Is horsetail a problem like Japanese knotweed?

jt1413

Moved into our property last week and today have noticed some small horsetail plants growing out of the hard-core driveway and against one side of the house.

I know its invasive, hard to eradicate etc as it's the bain of a gardeners life but is it a problem in the way Japanese knotweed is a problem? 

A quick Google doesn't bring up much, there are services to help eradicate it but it's from a gardening problem not a house problem. There is the odd sentence here and there on surveyor websites about it impacting property and essentially saying my house will be rubble very soon etc etc but it's not listed on a lot of other sites as a problem species. 

koalakoala

We had it at one house and just dug up each plant from the roots

molenpad

RHS has a good article about managing horsetail/marestail

https://www.rhs.org.uk/weeds/horsetail

And no, it's not as problematic as Japanese Knotweed but weeding it out is a thankless task given its ability to continue spreading through small fragments of the plant left behind and spores.

It's a pain in the backside to get rid of completely and the main course of action is control through weeding and using the right chemical weedkiller. 

Grizebeck

Use curtail evo to get rid of it
. Takes time but it will go

Sarahspangles

jt1413 said:

Moved into our property last week and today have noticed some small horsetail plants growing out of the hard-core driveway and against one side of the house.

I know its invasive, hard to eradicate etc as it's the bain of a gardeners life but is it a problem in the way Japanese knotweed is a problem? 

A quick Google doesn't bring up much, there are services to help eradicate it but it's from a gardening problem not a house problem. There is the odd sentence here and there on surveyor websites about it impacting property and essentially saying my house will be rubble very soon etc etc but it's not listed on a lot of other sites as a problem species. 

Good luck completely eradicating it - a plant that was on first name terms with dinosaurs will probably see us all out.  It will heave up hardcore and punch through tarmac if it’s in the right mood. But you can co-exist with it.

dancelikeamonkey

Well... a few decades ago you could buy Ammonium Sulphamate (note not Sulfate), mix it with water and a splash of washing up liquid, put it in a spray bottle and you'll have a weed killer that can eradicate Marestail as well as work as a normal weed killer.

The laws changed so although you can buy Ammonium Sulphamate in lots of places including eBay, you are only allowed to use as a compost accelerator not a weed killer.

If you were still allowed to do it I would use about 1:5 ratio Sulphamate to water and spray it on any that appear and watch them wither. Would take two or three years to defeat it but will hardly get any after the first year just a few stragglers.

SallyDucati

Oh the memories horse/marestail brings back!  My constant teenage summer job growing up (weeding it out)

Never caused any issues with the house even though.

Doozergirl

Even Japanese Knotweed isn't a problem in the way that people think Japanese Knotweed is a problem! 

[Deleted User]

As i've mentioned a few times on here, this plant requires a long-term plan, it is NOT something you can weed out in a season.
Using the strongest systemic weedkiller you can obtain, spray regularly/repeatedly throughout the growing season and leave it alone for the rest of the season.

Do not pull out the dead, looking, bits.

Do not dig out any of the areas that are dead.

Leave it, because if you disturb it at this stage it actually won't be fully dead yet- you'll then have tiny parts left alive and it'll just regrow from those tiny areas.

Approach this as a year-long plan and if you've got the time, patience, and money (good systemics aren't cheap) you'll be rewarded next spring when it would start to appear again.
If you don't have those 3 options you'll just be dealing with this weed as a seasonal task.

FarmGirl78

Would diesel kill it? And if so, it is allowed?