| Anyone use a propane flame thrower for weeds? People are against spraying, so how about torching? How effective is it? After torching weeds, say between cracks in a patio or driveway, how long will they stay away for? |
| Just use a vinegar/salt/dish soap solution. |
Doesn't work. |
Not long because something else will seed in its place |
| you need to spray |
| I have not, but I have fantasies of lighting a giant patch of out of control ivy on fire. |
this is actually worse for the earth than round up. |
How? |
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My DH is a biologist and bought a flame thrower for weeding when we lived in NC (where they grow head-high year round)
It was expecially effective on the chain-link fence. Made it so easy to remove that creeper vine. And on the walkway and driveway joints. At first we were very cautious and I followed him with a hose with water running. But later he just did it himself. it's really just a nozzle that fits onto a propane tank that you get from Home Depot (the tank exchange thing) As far as pollution? vs. spraying chemicals? - well, the flame thrower emits a lot of C02 so you really aren't solving the world's problems either way. |
You completely alter the pH and salt content of the earth. Bad for bacteria in the localized spot and can run off unnecessary sodium into the ground. Too much salt in water ways is a huge problem. It's obviously worse if you're using this approach on a larger garden bed area. It takes .more work and chemicals to re-adjust the pH so plants will grow. |
You completely alter the pH and salt content of the earth. Bad for bacteria in the localized spot and can run off unnecessary sodium into the ground. Too much salt in water ways is a huge problem. It's obviously worse if you're using this approach on a larger garden bed area. It takes .more work and chemicals to re-adjust the pH so plants will grow. |
I tried this and it didn’t work. Maybe I didn’t burn them long enough. |
YouTube videos show they you really gotta char the weeds well, not just singe them. The one video showed it to be effective for almost 1 month when he torched the crap out of the weeds, versus only singing, which lasted only a few days. Much easier than trying to pull weeds in cracks like in a driveway, patio, or sidewalk. |
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My neighbor growing up dead husband was in WWII and she was selling stuff. Around 1975 I bought a flamethrower off her from WWII you actually had a gallon of gasoline attached and had a long wand type nozzle. Would shoot a huge flame.
I used it in our gravel driveway and also used it when Ice on sidewalk. My mom made me get rid of it. I could do a 40 foot sidewalk full of thick ice with it. Also could have used it to light tanks on fire and German sniper nests. |
| I agree that spraying is best. If you don't like standard chems, try glufosinate. It's omri listed. It will burn down almost anything. Just make sure there is enough leaf tissue to spray. |