Some tips if you're going to spray your own yard for weeds.

[LwnmwnMan2]

There was a question in the Trimec post about whether or not you could use Trimec and not worry about the dog could run on the yard.

Here are some tips that'll help both minimize risks to pets and humans, as well as help accomplish the goal of weed eradication.

Some of these may seem like common sense to some, and if I miss anything, feel free to add.

The first one is if you have a dog or kids that play in the yard, spray the front yard, wait a couple of days, then do the back. Now you can rotate the kids and pets onto yards that are safe.

If you have the opportunity to spot spray, that'll always dramatically reduce chemical usage. If you have a field of yellow, this most likely isn't an option, but do your best to not do a "blanket application", if possible.

If you can spray on a day where there's a 5-10 mph wind, this will help dry the spray solution quicker, allowing usage of the yard sooner. You'll have to reach down a little closer with the spray wand to get along the edge of the landscaping.

If you go to different larger garden centers, Fleet Farm, most of these places will have different nozzles to put in your sprayers, which will create a bigger drip size. This larger drip size will reduce the amount of drift and mist that you have, allowing both better coverage on the weed as well as less drift on a windy day.

The chemical you're looking for if you're trying to control broadleaf weeds is 2-4,D , or variations of. Just because a product has 2-4,D doesn't mean it's a good product though. On the front of the label, usually on the bottom left it will state the ingredients. You want to compare percentages of active ingredient for said 2-4,D.

Much like when you go shopping at Wal-Mart or the grocery store, on the tag below the cereal box, it'll state "$.xx / oz" or cost per unit. To know you're getting the best bang for your buck, you're going to want to do some math and make sure you're getting the most "active ingredient" for what you're paying. Now this isn't the end to the question, because you'll also want to check and see how big of an area you're going to cover with the same product.

As an example, there are 4-5 different "common" chemicals (or formulations) that the professionals use for dandelions. One may be $90 / gallon, one may be $155 / gallon and one $115 / gallon. Depending on the active ingredient and the how many oz per sq foot, that's one of the determining factors on which product to use. All formulations are NOT created equal.

Also, most of you will probably spot spray, which it will say on the label of whatever product you use, how many oz to put into your 1-2 gallon sprayer.

However, for those that are going to do a blanket application with a tow behind sprayer, you'll want to calibrate it if you're concerned about both cost effectiveness and not buring up your yard. Sure, most of the OTC chemicals you can buy are watered down enough where it's hard to burn up a yard, and you can somewhat wing it, but for those that don't want to throw extra money out the door, then calibrate. Just because 2 oz per 1000 sq ft of chemical is what's recommended, 6 oz per 1000 sq ft doesn't mean it's REALLY going to work.

You can use round-up for spraying dandelions, but you have to be VERY careful. One drop in the middle of the plant will sometimes take care of it. If you have good control, and you can put one - two drops on the leaves without it touching the grass, you'll be okay using round-up.

Round-up will also control suckers from your plants without harming your plants. Round-up doesn't go through soil. It works by killing green vegetation, thereby removing the food source (sunlight) from the plant. This is why when you spray round-up on a tree or small sapling, eventually the plant will come back. It hasn't killed the root structure.

[Eric Wettschreck]

Good info.

I've heard 2-4-D does quite a bit of damage to younger trees. Is this correct? I have a field of yellow and need to spray. In my yard there are quite a few well established pine and apple trees. 10 years old and older. Do I need to keep a good distance from these trees with the 2-4-D or do you think they're old enough to handle it?

[LwnmwnMan2]

They're old enough. Don't soak them, but you can spray right up next to them.

Just keep the chemical off of the leaves and needles.

Even if you see a leaf or two that are hit, just keep an eye on them. If the look like they're going to start to die back, snip that branch off a little ways behind where you hit the leaf.

[harvey lee]

I use Amine 2-4d for my lawn and it kills about everything but quack. I am somewhat careful around the trees and shrubs and I have never hurt a thing.

[Whisker Trout Slayer]

Last fall I cut down our crabapple tree. It had some sucker roots growing out shallow form the stump. I sprayed roundup on them, but more came up. What is the best thing to spray on the stump (which I cut below ground level) to kill the stump off and prevent more new sucker roots and growth from occuring in my yard?

[folke2000]

Will 2-4, D also take care of thistle?

Thanks for all the great info on this site!

Folke

[LwnmwnMan2]

Last fall I cut down our crabapple tree. It had some sucker roots growing out shallow form the stump. I sprayed roundup on them, but more came up. What is the best thing to spray on the stump (which I cut below ground level) to kill the stump off and prevent more new sucker roots and growth from occuring in my yard?

You could either rent a stump grinder to grind the rest of that stump out, or just keep spraying those suckers.

Eventually, the energy from the tree will die out and the stump will start to rot.

I know there are other chemicals that are better suited to take out these stumps too other than Round-Up.

[LwnmwnMan2]

Will 2-4, D also take care of thistle?

Thanks for all the great info on this site!

Folke

2-4,D will take care of Thistle. Do 2 applications about 4-5 weeks apart.

[Jarrod32]

I've got what may be a dumb question...when I go to the store, I see two different kinds of 2, 4-D. There is an Amine 400 and an LV 400.

What is the difference, if any?

[LwnmwnMan2]

What are the brand names of the products and / or store you see these at?

As a general answer, use LV 400 below 60 degrees and Amine 400 above 60 degrees.

However, with that said, I use the same product year 'round.

If they're the same active ingredient percent, then I would go with the Amine now.

[Jarrod32]

The ingredients are different. The LV-400 says it is a "low-volatile" ester. Active ingredient 65% ethylhexylester.

The Amine 400 shows an active ingredient of 47% dimethylamine salt of 2, 4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid.