Removing Ferns

Username John

Hello,
I recently reseeded (start June) and while the grass is coming up nicely, ferns are also coming up.
As the grass is still very young, would it be possible to spray - or would I be better off waiting until the grass is stronger? Am thinking I'll spray after I graze it in August. Is this a good idea, or should ferns be sprayed ASAP before they get too strong?
Thoughts?

Also - any recommendations on what to spray & what it should cost?
Thanks,

mooverlive

i would recomend to spray asap you get a better kill when weeds are young . undersown would b a good spray

snowman707

Unless they are very dense I wouldn't be in favour of spraying,

Tight grazing along with topping should control them, however be careful of fern poisoning, usually a problem with bought in stock more so than home bred animals, & most dangerous in periods of drought. (looking out the the window just now don't think you need worry about the latter)

on a side note if cutting or mowing any mature ferns between mid july to late august always wear a good quality face mask. the spore of the fern contain toxins linked to causing certain kinds of cancer, & are most dangerous at this time of year.

scaniaman

They can cause redwater get rid asap. If the clover is at two leaf stage you can give it the undersown spray.Dunno if it kills ferns tho

snowman707

scaniaman wrote: »

They can cause redwater get rid asap. If the clover is at two leaf stage you can give it the undersown spray.Dunno if it kills ferns tho

ferns do not cause red water, it is caused by a tick.

fern poisoning causes inward bleeding of a different type, blood in the dung, nasal bleeding & blood droplets in the eyes, the animal will haemorrhage even where you inject them.

like red water if the animal is home bred it is usually immune

JohnThomas09

i know this thread has been open for sometime now but i was just wondering does anyone know what is the best way to get rid of ferns that are growing ten years or more?

there over 4ft tall and I have about 5 acres of them.i was thinking of running the tractor mower on them?

would this have any effect or would they grow back as quick.

Username John

Not sure if it helps, but when I made some more inquiries about this, I was told Asulox is the spray to get to kill ferns. This needs to be sprayed in late July / early August though.

I saw on another thread here that dragging an old gate or similiar over them around this time as well kills them, but again - needs to be done 3rd week July.
I guess we tried something similar before, where we dragged the transport box over them. Not sure what time of year we did it, although I think we did it a few times, and fair enough not as many grew back the following year. However - I wouldn't say it fixed the problem entirely.

I still have a good few of them as well, and am planning on attacking them with a mower as well. I expect it wont kill em entirely, but hopefully it should push em back a bit.

who the fug

JohnThomas09 wrote: »

i know this thread has been open for sometime now but i was just wondering does anyone know what is the best way to get rid of ferns that are growing ten years or more?

there over 4ft tall and I have about 5 acres of them.i was thinking of running the tractor mower on them?

would this have any effect or would they grow back as quick.

Spray them, it is the only way , we cleared about 10 acres 20 years ago and they never came back

JohnThomas09

who the fug wrote: »

Spray them, it is the only way , we cleared about 10 acres 20 years ago and they never came back

good news.what type of stuff did you use and was it hard to get rid of them?

who the fug

JohnThomas09 wrote: »

good news.what type of stuff did you use and was it hard to get rid of them?

Can't remember as it was over 20 years ago, will be seeing the old fella at weekend and will ask him.

JohnThomas09

who the fug wrote: »

Can't remember as it was over 20 years ago, will be seeing the old fella at weekend and will ask him.

Thanks for that,the reason I ask is a lot of people reckon there is no way of ridding yourself of ferns pernamently.I look forward to hearing from you.

johngalway

Asulox will knock the snot out of them, but read the directions carefully, sometime in July or August is the proper time to be after them, I can't remember exactly when I'm afraid.

I've also heard that rolling them, which causes the stems to break will damage them quite a lot. My ground doesn't allow this so I can't tell you first hand how effective it is.

I'd go for spraying. I sprayed a large enough stand of them last year with a backpack sprayer and it killed 95% of them. Didn't get an oppertunity to spray this year with the weather and when we had a good day I was at something else, next year I'll clear up the remainder.

