Weed Whackers

Use a machete. Or two.

Use a machete. Or two.

my kukri works well for the thick jungle stuff

I'm curious for recommendations as well. I end up tackling berry vines and all types of weeds and grasses, but I think I would prefer to stick with a string trimmer vs a blade.

+1    I now hate the berry bushes so much, I DID buy a blade and just started hacking away at it with a cheap machette. 

I love the berry bushes, they just need discipline once you get them corralled they produce nicely and it only takes a little annual maintenance to keep them in line.

Stihl!

So far the spray method sounds most attractive.

yeah, if this does not concern you:

1: Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is third most commonly-reported cause of pesticid illness among agricultural workers in California

2: Glyphosate is the most commonly reported caus pesticide illness among landscape maintenance pesticide illness among landscape maintenance workers in California

3: The surfactant ingredient in Roundup is more ac toxic than glyphosate itself and the combination two is yet more toxic.

4: Glyphosate is suspected of causing genetic damage.

5: Glyphosate is acutely toxic to fish and birds and kill beneficial insects and soil organisms that maimtain ecological balance.

6: Laboratory studies have identified adverse effec glyphosate-containing products in all standard categories of toxicological testing.

7: Glyphosate residues in soil can persist over a year.

8: Glyphosate residues has been found in strawberries wild blueberries and raspberries, lettuce, carrots and barley.

9: Glyphosate has been measured 1,300 - 2,600 feet aw from its application site.

10: This year Monsanto, manufacturer of Roundup, agree with the New York Attorney General's office to discontinue their use of the terms "biodegradable" an"environmentally friendly" in ads promoting glyphosate-based products, including Roundup.

 Sources: Cox, Caroline. 1995. Journal of Pesticide Reform Vol.15, No.3:14 -20 Cox, Caroline. 1995. Exposure and Ecological Effects Journal of Pesticide Reform Vol.15, No.4:14-19 Moses,Marion. 1995.

Eric wasn't it you who put out the saying on this site:

The solution to pollution is delusion......

Monsanto-fueling corn based agriculture and crushing all those who oppose GMO crops with an economic fist.

that's just mean sharky.....hitting Eric right in the enviro, science, big business, new school vs old school nuts!

Eric's gonna get a goat for sure.

First the Dos Equis guy is after my ass, now Sharky.   

Yeah, I figured my cat wouldn't dig it, either.  Was just lazy thinking.

i dont spray......because all my outdoor friends would be affected first, then us. The bugs get hit, then the lizards and birds eat the bugs... then the birds get sick, and so on,and so on....you get the picture? it aint a pretty one.

First the Dos Equis guy is after my ass, now Sharky.   

Yeah, I figured my cat wouldn't dig it, either.  Was just lazy thinking.

you are a marked man! For the record I am a different Eric B....so please not cross hairs on my forehead!

Husqvarna gets my vote for anything gas powered, but I don't think I have ever seen a weed whacker by them... I have a hand me down Stihl, it is older than hell and half held together by epoxy... but it still starts and works great.  I have never heard anything bad about echo in the string trimmer department.  I would never by, say... a chainsaw by them, but a string trimmer would be fine. 

So far the spray method sounds most attractive.

yeah, if this does not concern you:

1: Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, is third most commonly-reported cause of pesticid illness among agricultural workers in California

Due to glyphosate being the most commonly used chemical.  Any worker that feels ill for any reason can claim that it is related to pesticide exposure.  When the employee is taken to the doctor (by law) the agricultural commissioner must follow up on the claim.  It is every employee's right to protect their personal safety.  In my 16 years of experience I have been involved in numerous incidents where pesticide exposure was a concern.   One was legitimate, the rest were food poisoning, poison oak and the like.  The one incident came when a person loading chemical exposed himself in the loading process.

2: Glyphosate is the most commonly reported caus pesticide illness among landscape maintenance pesticide illness among landscape maintenance workers in California

Not sure on this.   I've never heard of any illness related to glyphosate.  Any chemicals that have a high level of danger associated with them have special restrictions associated with them.  Glyphosate has not restrictions associated with it.   There are 3 signal words on pesticide labels, Danger, Warning and Caution.  Danger means it is the rough stuff, Warning is mid grade and Caution is lowest risk.  Glyphosate is Caution.http://www.cdms.net/LDat/ld6DP040.pdf
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/signalwords.pdf

3: The surfactant ingredient in Roundup is more ac toxic than glyphosate itself and the combination two is yet more toxic.

This is most likely true dependent on the formulation of Roundup.  The are many brands including the generics that I use that do not contain any surfactants.  The surfactants that Monsanto includes with their Round-Up products don't work that great anyway.  I prefer to add methylated seed oil.  The Round-Up labels that include wording that prohibits the use of additional surfactants so I choose not to use them.  Name brand Round-Up costs twice what the generics do.

