Hi everyone, I’ve got what looks like horsetail in front of my fence. A few weeks ago I pulled as much as I could up by the root and strimmed the rest as a temporary measure. I initially thought it was coming under the fence at the time because my lawn was unruly.
However it looks like the weeds are coming through where the tarmac has degraded. I don’t really want to put weed killer down since it’s a public footpath where children play and cats roam.
Any suggestions to keep these away long term? Thank you!
P.S. I know my fence needs treating 🙈
Evo_ukcar
Burn them. Seriously.
Hey_nice_marmot_
You don’t. They will outlive the fence.
togtogtog
Horsetails have a thick, silicone layer on them, which prevents them from absorbing weedkiller.
They have long, stretchy roots, which go down a very long way (including under any fences) which can store food.
In circumstances like this, you can either:
Keep going out very regularly through the growing season and remove them. That way, they don’t have the green part, which is the food creating part of the plant and will weaken gradually over years. HOWEVER, it depends on what is on the other side of the fence. If it isn’t yours, and there are horsetails there, then they will share a root system, and the horsetails on the other side of the fence will keep on feeding the roots of your horsetails and keep them going.
OR
Stomp on them to break down the silicon layer and then spray them with systemic weedkiller. HOWEVER it really doesn’t work well on horsetails, and also, as before, any horsetails on the other side of the fence will just stretch out their roots and grow back.
We’ve regularly dug ours up as much as possible over the last 20 years and we still have them. We just really keep on top of them, so they don’t take over.
Burning them will just burn the top bit, but the roots will still be there and they will just come back.
So it’s controlling them to manageable proportions that is the best you can hope to achieve.
Bicolore
WD40.
Spray it on and it’ll all be dead in 48hrs and won’t come back.
I would only recommend this solution in situations like this where your tarmac already contains oils and other contaminants so a little wd40 will not make a difference either way.
Do not do this anywhere that you might want to grow anything.
AffectionateSnow6026
Glysophate will get them. Spray it on while there’s green growth and no rain for 3 days…. England need not apply😀
Secure-Grapefruit-51
I use Vitax SBK Brushwood weed killer and honestly it works super well. I initially used to stomp on them but realised it kills it even without doing that.
I have been treating the front yard all summer and even the neighbour’s horsetail forest and so far it must have weakened it because new shoots started decreasing in frequency. I guess I’ll find out next year but I already know I might have won the battle but not yet the way, and will need to treat it for a few years.
Pretty_Stage_6924
I reckon a flame thrower would do the job 👍🏼
Rogue3953
Weed killer is the traditional go to?
thepoout
Kettle of boiling water
AffectionateSnow6026
Oh I didnt know that…that’s that then.. thankfully my garden is an overgrown mess
blackcurrantcat
Mares tails are the absolute fucking worst. They have a tenacity that is actually admirable. Continually weakening them is your best bet but pretty much once they’re there they’re there. They have a hardcore root network that can do feet and feet and feet down.
No-Question4729
As a temporary reprieve, boil the kettle and pour the water over them, then in a couple of days you can sweep away the dead growth. Then pour some rock salt in the cracks of the concrete and wait for the rain to melt it down. Wait for regrowth and do it again.
Imaginary-Hornet-397
Ammonium Sulphamate. It’s a compost accelarator. Mistralie.co.uk sell it.
commonmuck1
Mixture of white vinager and salt. Spray every couple of weeks.
15 Comments
Hi everyone, I’ve got what looks like horsetail in front of my fence. A few weeks ago I pulled as much as I could up by the root and strimmed the rest as a temporary measure. I initially thought it was coming under the fence at the time because my lawn was unruly.
However it looks like the weeds are coming through where the tarmac has degraded. I don’t really want to put weed killer down since it’s a public footpath where children play and cats roam.
Any suggestions to keep these away long term? Thank you!
P.S. I know my fence needs treating 🙈
Burn them. Seriously.
You don’t. They will outlive the fence.
Horsetails have a thick, silicone layer on them, which prevents them from absorbing weedkiller.
They have long, stretchy roots, which go down a very long way (including under any fences) which can store food.
In circumstances like this, you can either:
Keep going out very regularly through the growing season and remove them. That way, they don’t have the green part, which is the food creating part of the plant and will weaken gradually over years. HOWEVER, it depends on what is on the other side of the fence. If it isn’t yours, and there are horsetails there, then they will share a root system, and the horsetails on the other side of the fence will keep on feeding the roots of your horsetails and keep them going.
OR
Stomp on them to break down the silicon layer and then spray them with systemic weedkiller. HOWEVER it really doesn’t work well on horsetails, and also, as before, any horsetails on the other side of the fence will just stretch out their roots and grow back.
We’ve regularly dug ours up as much as possible over the last 20 years and we still have them. We just really keep on top of them, so they don’t take over.
Burning them will just burn the top bit, but the roots will still be there and they will just come back.
So it’s controlling them to manageable proportions that is the best you can hope to achieve.
WD40.
Spray it on and it’ll all be dead in 48hrs and won’t come back.
I would only recommend this solution in situations like this where your tarmac already contains oils and other contaminants so a little wd40 will not make a difference either way.
Do not do this anywhere that you might want to grow anything.
Glysophate will get them. Spray it on while there’s green growth and no rain for 3 days…. England need not apply😀
I use Vitax SBK Brushwood weed killer and honestly it works super well. I initially used to stomp on them but realised it kills it even without doing that.
I have been treating the front yard all summer and even the neighbour’s horsetail forest and so far it must have weakened it because new shoots started decreasing in frequency. I guess I’ll find out next year but I already know I might have won the battle but not yet the way, and will need to treat it for a few years.
I reckon a flame thrower would do the job 👍🏼
Weed killer is the traditional go to?
Kettle of boiling water
Oh I didnt know that…that’s that then.. thankfully my garden is an overgrown mess
Mares tails are the absolute fucking worst. They have a tenacity that is actually admirable. Continually weakening them is your best bet but pretty much once they’re there they’re there. They have a hardcore root network that can do feet and feet and feet down.
As a temporary reprieve, boil the kettle and pour the water over them, then in a couple of days you can sweep away the dead growth. Then pour some rock salt in the cracks of the concrete and wait for the rain to melt it down. Wait for regrowth and do it again.
Ammonium Sulphamate. It’s a compost accelarator. Mistralie.co.uk sell it.
Mixture of white vinager and salt. Spray every couple of weeks.