These had been growing for years & years by the way.

who the fug

JohnThomas09 wrote: »

Thanks for that,the reason I ask is a lot of people reckon there is no way of ridding yourself of ferns pernamently.I look forward to hearing from you.

You can get rid of them

We did it late July early August 1984 and when we sold the farm in 1995 they had not come back.

JohnThomas09

who the fug wrote: »

You can get rid of them

We did it late July early August 1984 and when we sold the farm in 1995 they had not come back.

thats great news,im very keen to be rid of them.I wonder what causes them in the first place becasue they spread like wildfire around our place.

IrishLad2012

Sorry for opening an old thread but saves starting a new one.Does anyone know if Asuolux is harmful to sheep,would it be advisable to remove sheep from the area you spray?

johngalway

IrishLad2012 wrote: »

Sorry for opening an old thread but saves starting a new one.Does anyone know if Asuolux is harmful to sheep,would it be advisable to remove sheep from the area you spray?

"DO NOT cut the bracken or admit livestock for at least 14 days after spraying and preferably leave it undisturbed until late autumn. This is to allow adequate translocation of ASULOX within the bracken plant"

http://www.dhm.ie/products/herb/Asulam%20%28Eire%29%20v1%20Nov%2006.pdf

IrishLad2012

I'm a bit behind on my weed control knowledge
Just seen in a different thread that Asulox has been banned since December 2011.Does anyone know is Grazon 90 any good for killing ferns?or is there anything else that can be used to knock the snot out of them?

Bodacious

IrishLad2012 wrote: »

I'm a bit behind on my weed control knowledge
Just seen in a different thread that Asulox has been banned since December 2011.Does anyone know is Grazon 90 any good for killing ferns?or is there anything else that can be used to knock the snot out of them?

After alot of searching i bought asulox in mayo on Saturday if anyone wants to know location PM me

johngalway

That's a UK ban is it not?

Glyphosate is also supposed to be good. Though given it's nature I would rather use it out of a weed licker/wiper than spray.

Bodacious

johngalway wrote: »

That's a UK ban is it not?

Glyphosate is also supposed to be good. Though given it's nature I would rather use it out of a weed licker/wiper than spray.

Hi John,

EU ban, I'm told not sure how to post links but see below. I'm going to try roundup biactive too as interested to find out does it get the same kill as Asulox as it would be cheaper also as all spot spraying for me and asulox does also kill the surrounding grass at 100;1 ...

As a result, all EU members states must withdraw the registration of any products containing Asulam by the end of this year, and stocks of the herbicide must be used by the end of 2012. Thereafter countries will have to demonstrate that they need an emergency derogation to continue to allow its use. United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL) in Europe, who produce the herbicide under the product name ‘Asulox’, are hoping they can get Asulam readmitted to the approved list. However, due the amount of bureaucracy involved, that won’t happen until 2016 at the earliest.

Caffrey78

Does DMCHA work it's magic on Ferns in much the same way it works against rushes?

johngalway

Bodacious wrote: »

Hi John,

EU ban, I'm told not sure how to post links but see below. I'm going to try roundup biactive too as interested to find out does it get the same kill as Asulox as it would be cheaper also as all spot spraying for me and asulox does also kill the surrounding grass at 100;1 ...

As a result, all EU members states must withdraw the registration of any products containing Asulam by the end of this year, and stocks of the herbicide must be used by the end of 2012. Thereafter countries will have to demonstrate that they need an emergency derogation to continue to allow its use. United Phosphorus Ltd (UPL) in Europe, who produce the herbicide under the product name ‘Asulox’, are hoping they can get Asulam readmitted to the approved list. However, due the amount of bureaucracy involved, that won’t happen until 2016 at the earliest.

I've a patch of bracken left in a corner of the farm. I'll be trying rosate 36 on it to see how it goes. Bracken I previously sprayed off with Asulox has made a tiny reappearance. Though, after digging my veg garden this year and seeing first hand the bracken root structure I cannot say that I am surprised. It has a heavy duty mat of criss crossing roots.

bettyswollocks

Hi,

I sprayed a few acres of bracken some years back with Asulox, using a backpack sprayer. Make sure you add a sticking agent to the mixture. The main problem is remembering where you have/have not sprayed. Best to spray the bracken when its starting to die back, end of August, and obviously when its a dry day. I went ballistic with the spraying and managed to eradicate most of it. A very hard plant to get rid of, as the root system spreads underground. It cant be burned, but repeated years of cutting or drag an old frame mattress over it.

