Noxious Weeds

[glazed]

How do y'all control and/or eradicate your noxious weeds?

We have Canadian Milk Thistle (or something like that) on our land, and in Oklahoma there are stiff penalties if they are not controlled.

[goatlady]

It's tedious, but I used to get rid of thistles in SD by cutting at about ground level and then pouring straight vinegar on the exposed stem - it travels to the roots and seems to kill the plant without huring the soil.

[rider]

depends on what i am tring to kill weed be gone works on most stuff for the hardier weeds we use 2-4-d which you have to have a liscence to get or roundup but roundup kills everything where the 2-4-d will only kill weeds you can get some things that will steralize soil for real bad areas again have to have the liscence some things are easily controlled by pulling them if you have the time there is a noxious weed here dont know the real name but common name is butter and eggs looks like miniture snap dragons all in yellow on a tall kind of ferny looking stalk very pretty it grows around the house here i just pull it out where i dont want it to be and let it stay in some areas in the flower beds sorry aabout no periods there is someone out there who makes a point of no periods but hey get over it

[glazed]

I am able to read you real well, Rider, so no need to apologize to me

And, thank you, Goat Lady

[Windy in Kansas]

Interesting thread thus far. Here in Kansas many, many stores sell 2-4D and to anyone without a license, none needed here.

I agree with others, what you use depends upon what you are eradicating and what chemical is labeled for use on it.

The best place to start is your country noxious weed department. While that might alert them that you have noxious weeds most are simply very happy to provide advice, etc. Here in Kansas most noxious weed departments are obliged by law or county ordinance to sell treatment chemicals at reduced prices to encourage treatment. If you are going to buy chemicals to use you might as well get them cheaper than you can buy them elsewhere.

If the thistles spread is extremely spotted I would simply cut them an inch below the surface of the soil to get rid of them. Do so as quickly as possible as the blooms may go ahead and open if already set to bloom. Tall thistle and musk thistle aren't yet sending up bloom stalks here in KS.

If you have field bindweed that must be controlled or eradicated you may wish to get a private pesticide applicators license so that you can buy and use Tordon 22K. It is great for treating it.

[Minelson]

We use Curtail...fall and spring. Finally got them under control. I HATE Canadian Thistles!!!

[Tricky Grama]

Originally Posted by goatlady

It's tedious, but I used to get rid of thistles in SD by cutting at about ground level and then pouring straight vinegar on the exposed stem - it travels to the roots and seems to kill the plant without huring the soil.

We've eradicated nearly all unwanted weeds by mowing. Of course the areas where you can't get a mower in are rampant.

Patty

[palani]

If it is legal consequences you are worried about cause to be published a legal notice that anything found growing on your land is private property and not noxious weeds.

Not saying that nuisance plants should be tolerated but obnoxious county officials most certainly should not be.

[Windy in Kansas]

Noxious Weed Department workers have the legal right to come onto private property for inspection purposes with reasonable cause regardless of no trespassing signs.

At least here in Kansas they do.

[foxygram]

Weed inspectors can go whereever they want, whenever they want pretty much everywhere. Although I have heard of a few nosy individuals disappearing around here, moved to whereabouts unknown after confronting some old time farmers. I live in an area where when one goes in a house around here the first thing they see is a gun propped up against the wall in the hall. I have cut to the ground and poured bleach on the root. Seems to work well. Inexpensive, easy to obtain and noone knows you are buying it to control noxious weeds.

[ksfarmer]

The noxious weed laws serve a usefull purpose. I would resent a neighbor that refused to control his musk thistle, bindweed , sericea lespedeza, and leafy spurge. He would be a constant source of infestation for my property.

[Allen W]

2-4-d plus Banvil or Diacamba, which are the same, just different names, seems to work on the bigger plants. The best thing is to spray with 2-4-d in the early spring while still in the rosette stage.

Stop by the local extension office and pick up your Private Applicator packet and take your test for your license.

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by ksfarmer

The noxious weed laws serve a usefull purpose. I would resent a neighbor that refused to control his musk thistle, bindweed , sericea lespedeza, and leafy spurge.

Especially the musk thistle. One season of no treatment and it has spread for miles and miles with the seed riding the wind. One seed head is said to have thousands of seed in it. Nasty stuff.

[palani]

Originally Posted by Windy in Kansas

Noxious Weed Department workers have the legal right to come onto private property for inspection purposes with reasonable cause regardless of no trespassing signs.

At least here in Kansas they do.

I expect you are right about the NO TRESPASS signs. They don't seem to have much meat behind them. They require a sheriff who has no problem taking on the Board of Supervisors and I would think this type of LEO is impossible to find these days.

Instead I would suggest signs that post a daily use fee of, say, $1,000 for any day or portion of a day. Take a photo for proof of acceptance and send them (or any other trespasser) a bill. This might help for ATVers, snowmobiles and hunters too. The small amount charged makes this a small claims court matter.

