Bindweed

[Itsallpointless]

Anyone have any foolproof method of eradicating this PITA weed??

If only my tomatoes grew as well as this

We had to repetitively rip it up at the roots to weaken it as I chose not to spray weed killer due to a toddler, cat and dog using the garden. This has actually worked and it gave up in the end.
Shame it’s so invasive as the flowers are actually quite nice!

You just have to wait till you're in a really bad mood then go to town on it - only thing I've found that works

Ah but is there anything more satisfying than pulling a really long root out of the ground...

I have it encroaching under the fence from my neighbour-grrrr.
Like others I am continually vigilant and pull it out. In the Autumn
, before it disappears underground, I have a good dig at the roots.

I found this much easier to get rid of than creeping buttercup, for example.

Have a really good pull at it all and then Just keep Pulling out new shoots as you see them.

Gone from my border after one summer’s campaign.

The ONLY way to get rid of it is to pluck it as soon as it pops it's head up, eventually it will go.
i got rid of all the bindweed from an 100ft garden over a period of a few years despite the neighbours letting all theirs grow luch both sides of my garden.
You have to be persistent over a few years, no sunlight on the leaves will eventually kill the roots. Weedkiller can't reach all of the roots as they are so widespread under the earth.
I've moved to the west country and there is no bindweed here, I'm overjoyed.

Plant lots of ground elder. Bindweed problems will pale into insignificance in comparison!

(Seriously - does anyone have any tips for removing ground elder??)

What worked for me was carefully unwinding as much as possible and gathering as much as possible together without breaking it. Wrapping it in kitchen roll and putting it inside a carrier bag, then soaking the kitchen roll with weed killer. Then making sure I kept the kitchen roll wet with weed killer until it was all dead. This meant the weedkiller got right back to the roots. I repeated this with any new shoots. This worked but it kept growing through from next door but repeated treatments like this meant after a couple of years it had disappeared next door too.

I had a mild bindweed infestation in my garden, I got rid of it successfully. I dug out what I could, as deep as possible to get right down to the roots. I repeated this for a few months every time the cunting stuff poked it's unwelcome head out. The stuff goes down DEEP, so get a spade and try to go down at least 12 inches, probably more.

Eventually all that was left was bits too close to established plants for me to dig it out, or coming out from underneath a lump of concrete fence post. I got rid of this with roundup stump killer. I waited till it was a few inches tall, put on a disposable glove and massaged the stuff into the leaves and stem of the plant, neat.

That got rid of it. I'm not a fan of weedkillers but I think it does have it's place in the garden, used sparingly.

I am having to do what Khione is doing because mine is growing through a bush that I cannot dig around. Everywhere else I just try to pull it up but sometimes you just have to resort to weedkiller.

Recommended way is to let it climb up a cane, then apply a systemic weedkiller to the piece climbing the cane. The plant will transport the weedkiller to all other bits of it.

I successfully eradicated ground elder by digging our all the roots, then pulling our any bits that came through as soon as I saw them. Took about 3 years.

I spray bindweed and ground elder. They are the only things I use weed killer on. I have eradicated ground elder from a border by digging it out in the past, it is possible, but my back and my stamina are not what they were.

I have just been out treating an area infested by field bindweed. I found myself chanting “DIE DIE DIE” as I did it. I don’t know what came over me 😅

@VenusClapTrap 'die die die' made me giggle

Thanks for all your replies, I hope it doesn't take forever to get rid of as I want to put something in its place!

I'll get the weed killer out, any particular recommendations?

I use Roundup, but anything containing glyphosate will do the job.

My dh is a landscaper...he says roundup is rubbish...i will ask him what one he recommends.

I found myself chanting “DIE DIE DIE” as I did it.

You should try balsam bashing... pull out or hack at it with an implement sort of like a flattened cutlass and then stamp hard on it, with optional cries of 'die, alien scum'.

I'm not nearly as thorough with bindweed. Sometimes in the back border I give up on it if it's just on the dogwoods and rebrand it as white Morning Glories (I'm so envious of places abroad where they have those blues rampant in their hedgerows!)

Glyphosate (Roundup) is banned in France in public spaces and private gardens and soon to be banned for agricultural use as well.

I have been reading about homemade weed killer, which is white vinegar/salt and washing up liquid? I think they're the ingredients. Has anyone used this successfully?

@Catabogus I read an article suggesting geraniums will poison ground elder. I don't know if it will work, but I'm trying it.

I’m interested in the natural weed killer. Also why does bindweed enrage us so much? I’m prone to swearing at it when I remove it too.

Home made stuff will probably kill the foliage but not poison the rhyzomes.

You want some concentrated glysophate, applied neat. Don't use regular strength, diluted stuff!

I have planted crainsbill Geraniums in a patch where ground Elder is coming through from neighbours ( other side from bindweed neighbour) It has stopped the spread, although bits still come under the hedge, but they are easily dealt with.
The geranium doesn’t mind the dry shadow of the leyllandi. I’ve also planted bluebells, daffs and crocus that come up in the spring. It all seems to smother the Ground Elder.

why does bindweed enrage us so much? I’m prone to swearing at it when I remove it too

I think it’s the audaciousness of it. One minute there’s nothing there, then suddenly it’s spiralled halfway up the stem of something, throttling it while jeering ha ha look at me.

Dh says salt will kill most things....i quite enjoy pulling up bindweed though....i have got loads of ground elder...ive given up trying to get rid of it.

I have all 3 of the baddies mentioned on this thread! My garden was horribly neglected by its previous owner. The bind weed I did manage to get rid of last year by allowing it to grow up canes and then spraying single leaves, however it has come back this year just in a different place. The buttercups are everywhere, all down one side of the lawn.
They are apparently invincible

I bloody hate weeding.