Weed removal

[y_p_w]

I've been putting it off, but it's getting pretty nasty. Paid for someone to do it last year after kind of ignoring it for years until I got a notice to fix it. That cost a bit of money but at least it didn't grow back that quickly. I can't seem to just obliterate most of the weeds/grasses, but I'm thinking trimming it down to a couple of inches is considered acceptable. I probably wouldn't want it completely gone as the roots are preventing erosion. Now I'll probably end up raking up all that debris next weekend, as I'm feeling pretty sore right now - even using power tools.

So I tried borrowing (from my parents) an old B+D line trimmer that was doing a pretty good job until I think the belt broke. Ended up getting a cheap one at Harbor Freight, but I'll try to fix theirs if practical. Before I borrowed the trimmer, I was trying to pull them by hand on my brick patio, but that wasn't that efficient, although I could typically pull them out including the roots. In years past I just sprayed RoundUp and called it a day.

So what's the procedure around where other BITOG'ers live? Around here there might be a letter from the fire dept and then maybe a followup visit by a fire marshal. It might take a "concerned neighbor" complaining.

 

[Warstud]

I use Salt from my water softener and boil and dissolve.... Let cool put in my sprayer spray weeds in my driveway as sidewalk

 

[PimTac]

I use this. It works best with a tank sprayer. Works well in a rocky transition area I have where seeds collect.

Ortho Groundclear Year Long Vegetation Killer1 | Ortho

Ortho GroundClear Year Long Vegetation Killer1 is formulated to kill weeds and grasses and prevent new growth for up to 1 year. To use this concentrate, simply

ortho.com

 

[dadto2]

Try white vinegar?

 

[y_p_w]

If I didn't make it clear - I have to eventually remove the dead vegetation since it's considered a fire risk. Just killing it won't do. And what I have a good size patch of weeds/grasses/etc., including some thistle, blackberry, and various wild grasses. If I were to guess, it's over 1000 square feet of coverage, although it looks like it's not that much.

The worry is that it provides a lot of fuel in case of a fire. And my patio had a lot of fairly thin grass, but really dry since there's no hiding from the sun there. It would have likely just gone poof. But then it wasn't really that much.

The big pain I have is that there are these weeds with lots of burred seed pods. Not sure exactly what it is, but my jeans were covered with them and it was a huge pain getting them off my shoes. Along with a thorn that was buried in my finger like a splinter. It started feeling really bad last night and I scraped it out with a bit of broken skin.

 

[PimTac]

Anything you spray whether it’s a weed killer or vinegar is going to kill the vegetation and leave you with a dry hazard.

 

[wpod]

Glyphosate.

 

[cptbarkey]

Map gas blowtorch

 

[y_p_w]

I was talking to a neighbor about my weeds, and apparently the big thing is the height. Tall, dead/dry grass is apparently much faster at spreading fire than clippings or dry grass cut fairly short. I heard of it referred to as "ladder fuel" where any potential fire would be closer to tree canopies and would creates taller flames.

Cut annual grasses and weeds - Fire Safe Marin

Home Evaluation Tip Cut dry grasses and weeds within 100' of structures with a weed eater or mower, to a height of 4" or less. Cut grass in the morning, when temperatures are cool, and be careful not to create sparks. Never cut grasses during a Red Flag Warning. Rake and remove grass clippings...

firesafemarin.org

Why cut grasses and weeds down to 4”?​

Dry grass is easily ignited by embers. Grass fires spread rapidly and ignite other vegetation or combustibles. Cut grass will have a shorter flame length and generate minimal heat.​

I'm going to remove it, but right now I'm just wasted from trimming what was there and I'm going to clean up the clippings on the weekend.