OT: Dogs and Weed Spray

[93legendti]

What do fellow forumites do about spraying for weeds on their lawns? Our puppy chews/eats grass nonstop and, short of a muzzle, it's almost impossible to stop him. I haven't wanted to use a commercial co. to spray for weeds because I was concerned about harming the dog. Now the weeds are growing out of control.

Any suggestions would be welcome.

Thank you in advance.

[cat6]

Avoid. Pull the weeds or use something organic.

[Seramount]

mow the weeds down frequently before they can go to seed.

manually remove them by cutting the tap root with a sharp knife.

[Mzilliox]

what makes a weed a weed? why must they be pulled? i think the thinking needs to change, not the so called weeds.

In my orchard, the grass everyone tries so hard to grow is my biggest "weed" and the so called weeds are mainly helpers.

So why pick on so called weeds? they usually do more good than harm

[93legendti]

mow the weeds down frequently before they can go to seed.

manually remove them by cutting the tap root with a sharp knife.
That's what I have been doing....but our front and back yards are huge...the grass is cut once a week...guess I will buy a weed wacker and look at an organic weed killer.

[unterhausen]

yeah, the whole perfect yard thing is ridiculous. Why yes, my neighbors do love me, why do you ask?

Whenever I feel like using nasty chemicals on my yard, I remember the sad death of Jeff Porcaro, drummer for Toto, who died after spraying insecticide.

[joosttx]

Avoid. Pull the weeds or use something organic.

there is no such thing as an organic herbicide. its the 100 billion product if develop it.

[Anarchist]

Make a weed spray with White Vinegar (use the commercial kind if you can find it), dish detergent and salt.

Apply with a sprayer.

weeds dead in a few hours.

Bonus is if you apply on a hot day it gives you dinner ideas.

[Seramount]

what makes a weed a weed? why must they be pulled? i think the thinking needs to change, not the so called weeds.

In my orchard, the grass everyone tries so hard to grow is my biggest "weed" and the so called weeds are mainly helpers.

So why pick on so called weeds? they usually do more good than harm

yep, the mono-culture green grass mindset is deeply ingrained in Americans.

while I like a well-groomed lawn, it's really not all that ecologically sound. they're usually water- and labor-intensive and generally need highly-polluting fossil fuel powered equipment to maintain them.

over the last decade, I've removed ~40% of the grass at my place and planted native, low-moisture species.

the yard looks much nicer now and the water needed for it is negligible. my water bill in the summer is only a few dollars higher than in the dead of winter.

[93legendti]

Make a weed spray with White Vinegar (use the commercial kind if you can find it), dish detergent and salt.

Apply with a sprayer.

weeds dead in a few hours.

Bonus is if you apply on a hot day it gives you dinner ideas.

Ok, I'll try that. Thanks.

[false_Aest]

When I was about 12 our dog got onto some treated grass.

Started having seizures a few days later. They kept occurring every few weeks for about a year and eventually died. Vet couldn't confirm it was the weed killer but thought it was a strong possibility.

When the neighbors found out they all cancelled their TruGreen service. Too heartbreaking and a few of them started to worry about their kids.
---

I'm of the mindset that if you're that concerned about weeds you should just lay down gravel + concrete and then take up a new hobby.

[johnniecakes]

Make a weed spray with White Vinegar (use the commercial kind if you can find it), dish detergent and salt.

Apply with a sprayer.

weeds dead in a few hours.

Bonus is if you apply on a hot day it gives you dinner ideas.

What kind of ingredient ratios are we talking about here? Straight 1 gallon of vinegar with ??1 oz of salt, ?? of soap?

[joosttx]

When I was about 12 our dog got onto some treated grass.

Started having seizures a few days later. They kept occurring every few weeks for about a year and eventually died. Vet couldn't confirm it was the weed killer but thought it was a strong possibility.

When the neighbors found out they all cancelled their TruGreen service. Too heartbreaking and a few of them started to worry about their kids.
---

I'm of the mindset that if you're that concerned about weeds you should just lay down gravel + concrete and then take up a new hobby.

That sounds like it was an insecticide more than an herbicide.

[Anarchist]

Normally 1 gallon of vinegar, 1 cup of salt (table salt not sea salt - cheaper) and a tbsp or so of detergent.

The detergent is really just to make it flow in the sprayer.

Works really well, works fast but isn't long lasting - so I spray every couple of weeks.

[Jad]

Interesting--and I think the detergent would be included as a surfactant, which would help the solution stick to the sprayed leaves.

[thirdgenbird]

We are sort of in the same boat. Our pup (greyhound) is never left outside and doesn't eat much if any grass, but it still worries me.

Last fall, Bentley lost all of the fur on his feet. Part of it was self-inflicted due to licking but it appears the licking was prompted by red/dry skin. I don't know if it was trotting through treated grass that caused it, but it seems like a saw trugreen more than I had in years past.

[batman1425]

When I was I kid my dog (a black lab that also liked to eat grass) got organophosphate poisoning - common ingredient in insecticides and weed treatment products. Wasn't clear how she got exposed, we didn't use any of those products in our yard, and she was fenced in, but she got exposed some how. Seizures, convulsions, loss of bowel control. Really terrible and she almost died. Vet worked his magic and she pulled through after a couple very long days. Avoid the stuff if you can, IMO.

[Tony T]

Weed torch?
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_7?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=weed+torch&sprefix=weed+torch%2Caps%2C250

[bironi]

Ok, I'll try that. Thanks.

It works. You can use regular store bought vinegar. You will have to reapply. The weeds will rebound.

[joosttx]

Normally 1 gallon of vinegar, 1 cup of salt (table salt not sea salt - cheaper) and a tbsp or so of detergent.

The detergent is really just to make it flow in the sprayer.

Works really well, works fast but isn't long lasting - so I spray every couple of weeks.

What prevents it from killing the grass around the weed? I can see how this can work around house like on sidewalks where selectivity is not important but I do understand how it would work on a lawn. I imagine the end result is a lawn without weed but with brown spots where you sprayed the mixture.

[GregL]

I stopped using insecticides on the lawn when we got our dog. I moved away from herbicides when my wife build a butterfly garden in our yard. Now I'm investigating organic fertilizers to feed the lawn. I pull the dandelions by hand. One very easy way to feed your lawn: use a mulching mower. It keeps a great source of natural fertilizer right on the lawn. We have lots of big trees on our property whose leaves I mulch in the fall. No more raking and lots of free fertilizer!

- Greg

[Anarchist]

What prevents it from killing the grass around the weed? I can see how this can work around house like on sidewalks where selectivity is not important but I do understand how it would work on a lawn. I imagine the end result is a lawn without weed but with brown spots where you sprayed the mixture.

Spraying with the nozzle set on stream rather than wide spray.