Mares Tail battle!

Oh dear, you will need more than 3 treatments on that.

Here’s a link that may help you understand a bit more and you will notice they don’t recommend tampering with mares. These people produced Kurtail which worked but is withdrawn.
Notice number 6.
How to Kill Horsetail/ Marestail? - ProGreen

 

Thanks for the link. Pity the one thing that worked gets withdrawn but reading no.6 on that link is thoroughly depressing. I'm approaching 70 now with deteriorating health and had planned to sell up and move to a 2 bed flat, but know this 'pest' i'm stuck with would make that difficult. I cannot think where this damn stuff came from as previously the worst i'd had to deal with was normal garden weeds, but i think it might have come when i had the back garden ripped out as the two guys who did the work laid a small amount of topsoil before spreading stone chippings down. This nightmare stuff first sprouted a few years later.

 

Not really John. It's a struggle. I suffer with worsening arthritic issues but even when i was using it my neighbour moaned about the smell each time. It even developed into a full blown row one evening when using it to rid my driveway of ordinary weeds.

 

A lot of issues were caused by councils composting green waste and selling it on and a good example was the spread of Japanese Knotweed in the London area.

Have you approached anyone to gain some quotes on treatments? Ive a horrible feeling the cost would be high but have you tried?

Herbicides change yearly where some are removed so its harder nowadays to find ways that are workable.

 

Yes i did an internet search locally and surprisingly there are not that many around. One i contacted last summer to arrange a site visit, let me down and never turned up. I've recently contacted two more of which only one has phoned to arrange a site visit next Wednesday (19th). Apart from my flamegun which is now a bit of a struggle to use, i'm fast running out of options, but i think you are right about professional costs being high.

I could cope with spraying but having used no end of different sprays before i bought the flamegun, only to find none did anything at all, i'd need some convincing that spending £100+ on 5ltrs of chemical would work. If this 'pro' company come in with a crazy quote...maybe that will convince me to splash out £100!!

 

Unfortunately I would say its going to be an ongoing cost which will be a lot more than £100 due to repeat visits but see how the meeting goes on the 19th and see what they say.

 

Yes i will return to the forum and let you know the quote. I phoned another today but he didn't seem interested enough to come and view...maybe making too much money!

 

Had the first site survey yesterday from a professional company and they said it would need four applications.....£800 plus vat

I've not committed as yet as i'm hoping to get a quote from another company who have yet to view.

 

Don’t forget a good company will provide a written quote as well.
Did they say it would be an ongoing issue and it may require more treatments?
I can’t comment on the pricing but be wary and do back ground research on any company that quotes including making sure they are VAT registered, waste licence, past work recommendations including work they have done.
Never agree there and then and never pay upfront for work that will require return visits. If they want for example 4 visits you should only pay per visit.
Keep getting the quotes in.

 

Yes they emailed a written quote to me in pdf file but couldn't get the link to go on here so have copied the relevant bits from the file. They are vat registered and carry public liability insurance. This is the company website; About Us - JHPS Gardens Limited - Garden Maintenance and Landscaping

Company background:
We set up JHPS (Jason Harker Property Services) in 1998 and we are happy to say that we still provide gardening services for a number of customers from those early days. We provide our services all over Staffordshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire.

We work on the premise that if you are not 100% happy with the results, then we have failed to do our job correctly. Therefore, we guarantee 100% satisfaction with every project we undertake.
Our customers assure us that they are happy with the work carried out and are delighted with our customer service, which is reflected in the fact that 80% of the maintenance and landscaping work we carry out is either repeat work or is from referrals.

Understanding Your Requirements:
Following discussions between Mr Beckett and Mr. Harker of JHPS Gardens Ltd it is understood that you are looking to remediate the Mare’s Tails issue in the rear garden to ensure the area is neat and tidy. To this end it is our delight to offer our service and guarantee of 100% satisfaction as follows:

Services to be provided:
To eradicate the Mare’s Tails, we would come out and spray the area with a translocating herbicide, which is 300x stronger than what is available to the public. This herbicide will not only kill the tops of the plants but also the roots to ensure the eradication process is efficient.
Although the strength of the herbicide is not disputed, due to the nature of the Mare’s Tails, we would need to come out four times over the course of eight weeks to ensure that the plant is fully treated.
Please be aware that if any plants surrounding the Mare’s Tale die from exposure due to the herbicide, we cannot be held liable for this.

Pricing is £200 + £40 vat per treatment. Payment is £160 deposit with £200 after each treatment.

 

They are part of BALI.
JHPS Gardens Ltd

Read the link and see what they say about the 10 year guarantee on all their work as they have quoted you 4 trips to eradicate the plant. If there is still regrowth after a period would they cover this or would they ask for more payments for treatments?
Reading it they will also clear the area so the price includes waste removal and work to leave the area tidy.
I’m hoping as they are a good company they hold stock of Kurtail which was removed this year but there is a 12 month cooling period where any purchased stock must be used. If they use this it’s proven to be very capable and you may just have caught your timing right.