Having just spent two hours weeding the drive (previous owner did a bad job on the weedproof membrane front), I was wondering what the most powerful weedkiller available is?

I don’t have any pets / children and my gravel drive is hardly a SSSI so I want as powerful as I can legally go. I want it to kill every varity of plant / grass, ideally for a number of months. Long term plan is to dig up drive, apply something evil, then weedproof membrane then gravel.

Hmmm, sodium chlorate seems to be the nucelar option but has been banned. Boo.

While not 100% effective I’ve had fairly good results with PathClear Ultra from the DIY sheds on my gravel parking area. Sure there must be some better more ‘industrial’ stuff available, so interested to here other responses. Although with a small child I do need to excercise some caution, not bothered about the neighbours cats 👿

Agent Orange and Napalm had some short term success for the Americans during the Vietnam war, but the jungle soon grew back… 😉

a number of months your having a laugh.

verve weedkiller from bnq – double dose it and spray it on. works for me on everything – then i just pressure wash the monoblock and slabs to remove the dead stuff. also works on the road side where the weeds were growing into my garden from – strimming that and weedkilling down my boundary significantly reduced the number of weeds in my garden in general.

you do realise that weedproof membrane only stops weeds from below and that many weeds are spread by seed through the air – growing on top of your membrane.

Something with 360g/l glyphosate will get the job done.

Try Clinic Ace or Rosate or similar.

also the best weedkiller availible – block out light totally for 6 months.

whatever they are selling roundup as?

Try this one Rosate 36
this is the active chemical in Round Up

Agent Orange and Napalm had some short term success for the Americans during the Vietnam war, but the jungle soon grew back…

The damage to humans was permanent. Google Images + Agent Orange will reveal the horrific consequences it had for children.

you do realise that weedproof membrane only stops weeds from below and that many weeds are spread by seed through the air – growing on top of your membrane.

Yes aware of that. That’s not the issue; I have some weeds puncturing the membrane and the guy did as worse a job as you can imagine – the membrane consists of about 30 individual pieces with large gaps inbetween them, and just laid flat on dirt.

Glyphosate doesn’t hang around, I want something that’ll contaminate the land for a long time.

On a related note, i’ve a load of bind weed at the bottom garden that i’m currently dealing with by digging up every shoot I find and removing the underoots – anything that’ll kill that?

The damage to humans was permanent. Google Images + Agent Orange will reveal the horrific consequences it had for children.

I’m guessing he wasn’t seriously suggesting the use of Agent Orange on a driveway in Surrey. 🙄

Shame they banned Sodium Chlorate – used to make rockets and roman candles with it. Took out a good patch of lino in the kitchen when I was a sprog with a mix that went off at the wrong time! 😯

I want something that’ll contaminate the land for a long time.

Used engine oil?? 😉

Dot. brake fluid. Seriously. Not very eco. I know but it works on my gravel drive a treat and compared to the other ineffective weed killing potions you buy is actually cheaper to use.

Rock salt is the cheapest and works very well as a kill everything and keep it killed substance. Just spread it on and water it in.

I want something that’ll contaminate the land for a long time.

How long? I mean that is an open question.

I think you should be a little more understanding of nature. Just pull the buggers up regularly?

Not much hangs around these days, all the persistent stuff has been banned.

I’m guessing he wasn’t seriously suggesting the use of Agent Orange on a driveway in Surrey. 🙄

No I’m guessing he wasn’t too 🙄

My post was in reply to the comment “but the jungle soon grew back”

just google glyphosate but dont get a 5 litre bottle as it dilutes 25mm to a litre

No I guessing he wasn’t too

My post was in reply to the comment “but the jungle soon grew back”

Ernie, I’m well aware of the effects Agent Orange, or more accurately one of its main constituents 2-4-5T, had on the people of Vietnam (not to mention American troops who applied it, and others around the world like in Australia who were involved in ‘testing’ it). In fact my father’s job while I was a teenager was to promote and sell a weedkiller in the UK that contained 2-4-5T, and he used it liberally on our own garden. I don’t think many people realise 2-4-5T was still legal in the UK decades after its devastating effects in Vietnam had been well documented? In fact, it was the catalyst for many an argument between me and my father, and the first awakening of my environmental conscience that eventually resulted in me becoming an Environmental Consultant.

My post above was supposed to be the supreme irony – suggesting that the attitude of the OP that he just wants “the most powerful weedkiller available” and that will “contaminate the land for a long time” without any consideration for the possible consequences was where the Americans started with Agent Orange, and look where that went…

I’m prepared to admit that it was probably far too subtle for most people to draw that convoluted link, but hopefully its clearer where I stand now I’ve spelled it out in excruciating detail 😉

My post above was supposed to be the supreme irony

Yes I think that was obvious, I don’t think anyone thought it was a serious suggestion.

