Using glyphosate near water

[lupinus]

Have you considered a trimmer mower?

[zxcvbob]

or a goat

[charby]

I thought he wanted to kill the saplings and brush too.

also kills the trees above (or can kill them)

[charby]

Have you considered a trimmer mower?

http://www.drpower.com/power-equipment/field-brush-mowers/

[charby]

or hire someone with a tractor and brush mower to come in a few times a season to mow/cut it.

[Cliffh]

I've got a trimmer mower, have used it a lot.  It's real good on dry ground - not so good in the mud.  The skinny tires have a tendency to sink hub deep, it gets hard to move then ;-)

I use some broad leaf weed killers on the lawn areas.  The wet areas are a totally different story, I want the marsh grass, duck weed, thorny-vines, poison vines, saplings, everything dead & gone.  FWIW I just spent the last 6 hours weed eating just the drainage ditch along the road.  That did not include around the pond, along the creek, the flooded areas, etc.  And it'll need it again in 3 weeks at most.  I want that *expletive deleted*it gone dead!

And I agree completely that spraying acid would be something to think about 3 or 4 times before touching the bottle - and then decide to put the bottle down.  Airborne/atomized acid just sounds nasty.

Reminds me of the time I used a chainsaw to cut some century cactus.  It's not a hard acid, but the juices are somewhat acidic, and I breathed in a lot of it.  The next couple days were unpleasant, to say the least.

ETA emphasis to making it go away.

[lupinus]

Ah.

Well at this point I'm going to cast my vote. Fire. I vote fire.

[Cliffh]

Ungh fire good

[Ron]

So a hippy site that shows up on my fb newsfeed had a recipe of 1g vinegar, 2c Epsom salt and 1/4 dish soap as a "natural" weed killer that purportedly kills things dead fast.

Not sure if it is any better than glyphosate regarding water habitats.  

I thought you did the fire after the Roundup killed everything.

[charby]

Ah.

Well at this point I'm going to cast my vote. Fire. I vote fire.

I'm thinking the same thing, I personally would just let it grow according to the description of your property.

[Cliffh]

I don't know how long it'd been let go when we moved in but it was bad.  The front yard (~1 acre) was at least 5' tall, 12'+ trees were pulled over by vines until their tops were on the ground, the surveyors couldn't even follow one of the fence lines, the pond was overgrown with duckweed to where the water was almost hidden - it was a mess.  (We did get a good price on it 'cause of the condition).  I spent most of 5 years making it look better than most city parks, mainly by just keeping it cut back & nature did the rest. 

I now have a lot less time to spend on yard work, and I'm 8 years older than when we bought it, so I've got to find more efficient/faster/easier ways of doing things.  At least most of it's flat and (usually) dry, so a riding mower works fine there.  I'd like to down-size to 2 or 3 acres but that can't happen for a few more years.  In the meantime...

Now that I know about the usable-near-water glyphosate and the hazards associated with the don't-use-near-water glyphosate I can determine where to use what.

[zxcvbob]

I was joking earlier about getting a goat.  But if you have acreage, 2 or 3 goats would keep it cleared.

[Tuco]

 Be careful running a trimmer mower around poison oak, ivy, or sumac.  The sap turns into mist, flies up and sticks to every thing, spreading its evil ulcers upon all present.

[roo_ster]

Be careful running a trimmer mower around poison oak, ivy, or sumac.  The sap turns into mist, flies up and sticks to every thing, spreading its evil ulcers upon all present.

What a flipping nightmare scenario.

I vote chemical warfare followed by FIRE.

[zxcvbob]

A guy I used to work with used a string trimmer to cut down a bunch of giant wild parsnips.  Wearing shorts. (him, not the parsnips)  On a hot sunny day.  He ended up in the hospital from the chemical burns on his legs.

[charby]

A guy I used to work with used a string trimmer to cut down a bunch of giant wild parsnips.  Wearing shorts. (him, not the parsnips)  On a hot sunny day.  He ended up in the hospital from the chemical burns on his legs.

Beat me to it..

[KD5NRH]

Try the entertainment of watching college kids on dirt bikes going through thistles and bull nettle.  They get used to the thistle after a while, then they hit their first bull nettle and usually wipe out about 50-100 feet past it when it suddenly feels like their legs caught fire.

[lupinus]

A guy I used to work with used a string trimmer to cut down a bunch of giant wild parsnips.  Wearing shorts. (him, not the parsnips)  On a hot sunny day.  He ended up in the hospital from the chemical burns on his legs.

Thank you for clarifying on the shorts.

As to the poison ivy, not being susceptible to its evil ways has advantages.

[RoadKingLarry]

Thank you for clarifying on the shorts.

As to the poison ivy, not being susceptible to its evil ways has advantages.

It does indeed. But, I still don't get stupid around the stuff. If I manage to get it on a fresh scratch or scrape it'll itch a bit for a few days. Who needs that?

[lupinus]

Same here. One of these days it'll probably change and bite me 

[charby]

Same here. One of these days it'll probably change and bite me 

I hope not. If the temps are warm enough where the plant oils volatize I can break out just being near the plants.

[Tuco]

And another thing....
Don't burn the Toxiodenron plants ( poison ivy, oak, or sumac).  I never heard of an actual case, usually a "friend of a guy I used to work with had a cousin who" type story, but the poison irritants become mobile in the smoke, and when inhaled,  can cause inflammation and irritation of the respiratory system, resulting in a non negotiable ride in the amberlamps.
I disremember, but did hear confirmation of this from an authority type, like a woodland firefighter, restoration biologist or a horticulture professor.. DYODD.

[roo_ster]

I hope not. If the temps are warm enough where the plant oils volatize I can break out just being near the plants.

So that is how i get it despite being covered up in long pants and long sleeves.

[charby]

So that is how i get it despite being covered up in long pants and long sleeves.

or the oil gets absorbed by your clothing as you brush by the plants and then contacts your skin. Let's just say I learned not to touch a certain part of my body as youngster without washing my hands after being in the woods during the warm months.

[Cliffh]

I've heard the same thing about burning the "poison" plants.  That's why I stay upwind when they're on the burn pile.  When we first moved in all I had to do was get close to the stuff to break out, after working with it in sleeveless T's for a few years it seems as if I've worked up either an immunity or high tolerance to it.  I can reach into the trailer, grab a double armful and heave it onto the burn pile with no adverse affect.

I'd get a couple goats ASAP if I could figure out the answers to two problems:

a)  How to keep them safe from coyotes without getting a donkey or putting up a coyote proof fence around 5 acres or putting them in a escape proof mobile confinement area

and

b) How to convince SWMBO that a couple goats would be a good thing.  Just tonight she shot the idea down again - for the umpteenth time.

B is the real sticking point.

Decades ago I was real impressed with the work one goat was able to do to berry bushes that were probably 10' high x 10 yd wide and 30 yd long.  Took him less than a month to make it all disappear.  Just kept moving the chain anchor point as he worked his way through it.

or the oil gets absorbed by your clothing as you brush by the plants and then contacts your skin. Let's just say I learned not to touch a certain part of my body as youngster without washing my hands after being in the woods during the warm months.

Ouch!  Middle brother did that as a young'un.  He didn't like it.