Weed killer and cats!

[bananaskinsnomnom]

To start on the right foot, I am a pretty useless and rather clueless gardener!

My garden is gravel (was when I moved in so not my doing) but it wasn’t done particularly well. Around the edge in the soil are a few weeds and prickly things which I am trying to dig out, and ultimately need to kill off. I also have an area of gravel where grass is coming up (hence my “not done well” comment!)

Trouble is, there’s a few cats from around the area that play in my garden! I only know where one comes from! I need to put down quite a lot of weed killer but don’t want to be responsible for the death of a beloved family pet!

Any advice on how to tackle this safely or am I worrying for nothing?

Oh yes boiling water will work, didn't think of that!

Grass is only a weed if it's growing where you don't want it, the same as every other plant. A field of potatoes is a crop, the following year the volunteer potato is a weed.

Boiing water also kills all flora and fauna that it comes into contact with, again not particularly environmentally friendly.

I might make an exception for 'boiing' water - it sounds fun

It's a damn sight more environmentally friendly than stinking weed killers.

Yep it sure is!

Just pour boiling water on the weeds and dig them out after a few days.

I can’t understand anyone using weedkiller. Spray poison in your garden.... why would anyone do that ?
I have a garden with loads of flowers, and wild areas with weeds, I also have loads of wildlife.
Pull up things you don’t like, or scorch them. Or embrace a few weeds.

I do use glyphosphate as I find it a good control measures. I don't blanket areas in it but use it selectively. I think any dangers to the environment from this product are large scale highly atomised commercial sprayers for area clearance. Boiling water is effectual in most cases as is mechanical removal as the root remains in place and unaffected. It's also one of the only effective treatments for Japanese knot weed, usually on a 5 year plan. Like most products they have their place in the toolkit.

I don't think that you can call anything that affects the whole lifecycle as just 'part of a toolkit' If it is anti insect then it also affects the birds\toads and other beneficial insects that eat them, and so it goes on to affect everything. As do slug pellets. The nematodes are the modern way of selectively controlling bugs.

I know that my garden used to be sprayed relentlessly it has taken a long time of gardening organically for the worms to appear and (strangely) for the snails and slugs to almost disappear many more birds are back too.

I also eat organically because I don't want my body to be affected by the spraying that is used far too much IMO. (the difference between the heavily treated Spanish in the produce and organic is incredible).

Glyphosate can be 'part of the toolkit' if used appropriately in specific circumstances- people who manage nature reserves will use it against invasive alien species eg injected into the stems of Japanese knotweed or sprayed carefully onto giant hogweed. In such cases its the lesser of two evils.

In a gravelly bit of garden, not so much, there are other methods. (I still like my light-exclusion suggestion the best.)

No I disagree Errol There are new ways to control plant growth now as I mentioned, nematodes. The panic about JK is unnecesary anyway, on GQT they were saying it has been tested and it's roots are no worse than any other. Are you saying that if used selectively it won't affect wildlife? Have you told the wildlife?

Everything seeds happily in gravel, I have allowed the grass to grow in mine and it looks nice with daisies etc.. OP another option is to learn to love your 'weeds' let them cover all of the gravel (or even throw some grass seed on it) they sell good shade loving grass seed now ! Then mow it once every 2 weeks job done!!

You don't need weed killer.

I think there is a place for it for the likes of giant hogweed, knotweed etc but I don't think it should be available to the general public for general garden use.

There is no good reason why in a typical garden weeds can't be pulled by hand, it's just sheer laziness.

OP, pull out the grass and weeds; use a trowel to dislodge so you can hopefully get the whole root.

Trailing campanula grows well in gravel I find and it's hardy and spreads and flowers for a long time.
Needs no care or pruning either.
I'd put some of that in the weeds place.

I don't think it should be available ....for general garden use I do agree but they shouldn't be used at all, there are other ways. I go to a garden centre where they sell lovely bird seeds for garden birds and also stinking non organic weed'fungal control stuff.

I get so annoyed, I feel like taking it all off their shelves!! Leaving it on the floor I know it's silly but here in Fr. they've stopped spraying the verges and the wild flowers and a lot of birds are back ,it's so beautiful.

I really don't support banning the use of materials. It seems that we have to restrict the use of may material that could be dangerous in order to obviate personal responsibility. OK rant over! I use glyphosphate in a responsible way. I've got a couple of problem area of paving and physical removal just doest work so I spot treat usually once a year.

You've told the wildlife that you're using it responsibly have you? Try other ways, attempt to save the world. A bit of paving fgs

. Oh and your own health could be at risk

Glyphosphate health scares have been around for a while. They are unproven but relate to regular agricultural exposures. spot treating some weeds is hardly any environmental disater

It's so unnecesary though. I remember the presenters of Gardeners Question time saying how important it is that we gardeners in towns DON'T use MONxxxto type weed killers because the bees etc. need a break from the terrible agricultural usage.

Ok this is a quote from the great Geoff Hamilton :-

PESTICIDES WILL KILL ALMOST ALL THE CREATURES WHO DINE OFF YOUR PLANTS, BUT THEY WILL ALSO KILL OFF ALL THOSE THAT DON'T.....LADYBIRDS, BEES, BUTTERFLIES AND A HOST OF OTHERS WHICH NOT ONLY ADD TO THE BEAUTY OF YOUR GARDEN BUT WILL EFFICIENTLY DO THE JOB OF PEST CONTROL WITHOUT RECOURSE TO THE CHEMICAL BOTTLE.

TAKE OUT A SPRAYER AND WITH ONE SQUIRT OF CHEMICAL SPRAY YOU CAN KILL MILLIONS OF YOUR FRIENDS. DO IT REGULARLY AND YOU WILL COMMIT GENOCIDE ON THEM ALL - AND YOUR GARDEN WILL BEGIN TO DECLINE. GRADUALLY YOU WILL LOSE YOUR ALLIES AND THE GARDEN WILL BE OCCUPIED BY YOUR ENEMIES - SO YOU'LL HAVE TO STEP UP YOUR ASSAULT WHICH WILL MAKE MATTERS WORSE.

This still stands and is from a book called Geoff Hamilton The Complete Gardener by Tony Hamilton. it will help you to go organic.

Pesticides are different to herbicides. I don't use pesticides though I have had to remove plants that had been significantly damaged. I'm cautious of pesticides in general because of the wider unintentional impacts that seem inevitable with their use.

Don't use them at all. Geoff Hamilton didn't use ANY and had a wonderful garden.

Why do you use them? is it the adverts? You do realise that they don't tell the truth.

As I said earlier, when it comes to I certain, extremely difficult to eradicate plants they can, imo, have a place but for most people, utterly unnecessary.

I also have a gorgeous garden absolutely heaving with wildlife and I use absolutely nothing.
Not even soapy water or garlic spray.

In the early days, slugs and aphids would kill just about everything I planted.

Now, a few years down the line I have plants loved by slugs with little damage, a few chewed leaves but no massive damage.
Lots of plants have visible aphid colonies with the accompanying ants, but no visible damage and I think it is because the diversity of plants coupled with no interference has meant the garden has reached a natural balance where predators are keeping 'pests' in check.

Yes me too. In fact I have hardly any slug and snails now, than we moved here, , because we encourage hedgehogs and have 2 ponds for the frogs etc.

I also have never used herbicides or fungicides etc. etc. they are stupidly expensive and use a load of plastic too. My garden doesn't look like a Chelsea one ( though I noticed there were plenty of wild flowers there ) But I love the world and want it to get better. Not worse.