I just thought it would provide an opportunity to remind people the devastation which the US caused through the use of defoliants. For some reason Ewan thought I had taken your comment seriously.

Chikara, from nomix.co.uk is the only residual herbicide on the market suitable for your needs at the mo.(that I know of) It’s suppose to last 5 months.

I’m struggling to contain some horse tail, did manage to knock it back with some old weed killer from the back of the in-laws garage (suspect it was proper Sodium Chlorate) but the crap weather last year meant I wasn’t able to build upon my success. Am now looking at commercial stuff as the only way forwards from this… Kurtail…needs masks & gloves, not sure how the pets will fair.

Petrol does a good job of killing anything living.

I’m struggling to contain some horse tail,

This came up on gardeners question time while I was in the car. The panel reckoned you’re stuffed and that the only thing you can do is continually pull it out over a period of (many) years in the hope that the root system eventually withers and dies. I’ve been doing this for about 4 years and so far I reckon the horsetail is winning.

yeah problem is the whole garden (stones on a sheet) is covered in the damned stuff (penetrated the sheet), so I’d need to spend an hour a day working at it… I want to make it into a lawn, and it has been suggested that regular mowing would help contain the horsetail.
I dunno, it really annoying though.

Horsetail might be incredibly annoying, but it’s also incredibly interesting how long it’s been on this planet!

don’t get me wrong, I know far too much about it from re-searching a ‘final solution’, and am impressed it’s still around. BUT am un-impressed it’s in my front garden!
There was some really fine examples of it (huge), on the Servern valley railway line.. it’s kinda (very?) sad that I noticed…

What about a liberal dose of Diesel?

Root and stump glyphosate at 360 g per litre. The ready mixed stuff is about 10!!! I use it for killing bamboo.

yeah problem is the whole garden (stones on a sheet) is covered in the damned stuff (penetrated the sheet), so I’d need to spend an hour a day working at it…

i have a horsetail hunt pretty much every time i walk up or down the garden, it definitely changes from a tall spiky looking thing to a weak and wiry looking thing after a few picks This makes it look like its on its last legs but if anything that just makes it harder to spot in a lawn.

I remember the GQT panel also saying that you’ve got to make sure you remove all of the plant as any little bit can grow into a whole new plant so if you go down the route of keeping it down with mowing I think you’ll have to accept that it’ll always be there and most likely in ever larger quantities.

Rock salt doisolved in wate rthen spayed onto the weds, or just plain bleach and water watered onto the gravel also cleans it, then a few days latter water it again with the hose pipe.

Both cheap.

Another +1 for rock salt. I had half a bag left so spread it on the area next to the drive as a lazy alternative to weeding. Nothing has survived. Buy it now before the price rockets in winter.

I’ll find the link tomorrow. Sells on Amazon as composte breakdown. Its old school weedkiller but big chemical companies lobbied the EU to get it banned.

Edit: en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonium_sulphamate

For long term weedcontrol look for a product look for something containing Sulfosulfuron as it lasts 6 months.

As for horsetail you have to break down the waxy coating on it, i usually walk on it on strim it then spray with Round-up (Glyphosate) and this does the trick.
For areas in beds or grass you put a glove on then a sock over the top and then soak it in a glyphosate mix and then use your hand to apply it, this stops you hitting non target species.

As others have said salt is an excellent long term killer as well, it was used during roman times to kill off the fields of your enemy to deny them food.

My post above was supposed to be the supreme irony – suggesting that the attitude of the OP that he just wants “the most powerful weedkiller available” and that will “contaminate the land for a long time” without any consideration for the possible consequences was where the Americans started with Agent Orange, and look where that went…

I love singletrackworld 😀 I ask for a weedkiller, and i’m told to think of the long term consequences of using something evil on my drive. I live in the middle of village in Surrey in a 1930’s semi – I suspect the long term ecological damge has been done. However, just in case, I’ll ensure I have a thorough look for any indigenous peoples that i’ve previously missed on my drive before I commence spraying 😉

Thanks for all the advice, I’ll try the rock salt as a starting point.

I love STW too, I mean where else could you ask a simple question about weedkiller then be reminded about the damage that an orange agent did to people 47 years ago who don’t even have any weeds to kill!

concrete…stops all weeds dead..i wos gonna say flowers as well but i just been told a weed is just a flower in the wrong place 😕