!

[applestar]

Were you planning to spray it on? I found poison ivy growing in the gap in the concrete path to the front door. When I tried to yank it out with a plastic bagged hand -- like picking up after a dog -- the horrid thing slipped its skin off - I ended up with the leaves and the bark of the vine in my plastic bag, but now there was a naked vine wet looking with its toxic sap sticking right up where people -- US! WE! -- walk

I don't have horticultural vinegar but I remembered there was a bottle of organic vinegar cleaner concentrate -- I think this is basically the same idea -- under the sink in the downstairs bathroom, so I grabbed that and dribbled a few drops down along the sticking up naked vine.

Well it's dead now.

...I think with your honeysuckle, I would do the same thing -- strip it, then maybe paint the vinegar on with a brush. If you have a lot of weeds to deal with, one idea would be to wear a corrosive-resistant nitrile glove then a cotton work glove over that to dip and grab.

[pinksand]

I was planning to spray it, mostly because I'm dealing with so many weeds that I was hoping to go around and spray everything at once (the honeysuckle, grass along the fence line, and weeds popping up between rocks/bricks). If I need to resort to painting it on I am willing to if it will damage the metal and or rock. However, it might also take FOREVER! The fence line where the vines climb is 151' and it's honestly going to be an endless battle that is only getting worse as my neighbors' yard is consumed. The only thing they intentionally planted on their side (it's a very steep slope) is variegated vinca, other than that it's all horrible invasives and aggressive natives (japanese honeysuckle, oriental bittersweet, english ivy, poison ivy, vinca, virginia creeper, multiflora rose, poke weed, etc.) They honestly wouldn't notice if I killed anything so I'm not worried about the spray getting on anything along the fence. I love them and we have a good relationship, but they don't have the time or funds to do anything with their yard so instead it's become my fight

Honestly, just the thought overwhelms me. Last year I ripped it off the fence as often as possible but it had a chance to bloom, went to seed, and has spread into my garden beds as well. I spend hours on this when I have a million other garden projects I'd rather spend my time on.