can not believe this!! - Horsetail, help!!

whilst trying to prepare and clear the front garden ready to turf & pave
I have just come across about 5 shoots of horsetail!

I know of no-way to kill this nightmare and I just had a gut feeling something like this would crop up!

I have seen one product that claims to kill it, called Kurtail, (used to be called Kibosh)


as I need to dig up/rake/ plant in this garden , what can I do?

as it stands I'll use whatever chemicals are needed as I likely wont be re-planting/having a lawn for the next year.

thanks in advance!

 

No idea, but I do wish you luck with it....................

 

The topic of Horsetail comes up from time to time. It seems the general consensus is that the only form of control is to keep it cut down or dig it up as you see it. It might be worth trying 'Kurtail', something I haven't heard of, but I suspect it won't have much effect, although repeated applications might have some effect. I have Horsetail in my garden, just something I have come to accept, so if you try using 'Kurtail', I'd be interested to know if it helped.

Cheers...Freddy

 

I was reccomended 'Kurtail' by the curator at ness gardens but havent tried it the price gave me a fright

 

I've read that Kurtail only "kills" it for this season, and it will come back next. I also read it is being withdrawn (but I may have got that wrong). I believe it is a chemical only available for application by trained operators?? - you can get it on eBay of course, but I always think that chemicals restricted in that way should only be applied if you have all the right breathing apparatus / face protectors etc ... otherwise they would be licensed for Amateur use - so do please think-twice before having a go.

I use Ammonium sulphamate (compost accelerator from Dax). Seems to work better, for me, than Glyphosate.

I don't think it will be a problem in the lawn, repeated mowing will kill it. But it will spring up in flower beds, and if you have it then it will be in the vicinity, so it will come back, whatever you do.

It doesn't like fertile soils much, so well manured ground is not its favourite. Although very hard to eradicate it doesn't grow strongly like bindweed or ground elder, so is fairly easily controlled.

Also "never let it see a Sunday" will help keep it under control. e.g. by hoeing regularly.

 

Hi everyone, about to buy the kurtail Today.

the Horsetail is spreading pretty quickly, at the moment I am pulling them up as I see them
I've pulled around 3 a day so far, so its most certainly spreading.

knowing now how much of a nightmare it is, my plan is long-term and as follows:

Give the kurtail a go...and re-apply for any new growth for 3 months
as the kurtail will kill anything it goes on, I'll use it to wipe the garden out.
and most likely cover the garden with a black plastic until I am ready to make a start with a lawn.

I'll now likely continue the lawn from edge to edge, giving me an ability to mow 90% of the area.

I obviously have no idea how well I'll get on with it but we shall see. I'll post back with any updates.

Thanks guys!

 

Make sure you take especial care with application. There is presumably good reason why a) it is being banned and b) is only "available" to trained operators.

 

is there any info about the upcoming ban? I haven't heard anything on that
would be good to know why.

will of course be very careful though , just hope it does what it says on the tin.

 

Sorry I may have got that wrong. a) I cannot find anything and b) I did find an article, which I do remember reading, that talks about some other chemicals, favoured by contractors, which ARE being banned and discusses Kurtail in the same paragraph, and it may have been that article that I mis-read as being a ban on Kurtail.

Hopefully this site WOULD be up to date if there were a pending Ban, and thus I think the product is indeed currently licensed.

https://secure.pesticides.gov.uk/pe...sp?productid=24196&pageno=1&origin=prodsearch

Its up to you what personal risk you choose to take, of course, but no way is "care" sufficient. You need Nitrile gloves, face-splash protection, disposable tyvex overalls, rubber boots, etc. It would be prudent to also wear breathing equipment/filter, but I don't know if professionals deem that necessary. The Hazard label on the product says there is severe risk to eyes, and the ingestion instructions for medical staff say there is no antidote, and that there is hazard from inhalation (hence I think that using a respiratory filter would be prudent)

My understanding is that Kurtail's active ingredient is glufosinate ammonium. It acts by inhibiting the activity of the enzyme glutamine synthetase, which is responsible for the production of the glutamine and for getting rid of ammonia (well, detoxifying it). The effect of this is to prevent photosynthesis which kills the plant (although I am unclear, with Kurtail, whether it kills the tops, such that the roots regenerate next year, or whether it actually kills the roots - as Roundup / Glyphosate would do). I digress. The problem with glufosinate, as a chemical, is that it works the same way in animals, hence it is just as dangerous to you as it is to the plants ... whereas Glyphosate (for example) has very low toxicity to animals, but is highly selective for a specific function in the roots of plants, and thus (relatively speaking) is very safe for humans to apply.

I have no personal experience of the use of Kurtail, but I have read in more than one place on the internet that it only "desiccates" the top growth, so doesn't actually kill the plant. Ammonium sulphamate will happily do that, and possibly kill it too, and I doubt there are any significant health risks associated with that - its a simple chemical which breaks down to Ammonium sulphate, a standard nitrogen fertiliser. Whilst I can find photos before/after treatment with Kurtail, showing dead looking Horsetail, I have not seen forum discussions where the person came back the following year to say "Its all gone and hasn't come back".

 

If you "drown" them with water for a week or two they are then safe to put on the compost heap - or I reckon you could just use it as a "tea" in your normal watering as, given how deep they root, I reckon they will be pulling up some useful micro nutrients/elements. Possibly the silica in them would suit Bamboo? I've not researched that though.

 

some food for thought there!
whilst I do have all the necassary protective equipment due to involvement carpentry and building trade that is pretty scary stuff.

most likely that is the case, you're right!

thats the method I have been using at the moment, however I've been at it everyday.
but thats thanks to the weather!

 

Fair enough Oft recommended for any pernicious weeds as a means of both safe disposal and recycling the goodness they contain ... Bindweed, Ground Elder, ...

Seeds would probably survive though (doesn't apply to Horsetail at this time of year)