Are Certain Weedkillers Dog Friendly?

[kirsty79]

Thanks to the horrendous amount of rain we had recently in Brissy, my garden has sprouted weeds left, right and centre, there is virtually no grass left, and it's a fair sized garden.

Problem is - there are ALOT of bindi's and the spikes are coming out. I want to put down weed killer asap, and read weed and feed is ok for pets as long as you let it dry, then the next day after buying it (before I put it down) I saw Jessie munching on some grass and thought - surely that is going to harm her whether it's dry or not because it's been absorbed in it?

Can someone please tell me if it's ok to use, and if not, any recommendations as to what is safe?

Thanks

[cliffandmandy]

Sorry dont know the answer but as I would like to do the same with my lawn , I thought I would bump it. Just a thought is there not an advice line phone number on the packaging.

[moosepup]

I'm not sure about any dog friendly ones (interested to know myself) but I can tell you to avoid Searles Buffalo Master. You have to keep them off the lawn for 7 days if you do.

[BigPaws]

I guess if you are willing to lick the blades of grass that you've put the chemicals on, then they are safe for your dogs.

Maybe you could try pulling the weeds out by hand, I never use chemicals on my property, hell, I won't even use flyspray.

[Tilly]

I have been spraying my lawn with Bin-Die to get rid of the weeds. Normally I keep the dogs off the lawn until it is dry and then supervise them for the next 3 or 4 days (they are grazers).

We are lucky to be able to restrict the dogs from the lawn as we have fenced the backyard to break it into 2 areas ... specifically for this reason.

Can you put up a temporary fence and restrict access to the sprayed area for a couple of days?

[Shaar]

You are right, they aren't 100% safe when dry, there is still residue which is why most packages say 'safe for pets and children when dry' but it also usually states 'do not give grass clipping to chickens or other pets'

So it's safe to walk on yes, they won't pick it up on their paws and then lick it off, but the grass shouldn't be ingested.

[sandgrubber]

Glycophosphate seems to be pretty safe for mammals in general. I seem to remember that in those horrid trials they do using beagles, they were unable to establish a lethal dose, though very high concentrations caused some upsets (liver, I think). Our friend Monsanto sells glycophosphate under the trade name of Roundup, but it's gone X-patent, and there are many formulations available these days. You would have to put the stuff in the dog's water bowl to get the sort of intake needed to show a health effect... but DO keep it out of waterways. It is not benign to aquatic life.

[dancinbcs]

Round Up (Glycophosphate) is about the safest as far as poisoning goes but your can't spray a whole lawn with it because it kills every plant it comes in contact with. If there is any wind and it drifts onto trees you will kill them as well. It is really only useful for carefully spraying on selected spots unless you want to clear a whole yard of vegetation.

I'm not sure how true it is but I have heard in recent years that it is thought to be carcinogenic, so while it won't poison anyone, exposure to it may increase the risk of cancer developing later. I have no idea what sort of exposure is required but would research it more before using it. I imagine farmers that use it over vast areas on a regular basis might be more at risk but don't know if a one off, small amount would be a problem or not.

For this season you will need to dig out bindis because it is too late to kill them with weed killer once the prickles are on them. Next year spray with Bin-die in August in sections and temp fence the dogs off it for a week to be safe.

[Mason_Gibbs]

[if you do a search on the forum someone posted a recipe for an organic weed killer, it has vingegar, salt and dish wash liquid in it - it works too as I have mixed some up and used it!!

[ozjen]

My sister was telling me that the school gardener told her to use a salt and vinigar mix and spray it directly on the weeds, apparently it works well is totally safe around kids and animals and is much safer than poisons that can hang around for a long time. Does recommend that you avoid too much going on the soil though as you don't want to affect the soil balance. I think from memory it was something like a cup of salt to 5 lts of vinegar.

[blacklabrador]

My sister was telling me that the school gardener told her to use a salt and vinigar mix and spray it directly on the weeds, apparently it works well is totally safe around kids and animals and is much safer than poisons that can hang around for a long time. Does recommend that you avoid too much going on the soil though as you don't want to affect the soil balance. I think from memory it was something like a cup of salt to 5 lts of vinegar.

Does it kill grass?

[Mason_Gibbs]

My sister was telling me that the school gardener told her to use a salt and vinigar mix and spray it directly on the weeds, apparently it works well is totally safe around kids and animals and is much safer than poisons that can hang around for a long time. Does recommend that you avoid too much going on the soil though as you don't want to affect the soil balance. I think from memory it was something like a cup of salt to 5 lts of vinegar.

Does it kill grass?

I have found that it does kill grass

[chuckie500]

I read about a thing called a "Hot Devil Weed Killer" Basically you burn the weeds. I'm going to get one. Cost around $67-$72. Plus gas, but i think its better than chemicals.

http://www.hotdevil.com.au/web/index.cfm?do=general.view