I have an over grown lot that I’m having cleared. I’ve had all of the trees removed and now all that’s left is poison ivy, weeds and saplings. I plan on applying an herbicide to the lot a few times this summer and completely killing everything. If you guys wanted to kill off all types of vegetation, what type of herbicide would you choose. I have Round Up but was thinking I might need something a little more extreme for this adventure.
Round up will knock all of it down. But will not kill seeds. Corn meal I believe will stop seeds from germinating.
I’ve not found Round Up or glyphosate effective on Poison Ivy. Triclopyr works well on vines and semi-woody weeds. A combination of those 2 should take care of things. But as the piper said, they will not stop weed germination. Depending on the size of the lot you could lay down black plastic. That will also kill everything. Applying a pre-emergent will stop seeds from germinating.
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I agree. Get the 41% glyphosate and mix it with a sticker. Way cheaper than the “Round Up” brand and you will probably have plenty extra for next year. English ivy has been the only survivor on my lot.
Yes buy a concentrate, and you can make it slightly stronger for good killing fields 
Forget the brand name stuff.
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What do people use for a pre-emergent? I would like to use something to stop weeds under my apple tree rows.
If I remember correctly there was some discussion of Triclopyr residue being persistent in the soil for years. So don’t plan on growing anything there in the near future. And don’t let the treated plants end up in your mulch pile. It did kill my English Ivy but the action is slow, about 6 months.
IME, glyphosate will burn down brush/vines/saplings, but it will not kill them. Triclopyr or Crossbow would be my choices.
I don’t know all of them but I spray fence lines and overgrown areas on my 52 acres every year with Glysophate(ROUNDUP) every year and it is slow acting, 1-3 weeks but it kills everything i spray with great ease and it doesn’t come back until new growth next year. Pull all the roots after death and it may never come back. Seems quite effective dollar for dollar to me…
I buy 54% Glysophate on line 5 gallons at a time for under $40.00 bucks I believe…It lasts quite some time and i do a pretty good bit of spraying. I carefully spray around all my fruit trees as well with no ill effects.
[quote=“speedster1, post:3, topic:16466”]
I’ve not found Round Up or glyphosate effective on Poison Ivy.
[/quote].
Odd. I’ve used it on poison ivy dozens of times and it always worked. It takes a week or two. It can kill a 50 foot tree but it must get to the roots through the leaves or by injecting it into the tree through drilled holes. There may be better solutions but glyphosate works.
I am not an advocate of the existing herbicides.
I like the concept of waveing the majic wand.
But the toxicity and unintended damage limits my use.
It is a tool in the box. But rarely used here.
That said , one important thing about glyphosate is :;
It follows the carbohydrate in the plant.
And must get to the root to be effective .
In annuals an cool season grasses this may occur in the early part or the season.
However, in most woody perennials this happens in late summer.
So for the most effective control of woody perennials a late season application
Is most effective .
It also is not absorbed well under drought conditions .
Highly recommend a strong dye as a tracer.
Spay drift is " worse that you think."! ! !
Very low pressure , and a good nozzle will help.
Don’t spay if there is any wind.
Have seen a lot of people kill more than they wanted to.!
Again not an advocate
It is a tool in the box
As is a knife
But you could cut your self ? !
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Crossbow, 2-4-d, Spectracide for Poison Ivy, are three products the average homeowner can purchase without some special permit, that will work much better than ROUNDUP on brush. Of just go look at what your supercenter or farm stores has and pick one for brush.
Sorry for the typos…
I started a Poison Ivy thread here a few years ago after not having good success with high strength glyphosate. I was wandering around the woods behind my home trying to kill all of the poison ivy and it just wasn’t effective. I even used surfactant and blue marking dye. The shiney ivy leaves just didn’t absorb the glypho well. Someone here recommended Crossbow and it worked much better. It is selective and will not kill grasses like glyphosate. It really shines on woody vines and material. Last year I looked around the woods behind the house and couldn’t find any poison ivy so it did it’s job.
One warning though is if you try to mix glypho and crossbow in the same sprayer it will create a white stringy substance that will clog the spray tip.
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I will probably just go with the glyphosate for now. Seems like most people agree on that. I will hit the lot again in late summer and focus just on the poison ivy when it’s most vulnerable. Thanks for all of the advice guys.
Crossbow is 24D ,more effective in the spring of the year.
Again , not an advocate.
A broad leaf herbicide
Would scare me to have it on the farm.
Crossbow is more than just 2/4d. It has triclopyr in it as well.
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One more thing to note about using glyphosate, make sure you spray when the outside temperature is warm.
Plants take up glyphosate through the pores in their leaves. If it is too cold, their pores will be closed to conserve warmth and the plant will not absorb the herbicide. If the temperature is warm, the plants will open their pores to exchange gasses. If hot, the plants will open their pores to transpire (sweat), but if it is excessively hot the plant will close its pores to prevent wilting. The best time to spray glyphosate is when the temperature is warm to mildly hot.
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Speedster1…you seem to have this one down pat. Agree with you. Roundup (a.k.a ‘glyposate’ is for grass, not most other things).