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Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 5:29 pm
by acechadwick
Well Daz, my contractor turned up with a bag of sodium chlorate (100%, not available in stores) and said it would kill it.
I asked him if I could have a bag but apparently you can't because....it's the stuff terrorists use to make bombs.
However....all seems to have gone quiet. I spent a sad couple of hours yesterday pulling up stray buggers in the beds but I think that is the key. You just have to relentlessly stay on top of it.
I have also seen a sort of blow gun for £29.99 by which you burn them. Probably good money after bad but at least there would be the pleasure of frying them.
There was I thinking that 4k and tons of tarmac would give me a maintenance free area.....foolish girl 
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 7:58 pm
by Dave_L
Yes, we use 100% Sodium Chlorate, good stuff it is too.
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 11:49 pm
by DazBeard
Spoke to my contractor today...he finally phoned me back after the suggestion of legal action! He says he has been to court for the same thing in the past, and was found not liable as he could not identify that this weed was laying doormant in the soil. He has stated that there is no requirement for installing a membrane on a domestic drive...does anybody know if this is true and if there are any guidlines? He is supposed to be coming round tomorrow to dig up a layer of tarmac to show me the weed is only in the surface layer and that he has applied the required layers of sub-base etc. Do you guys who do driveways for a living think it is wrong to expect him to put it right? After all, he has charged me for preparing the area before laying the drive. Also, I have looked at a large building companies website to see their suggestions for this weed...and they suggest using a herbicide containing Dichlobenil (means nothing to me!!)
Posted: Mon Jul 07, 2008 11:54 pm
by DazBeard
Forgot to ask Acechadwick....is the contractor going to flatten down the eruptions on the drive? Has he applied the sodium chlorate straight onto the tarmac?
Will try to obtain some!
Thanks
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 5:27 pm
by acechadwick
He sprinkled it all over the driveway and then bashed it down with a metal square thingy (technical term) and said he would check it next week.
However if it pops up again I will be taking legal as I think they should recognise potential weed problems after 25 yrs in the business.
That's what we pay them for...experience. Don't expect to tell my doctor any pitfalls before treatment...he should ask me or tell me.
I expect the same for 4K not a sharp sucking of air through teeth and a "Shame about that, you're unlucky"
Yes I am bloody unlucky...bloody unlucky you forgot to mention it.
Anyway we have a supplier of the 100% stuff Daz....ol' Dave L.....now all we need is a pre arranged meeting spot and a bag of readies!!!
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 9:57 am
by Tony McC
Sodium Chlorate can be bought from Wilkinsons'. Admittedly, it's 100g or 250g, but it is, despite what your contractor told you, readily available over the counter.
However, while it will see off the above-ground portion of the plants, it does not kill it completely and the damned thing will be back again later in the summer. Of course, you can repeatedly treat it in the hope that, eventually, it will give up, but I wouldn't hold me breath!
Regarding legal action, you would need to prove that the Equisetum was visible on the site before the driveway was installed, and claim that the contractor should have observed it during the site assessment and taken appropriate action to prevent it invading the new surface. If the contractor can counterclaim that the plant was neither evident at the time of assessment nor when the work was being undertaken, he is likely to be given the benefit of the doubt, as it would be unfair to expect a contractor to anticipate every eventuality.
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:22 pm
by DazBeard
The contractor has been back...I now have a square of tarmac missing and the dreded weed! I think the purpose of digging out the square was to show it was only in the suface layer as the contractor had insisted...guess what...it goes all the way through! I must say though...I was amazed it could pass through such a compacted material. I have dug out some "before" photos which shows the plant was evident. I have also taken photos from the locallity to show there is a problem locally. Hopefully we can push on and get it rectified!
Thanks to all for help and advice...very grateful.
Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2008 6:25 pm
by acechadwick
Yes you can buy sodium chlorate (brand name Dead Fast for paths and wasteland) but it's not the 100% stuff because one needs a license for that.
It laughs in the face of the lesser version. Sombody sent me a depressing piece off the internet as to how it can , left unchecked,colonise up to 2.5 acres of land in 2 years. And it is the first thing to grow after a volcanic eruption
But I think the right idea is what someone wrote on another thread listed here....it's all about timing.
The right weed killer at the right time.
A systemic weedkiller (Round up) in the autumn and sodium chlorate for the rest of the period April - August.
Rest assured Daz..I will leave no stone unturned 
Oh and I read this and have found this to be true. It wont grow in shade. Now if you could just erect a giant umbrella over the drive......
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 8:29 pm
by DazBeard
Doesnt like grass neither! So dig up the tarmac and cover with grass seed! Had loads in my back garden after turning/moving loads of soil to level garden. Put the grass seed down and it seemed to disappear! Cant understand it...you would think the tarmac would act as shade....seems the dark surface absorbs the heat and draws it up.
Posted: Sat Jul 12, 2008 9:20 pm
by Mikey_C
Tony,
Not wanting to correct you as you're the gaffer and all but the sodium Chlorate purchasable from any high street retailer is made up of 53% Sodium Chlorate, and 47% fire suppressants, to stop it being used for anything it shouldn't.
I don't see why just doubling the quantity wouldn't improve the situation.
Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 9:03 am
by Dave_L
But I guess it is only available in the high street in small amounts. We buy 20kg bags of the stuff, amounts that large could be restricted? I don't know!
All I know is some time ago our fitter was grinding down at our yard, the resulting sparks were landing on some bags of sodium and they caught fire, causing volumes of white smoke and covering everything with a white film.
Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 9:35 am
by Dave_L
Whilst we're on about weedkiller, how about this gem?
Golf Club Balls-Up!
Oh dear, I think someone is going to loose their job......
Posted: Sun Jul 13, 2008 2:36 pm
by acechadwick
What did they use!!!! I want some!!!!
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:23 am
by Tony McC
Mikey_C
correction noted with no problem, but the point remains that the nastikemmickle responsible for these high street versions killing the weeds is still sodium chlorate, albeit not the full-strength grown-up version.
Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:33 am
by steve r
The Roundup that is supplied from the sheds is gnats pee.
You need to go to an agricultural merchant and get some Roundup Pro 450.
They may ask for a license, but if you say you are spraying your own land it is not needed.
If you go to this site http://www.monsanto-ag.co.uk/layout/industrial/ and click on difficult weeds, it will give instructions on how best to treat.
Although sodium chlorate will kill the ground it is unlikely to pentrate down to the roots.
