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The most powerful, most long lasting, best value single dose path weed-killer.

mandryka

mandryka

pfm Member
Any thoughts about this annual conundrum?

Every year I buy Pathclear in those fiddly little tubes, it seems really expensive for what it is.

Someone said to me that it has something in it which prevents germination, and that the poison sticks on the path -- I don't know if it's true.

Anyway it's soon going to be that time of year again, and I'm wondering if I can do better.
 
None of them. All glyphosate based and all pretty useless these days, Gallup is as good as any and can usually be bought from Amazon. They will make the weeds look a little off colour after a couple of weeks and take longer to kill them. An alternative is to bulk buy some white vinegar as used by caterers add salt and some soap. Spraying path weeds with that will give more instant but less permanent results so perhaps use a combination.
 
Chemically, there is only one choice and that is what is in Pathclear. One active ingredient sits in the soil surface and kills any germinating seeds.

It is ages since I bought any but it always used to come in plastic sachets as tiny pellets.

The last lot that I bought was Tesco brand and was this formulation (dated 2004) - 1 (bashplots.org.uk)
 
Government rules unfortunately outlaw almost all of the weedkillers that used to do the job.
My father built driveways & patios, and in those days it was common to spread a layer of sodium chlorate over the ground before surfacing. That did the trick, though in hindsight not very environmentally friendly.
These days I resort to using Rootkill Plus, which like most weedkillers is based on glyphosate but seems to do a better job than Weedol or Pathclear. Still have to repeat at regular intervals though. They all claim to be environmentally friendly.
 
paulfromcamden said:
Possibly not what you want to hear but I'd be looking for something that has the least impact on wildlife rather than necessarily the most toxic product.
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If you reckon anything that is more than minimally dangerous to anything but the target, would be /is licenced for home use in the UK, I would suggest that you are a very, very long way out.
 
Glyphosate is inactivated very quickly once soil bacteria can get to it. There are loads of claims about how long it lasts in the soil, and soil type, moisture content etc. are important but several hours would seem to be around maximum.
 
Bob McC said:
Yeah sure...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53174513
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Only possible under US law. Do some reading and you will appreciate the half-baked logic behind it all. Besides which, no-one should ever bathe in any chemical that they know nothing about. What was claimed, and won the case, was totally insane useage practices.

Also, nothing in the US case seeks to deny that once on soil, it gets broken down very quickly.

Similar case in the US courts now - that will ban talcum powder in the US - US "talcum" is now corn starch. That case will cost J&J a FORTUNE.
 
zippy said:
These days I resort to using Rootkill Plus, which like most weedkillers is based on glyphosate but seems to do a better job than Weedol or Pathclear. Still have to repeat at regular intervals though. They all claim to be environmentally friendly.
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Yes well applying at regular intervals doesn't sound good!
 
Vinny said:
Chemically, there is only one choice and that is what is in Pathclear. One active ingredient sits in the soil surface and kills any germinating seeds.

It is ages since I bought any but it always used to come in plastic sachets as tiny pellets.

The last lot that I bought was Tesco brand and was this formulation (dated 2004) - 1 (bashplots.org.uk)
Click to expand...

It was less fiddly when it came in the sachets.

The key thing is the stuff that rests on the surface and prevents germination.

I just saw this on amazon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01B5UZKG2/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

it looks a lot cheaper and says it contains glyphosate and diflufenecan. But whether it will prevent germination is not clear -- maybe I'll ring Bayer.
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
Vinny said:
Glyphosate is inactivated very quickly once soil bacteria can get to it. There are loads of claims about how long it lasts in the soil, and soil type, moisture content etc. are important but several hours would seem to be around maximum.
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Yes this is what a friend of mine who works at Kew said that the Monsanto rep said to him . . . .
 
zippy said:
My father built driveways & patios, and in those days it was common to spread a layer of sodium chlorate over the ground before surfacing. That did the trick, though in hindsight not very environmentally friendly.
Click to expand...

sodium chlorate provided lots of fun when I was a kid, most likely banned now ‘bleeding ‘elf n safety gorn mad what’s wrong with letting youngsters experiment with explosives?
what could possibly go wrong?
 
russel said:
most likely banned now ‘bleeding ‘elf n safety gorn mad
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My understanding of the ban is a bit more prosaic. It has never been registered as a herbicide and no-one could make enough money out of it after getting it through the tests, so no-one is going to try to get it registered.

Legality apart, it is very water-soluble, so does not persist for any great length of time, depending on the weather.
 
Vinny said:
If ever in doubt with this sort of thing, just Google the chemical and you will get information about common uses and how they work etc. That should answer all your questions/doubts.

Diflufenican, Herbicide, Diflufenican suppliers (agchemaccess.com)

As you see - not ideal, just more of the same as glyphosate.
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Yes I saw that but I thought there may be something in the way it’s prepared which makes it stick and release slowly. Probably a stupid thought!
 
Forget single use. I buy the premix trigger spray jobs. It's glyphosate, ready to go. Spray only green living things that you want to kill. It takes 3 weeks to kill, but kill it does. Put the leftovers vin the shed. After a month, go back and hit any new green stuff again. Repeat after another month. And again. Don't sweat it too much, it's only a 10 minute run round one still evening a month. Your Poundland bottle will last a year like this,and next year you won't find much to spray. Once again, every month, 10 minutes, on you go.

When I worked at the vinegar brewery the ground staff used to use 20% spirit vinegar. Stuff was dead and brown within hours. Of course zero persistence, zero effect on roots, zero impact on environment, it's a food material. The stuff came back, but the next month's spray would knock it down again.
 
Bob McC said:
Yeah sure...

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-53174513
Click to expand...

Strange coincidence that the case went through so easily once it was sold to Bayer, primarily a German company.

If the victim in the first big case had been working in UK he'd have been prosecuted by HSE. Continued use of defective equipment, little or no PPE year after year.

Glyphosate might be benign in the environment but it's a harsh chemical. It really cleans out a sprayer and will make a zinc tank look as good as new, it also reacts with many components of hard water.

I hate seeing all the council verges sprayed off with glyphosate; it's potentially a vast area of environment for many species.

The product you really want is Atrazine, banned many years ago, not for outright toxicity but because the rail authorities and councils spread it all over the country making surface water undrinkable.

Chemicals have no place in gardens; i mow over my paths and drive.
 
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