IrishLad2012

bettyswollocks wrote: »

Best to spray the bracken when its starting to die back, end of August, and obviously when its a dry day.

a lot of people seem to think now(july-start of august is the best time).have you ever used Grazon 90 for weed control?

johngalway

I think the instructions on the container advise against spraying when bracken is dying, may be corrected on that but I did read it somewhere. You want the chemical to get down into the roots.

Qualitymark

Non-farmer here: I've read that fern pollen is a deadly carcinogenic. How many people here use masks and overalls and shower immediately after dealing with ferns?

Bodacious

Qualitymark wrote: »

Non-farmer here: I've read that fern pollen is a deadly carcinogenic. How many people here use masks and overalls and shower immediately after dealing with ferns?

That makes me shiver ... We have had a fern problem for years and my grandad and I cut them with a scythe every Summer without fail... Me rolling around in them as a young lad with the dogs, used to rake them together and burn them... He believed that if you cut them 3 years in a row you"ll kill them... Not a chance only keeping them at bay... I can't wait to get rid of them horrible things, we built a shed and dug up an area with ferns in and my god is there some root structure in them... Chemical warfare only to kill that root system

Qualitymark

This smallholder found a good fern solution

http://www.smallholder.co.uk/news/2331682.0/

Bodacious

was going over land i spot sprayed last year and its a pleasure eradicating the odd little green fella that survived and to see grass where once was a mass of ferns

however up on unsprayed ground on higher hillocks that i didnt get to last year the wind/bad weather seems to have killed them off quiet a bit for this year, they too brown for my liking..i gave them a good wetting but would say ill see them in 2013:D

I was using a 40m hose on 95ltr quad sprayer @ 1 litre of asulox in the mix

pms7

I have them in reseeded field. Spray sales guy said Asulox, but, illegal to sell with few weeks now, and must wait for following year to spray. No other spray will kill it.

Bodacious

pms7 wrote: »

I have them in reseeded field. Spray sales guy said Asulox, but, illegal to sell with few weeks now, and must wait for following year to spray. No other spray will kill it.

It can still be got... Would roundup biactive in a licker do the trick for you? Despite what anyone tells you Asulox when spot spraying kills the adjacent grass plants in my experience at recommended mix/application rate so you could sacrifice a bit of grass even spot spraying if you don't have a licker

Qualitymark

I thought Asulox was banned now?

Bodacious

Qualitymark wrote: »

I thought Asulox was banned now?

Few places still got it ... Pm me if you want some and Need to know exactly Galway/mayo

Qualitymark

Ah, thanks, Bodacious, but I don't like the idea of using a banned herbicide.

Jimmy10

Bodacious wrote: »

After alot of searching i bought asulox in mayo on Saturday if anyone wants to know location PM me

interested.to.know.as.i.have.6.acres.of.old.ferns

charlie14

Qualitymark wrote: »

Non-farmer here: I've read that fern pollen is a deadly carcinogenic. How many people here use masks and overalls and shower immediately after dealing with ferns?

Very true, and especially so late July/early August which is the optimim time to kill off fern

.A lot of walkers no longer hill walk in these months for that reason.

Masks, overalls and shower immediately is really essential.

sucklerlover

I sprayed a good lot of ditches this year with Grazon. While it done a great job on the briars a noticed the ferns grew mad. Is there anything that cud be done at this stage. Anyone notice the same.
Tia

Farrell

sucklerlover wrote: »

I sprayed a good lot of ditches this year with Grazon. While it done a great job on the briars a noticed the ferns grew mad. Is there anything that cud be done at this stage. Anyone notice the same.
Tia

FIL sprayed under the with roundup last year, nettles, ferns, briars.
Fields not done are overgrown with ferns.
Is it too late to spray now?