FCUKIN HORSETAIL

ericsinjun

Howye.
I've had it up tp my eyes with horsetail. Has anyone got rid of it? Tried roundup, dock off, boiling water, bleach ffs!!!! Digging it out made it worse believe it or not.
I've googled and apparently its public enemy number one, around since before the fcekin dinosaurs!
Someone advise, please!

lottpaul

Nightmare, I agree. I've tried a mixture of roundup and a brushwood killer. Sometimes it seems to work better than others, but it does work - eventually.
I try to crush/bruise the stems beforehand by walking on them but some are inaccessible.
If anyone has a quick and reliable solution I'd love to hear it too.

waitingforBB

My front garden was infested with horsetail. Then it started to come up in the driveway (2 years after being laid). I found vinegar to be the most effective remedy on the driveway. But as for the garden, it was a war.
I moved house so cant give you the success story you want....The problem seems to be around drainage. It grows in badly drained areas.

greenart

What you need to do is bruise the plant by standing on it with your boot. Then apply roundup or similar systemic product to it concentrated using a paint brush and gloves of course. Succesive treatments may be nessecary to get rid of it. Eventully you will weaken it enough that it will die off completely.

wildgeordie

try diesel.
it will kill it off . but nothing will grow there for abt 6-8 months it worked for me .

Caoimhín

Horsetail has a waxy cuticle on it, basically a skin covering it. You need to break that down using either a chemical compound or as a poster said above, physically.
Diesel will do it but its not great for the soil, if you can find something along the lines of this; http://www.aerationsupply.com/catalog/pond-lake-care/aquatic-algaecides-herbicides/aquatic-liquid-herbicides/cide-kick-activator.html

Personally i found that if i hit the Horsetail once in the spring before the fronds unfurl as that is where the spores are (they are like bracken with spores rather than seeds) with a mix of Roundup and Garlon. I thit it again in the summer with the same mix.

ericsinjun

Thanks lads for the replies. I'll try out these methods before I get a blow torch!!!