garden weed burner

valk_scot

I've got a Lidl weed wand I bought years ago that runs on camping gas cylinders. I pick these up cheaply at the end of the summer...four for £1 at B&Q last September in the camping section! The ignition button failed a long time ago but I just use a lighter. Cautiously....!

The weed wand itself isn't good as a first line of defence against weeds. It's better to weed kill using chemicals first then use the weed wand as a quick regular deterrent to regrowth. You still have to pull them up btw, the weed wand won't incinerate the weed, mearly disrupt the cells so they die in situ. You just have to waft the wand over the tip till the faintest sign of shrivel appears, them move on. If you want to completely clear a large area then a refillable flame gun would be more useful.

Incidentally apart from lighting the BBQ and bonfire, which I agree is very easy with a weed wand, you can also use the wand on raised beds. If you weed a bed by hand in preparation for planting or sowing crop plants, do it a couple of weeks in advance then pass the weed wand over the surface just before planting or sowing. This will kill off all the newly germinated weed seeds instantly, without disturbing the soil and encouraging new weed seed germination. (It's exposing weed seeds to light as you dig that partially initiates weed seed germination.) Quick and easy, but most effective.

mutley74

just check aldi and lidl and none have this on as a current special. Just rang a B&Q superstore and they said this item has been stopped from sale as B&Q class this item as not environmentally friendly!

valk_scot

mutley74 wrote: »

B&Q class this item as not environmentally friendly!

Compared to say weedkiller, which they still sell in abundance? Hmmmm...anyway you should be able to buy one in a proper garden centre near you, I would think.

DKLS

glasgowdan wrote: »

Why would you use a weed burner instead of weed killer? The roots survive and grow back!

Why? because wands that spit fire are fantastic they bring out the inner 14yr old wanting to recreate the charlie dont surf scene from Apocalypse now and are :j to use, erm just be careful when using around conifers :rotfl:

If you time it right they can be very effective at clearing weeds if any come back they just provide new targets, and offer a solution for ant and wasp nests.

Wasps nests go up a treat :eek:

Mojisola

valk_scot wrote: »

The weed wand itself isn't good as a first line of defence against weeds. It's better to weed kill using chemicals first then use the weed wand as a quick regular deterrent to regrowth. You still have to pull them up btw, the weed wand won't incinerate the weed, mearly disrupt the cells so they die in situ. You just have to waft the wand over the tip till the faintest sign of shrivel appears, them move on. If you want to completely clear a large area then a refillable flame gun would be more useful.

If you catch them while they're small, you can be lazy and just leave them until they fall apart and blow away.

mutley74

Davesnave wrote: »

I really hope you don't mean mare's tail, because if you do, it'll take more than a weed wand to shift that!:eek:

Have you got an internet ID for what it is?

Most weedkillers available now work by absorption through a plant's leaves, so burning them off would not assist either. The old sodium chorate solution is no longer available.

yes it is def horse weed, there was another thread by a different poster on this a few months ago. This weed has a thick skin hence is "resistant" to absorption to most weed killers, unless the skin can be broken. Really at end of tether with this weed it has taken over all driveway and grows like mad! Any suggestions most welcome.
Thanks

Mojisola

Here's some suggestions - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/992705

Davesnave

Mojisola wrote: »

Here's some suggestions - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/992705

That's as good a link as any.

Just to update on that thread, sodium chlorate is not available now and Kibosh has become Kurtail.

Enterprise_1701C

I have not had to deal with horsetail, but I have found that Jeyes Fluid is very effective at killing most things - though I would not want to try growing anything in the ground affected by it for a year or two! I have found it very effective on sycamores tring to grow up through things like gravel,

mutley74

managed to get hold of some roundup, made a strong solution and applied to the horse tail weed. still think it would be useful to get a burner torch. which is a good burner that can take the butane camping stove cans (225g) type?
thanks