[palani]

Originally Posted by ksfarmer

The noxious weed laws serve a usefull purpose. I would resent a neighbor that refused to control his musk thistle, bindweed , sericea lespedeza, and leafy spurge. He would be a constant source of infestation for my property.

How about if your neighbor is growing non-GMO organic corn and you insist on planting GMO corn next to it and spraying with Roundup when the wind is 25 MPH from the wrong direction? Would you be a nuisance to your neighbor if your crop practices causes him to loose his customers?

With the chemical sprays they have these days there is not much that escapes. Those weeds can get blown in from half a state away.

[sheepish]

a horrible infestation of thistle is what drove us to spray our pastures for the first time in almost 30 years. A mixture of 2-4-d plus dicamba almost eradicated them last year where 2-4-d only did very little the previous year. We hope that the repeat spraying we did on the rosettes this spring will get what remains.

The thistle roots can travel 30 feet underground, so no hand digging or vinegar spray is likely to do anything more than hastle them a bit.

You need to keep animals off a dicamba sprayed field for 30 days.

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by sheepish

The thistle roots can travel 30 feet underground, so no hand digging or vinegar spray is likely to do anything more than hastle them a bit.

From what I read on the web that is certainly true for Canada thistle. However, musk thistle is easily controlled by digging. I worked on a small pasture for two years and it went from moderate infestation to only a half dozen plants the third year. Now eradicated I presume as I no longer go by the property.

I have tall thistle on my property and there is no evidence of it spreading by roots.

[ksfarmer]

Originally Posted by palani

How about if your neighbor is growing non-GMO organic corn and you insist on planting GMO corn next to it and spraying with Roundup when the wind is 25 MPH from the wrong direction? Would you be a nuisance to your neighbor if your crop practices causes him to loose his customers?.........

.

No responsible applicator would apply chemicals in a 25 MPH wind.

[ksfarmer]

Originally Posted by sheepish

The thistle roots can travel 30 feet underground, so no hand digging or vinegar spray is likely to do anything more than hastle them a bit.

You need to keep animals off a dicamba sprayed field for 30 days.

Like Windy says, musk thistle doesn't have an extensive root system.
Also, are you sure about the 30 days? I don't seem to remember 2,4,D and banvel having anything like this waiting period.

[rambler]

Originally Posted by palani

I expect you are right about the NO TRESPASS signs. They don't seem to have much meat behind them. They require a sheriff who has no problem taking on the Board of Supervisors and I would think this type of LEO is impossible to find these days.

Instead I would suggest signs that post a daily use fee of, say, $1,000 for any day or portion of a day. Take a photo for proof of acceptance and send them (or any other trespasser) a bill. This might help for ATVers, snowmobiles and hunters too. The small amount charged makes this a small claims court matter.

A weed is listed as noxious for a reason. They are prolific seed producers, are difficult to kill or control, and will spread to neighbors and cause harm to land they grow upon.

I am very puzzled by your reactions to this? Why not worry about being a good neighbor, a good person, and deal with the weeds? Rather than some trespass stuff?

Does not seem very Christian or caring to me - just selfish.


Weed inspectors around here don't get very agreesive at all. Typically they send a letter the first year, and even a year later only get some visits after the seeds are already blowing. Too late to really do any good any more. Some days I wish they were a bit more on top of things. But it is a difficult thing, I know.

Canadian thistles are a horrid weed. They grow from seed, seed can stay in the soil for decades, they grow from runners & root prunings. Their roots build up reserves, and can live for a couple of years even if you cut off the new growth above ground. They have a different cycle, where juices are flowing up to the surface from the root mass in the 1st half of summer. So most sprays are applied at the wrong time, and only kill off the green tops, but do not harm the root mass. One needs to spray them in fall after they have flowered & are not restoring their root mass - to take the herbicide into the root mass.

2,4D has a 7 day grazing restriction period, one formulation of dicomba (Sterling, Banval, several other brand names...) also has a 7 day restriction, but I don't know _every_ dicomba product is labeled the same.

Herbicides need to be applied according to the label attached to the bottle. That the local ccounty people enforce quite a bit, and ask to see spray records, etc. Anyone spraying in 25 mph winds would be viited real quick; and and damage it caused would be fixed by that person or his insurance. Period.

Non-herbicide methods of weed control are mowing before seed heads form, some 'organic' sprays like vinager or bleach or salt (which are an acid or a chemical or a sterilizing salt which seem much worse for the environment, but whatever works for you....). You can cultivate the weeds, or pull them by hand.

You have many options, but - it seems just rude to be talking about weed inspectors and trespass laws instead of addressing the problem of you having too many weeds and causing your neighbors difficulties.

I don't get that.

--->Paul