Rental property - Garden/Weed issues - who's responsible?

sheramber

One year seeds means 7 years weeds.

davemorton

ripplyuk said:

This is easily sorted out. My front garden is all decorative gravel and I don’t have any membrane at all. I spray it with a mix of glyphosate and flazasulfuron (a pre-emergent).  The brands names I use are ‘Gallop’ and ‘Paradise’. You can easily find them online. Spray it now and you’ll not need to do it again until next Spring at the earliest. 

Blimey!!  Thats expensive.

RAS

Skiddaw1 said:

@pinkshoes , a weedburner is an excellent suggestion! I've never used one but having seen them in action I can imagine that, like pressure-washing, it's one of those 'best fun you can have legally' activities.

Please do not use a weed burner in the current situation. A garden that's not been weeded this summer is going to have so much dry tinder, it's really dangerous.

There's been grass fires all over the world, including England. One was apparently set off by someone trying to burn a spider?

In the UK, barbies and reportedly an attempt to burn an abandoned sofa destroyed several houses.

Weed wands are great, used early in the season to knock back small weeds in hard surfaces. Not in this situation.

Norman_Castle

If the gravels not deep would it be difficult to sweep it out of the way and replace the membrane? How big is the area?

Mr.Generous

Interesting thread from a landlords perspective. Nobody is suggesting you just stick it out till end of tenancy then move. Gardens are a pain from a LL's side, very few tenants maintain them. I offer to treat lawns during tenancy when I see them getting weed filled, tenants - with few exceptions - do not like spending money on things like weed control. Gravel sounds a pain, and some weeds are very hard to kill. I'd go the weedkiller route - something like Pathclear that doesn't just kill the current growth but contaminates the soil to prevent new growth, then when they are dead and dry I'd weed torch 'em - for revenge.

deannagone

Norman_Castle said:

If the gravels not deep would it be difficult to sweep it out of the way and replace the membrane? How big is the area?

I did this and paved an area (used slate bits on the borders so similar to gravel), four years later not seen a single weed.  I didn't use concrete, just laid the slabs on top of weed membrane so feel sure it would also be effective under gravel. Cost less than £30 for 25m2 (look on Amazon, seen one offer of 4x10m with spikes for £36.

Took a few slabs up this year and the membrane is like new,no signs of it breaking down.  Your LL might contribute but even if you have to pay I reckon its the cheapest option and a lot less work.

I've lived with weeding and this is a lot simpler in the long run lol.

Bendy_House

Are the electric wands safer - they blow a jet of hot air - a glorified hairdryer?

I understand the most misunderstood aspect of weed burners is that the weed does NOT actually need to be burnt? Just scorched or shrivelled? That's enough to kill them.

Woolsery

There's no quantification in the OP, so the most appropriate action isn't obvious.

For example, I have about 100m2 out front of  rough chippings for parking and an access track and roughly half an hour a month with a backpack sprayer and glyphosate weedkiller keeps that controlled. Yes, I might buy residuals like Ripply, but they're expensive and it's environmentally preferable to use a product that breaks down quickly.

If I only had, say, 25m2 and no investment in aesthetics, I might peg down a geofabric with a 10 year lifespan and ignore its visual qualities. That wouldn't be my choice because I'm me, but we have no idea how large an area we're discussing or what the OP wants from their garden.

Woolsery

Bendy_House said:

Are the electric wands safer - they blow a jet of hot air - a glorified hairdryer?

I understand the most misunderstood aspect of weed burners is that the weed does NOT actually need to be burnt? Just scorched or shrivelled? That's enough to kill them.

The small ones are a total waste of time in my experience, but I have large areas to keep controlled. I've always fancied a Sheen gun because it looks cool, but never got around to it. I love the way the sales blurb say it uses no chemicals. Ah...paraffin isn't a chemical. Who knew?

http://www.sheenflamegun.co.uk/index.htmI

I use my L*dl gas flame gun to light the barbecue. It's brilliant at that.

ripplyuk

davemorton said:

ripplyuk said:

This is easily sorted out. My front garden is all decorative gravel and I don’t have any membrane at all. I spray it with a mix of glyphosate and flazasulfuron (a pre-emergent).  The brands names I use are ‘Gallop’ and ‘Paradise’. You can easily find them online. Spray it now and you’ll not need to do it again until next Spring at the earliest. 

Blimey!!  Thats expensive.

@davemorton Yes it is, but one tub is enough to last about 20yrs (for a small garden), so it works out very cheap.