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  Discussion on Keeping weed down along fence
Author Message
Member:
heidim

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009 - 6:00 pm:

Wondering if anyone has a good way to keep the weeds from growing up under fences. We have about twelve hilly acres fenced into four pastures with electric and woven wire. It's hard to keep the weeds and rogue bushes down all summer, especially when it gets hot. I've considered whacking and then spraying with something but we have outdoor cats that come and go and a dog that sniffs everywhere. I don't want them to get poisoned. I'd love to do something this winter if possible while the leaves are off and the plants dormant. Open to any suggestions.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 11, 2009 - 6:47 pm:

The decision of what to use might depend on whether you are trying to control monocots (grasses) or dicots (leafy plants). But in either case I am not much on pre-emergent herbicides so contacting your local landscaper or possibly extension service might be more helpful.

But once the plants start to come up glyphosate (the active ingredient in RoundUp) would be considered safe by reasonable folk at the amounts a dog or cat are likely to consume from sprayed plants. Yes I know there are lots of sites out there exclaiming how dangerous this product is and they lost a case in France over advertising claims of safe as salt (which is really quite toxic when consumed in excess). However the points of view of these sites and quite frankly many of the governments is any risk posed by a man-made chemical is not acceptable without any consideration of the benefit created by this risk. For instance I consider the risk posed to you of navigating hilly country with a weed eater far more dangerous to your health than the possible consumption by your dogs, cats, or horses.

A more responsible look at the risk posed by its use in a 2000 review of the toxicological data on Roundup concluded:
"...for terrestrial uses of Roundup minimal acute and chronic risk was predicted for potentially exposed non target organisms".; JP Giesy, KR Solomon, S Dobson 2000). "Ecotoxicological Risk Assessment for Roundup Herbicide". Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 167: 35-120
DrO
Member:
heidim

Posted on Friday, Nov 13, 2009 - 4:36 pm:

Thanks, Dr. O. Lots of people around our area use Roundup, but I wasn't sure how toxic it is to animals. We'll look into that for next spring. We have an ATV and trailer, and they would help to make the job easier.
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Saturday, Nov 14, 2009 - 10:20 am:

One experience that I have had with Round Up is that when some weeds are sprayed with it and they begin to wilt, in some circumstances they may suddenly become quite palatable to the horses who previously would not have eaten those weeds. And this was the case in spite of plenty of available hay.

That said, I've never observed illness after using round up along fence lines, though I imagine like everything else, some individuals may be more sensitive than others.
Member:
mrose

Posted on Saturday, Nov 14, 2009 - 11:04 am:

I don't know what kind of weeds you have, but with some of our thistles and in particular the Jimson weed, the Round-up does better if you cut back the leaves, then shoot the Round-up right down into the center of the weed. Otherwise, the leaves die off but the plant isn't killed and will come back. We have tough weeds out here in the West!
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