4: Glyphosate is suspected of causing genetic damage.

Suspected.    I actually have a lot of faith in the EPA and Cal EPA And the Department of Pesticide Regulation when it comes to the regulation of chemicals.  The hurdles to submit registration and maintain it are unbelievable. 

5: Glyphosate is acutely toxic to fish and birds and kill beneficial insects and soil organisms that maimtain ecological balance.

We have bigger issues to worry about before we worry about glyphosate.   As an individual that spends $2,500 per week on beneficial insect releases for organic crops I'm not worried about glyphosate applications affecting their populations.  I'm concerned with providing them with habitat, not killing it.  I think the bottom line is that if you kill the plant the good bugs have no place to go.  The biggest concerns the Central Coast Regional Water Control Board has is the impact of nitrates, diazinon, and chlorpyrifos.  Pyrethroids are next,  glyphosate is pretty far down the list. 

6: Laboratory studies have identified adverse effec glyphosate-containing products in all standard categories of toxicological testing.

I dont understand this.  Above my BS.

7: Glyphosate residues in soil can persist over a year.

Residues that impact what?   All of the chemicals we use take time time to break down, even the organic materials I use.

8: Glyphosate residues has been found in strawberries wild blueberries and raspberries, lettuce, carrots and barley.

The EPA and governments set limits as to what is acceptable.   If the fields had residues above the limits, they could not be harvested.  We don't treat our vegetables with glyphosate because it would kill them.  The link is to show what chemicals are allowed at what levels internationally.   http://www.mrldatabase.com/

9: Glyphosate has been measured 1,300 - 2,600 feet aw from its application site.

This is poor application!   This person was cited for sure.

10: This year Monsanto, manufacturer of Roundup, agree with the New York Attorney General's office to discontinue their use of the terms "biodegradable" an"environmentally friendly" in ads promoting glyphosate-based products, including Roundup.

An example of marketing to people that want to think they are "Green" going wrong for the company.   Monsanto in general is pretty stupid when it comes to marketing and public perception.

 Sources: Cox, Caroline. 1995. Journal of Pesticide Reform Vol.15, No.3:14 -20 Cox, Caroline. 1995. Exposure and Ecological Effects Journal of Pesticide Reform Vol.15, No.4:14-19 Moses,Marion. 1995.

Eric wasn't it you who put out the saying on this site:

The solution to pollution is delusion......

I'm not sure if I handled the quoting Sharky thing right.  First of all,  due respect to Sharky for speaking up.   I was kind of hoping somebody would bring up their concerns.  I have strong opinions on this subject.  Monsanto does some very shady stuff in regards to their protection of their GMO crops and I think that has caused for people to demonize glyphosate.  In regards to GMO's I have little concerns about them at this point but my opinion may change.  I do know this,  GMO crops will reduce or eliminate chemical inputs to crops.  Corn with the bacillus thuringiensis genetics means that you don't have to spray for worms!  I like that!

LD50 is the standard methodology used to determine toxicity.  The acute oral LD50 in the rat is 5,600 mg/kg. Other oral LD50 values for glyphosate are 1,538 to greater than 10,000 mg/kg for mice, rabbits mg/kg, and goats (1, 5). 
http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/extoxnet/dienochlor-glyphosate/glyphosate-ext.html

Wait for it,  wait for it:   

The LD50 for sodium chloride is 3000mg/kg.   http://www.ch.ntu.edu.tw/~genchem99/msds/exp28/HCl.pdf

Thats right,  table salt is two times as toxic as glyphosate.  I had a professor in college (Dean of Agriculture, Cal Poly SLO) that would drink it to prove this point.   

In conclusion,  glyphosate is very safe but has been demonized by those who oppose Monsanto and their shady games.  Don't hate the player,  hate the game.   If you want to get worked up about something and have a domestic well,  get it tested for drinking water standards and call me.   

Monsanto is pretty much the poster child for corporate greed.  The way they have gone after farmers who's crops have their products DNA despite having never planted their products is despicable. 

I guess my two cents to this discussion would be:  Why spray anything, when the string trimmer is an option?  Maybe the chemicals are really bad... maybe they are only a little bit bad... either way they are bad.  Trim the weeds instead and avoid it all together.  That being said... I do spray some things on my property... namely upstart blackberries, and poison oak.  Weed whacking blackberries, only creates more blackberries... and weed whacking poison oak, creates red itchy patches and general discomfort... lol.

I used to sell them years ago when I worked for  lowes in South Carolina.  I found for the money the Ryobi was a  good machine, that was when you could buy the detachable heads and get different attachments.  Not sure if they still make that or not.

  Weed whacking blackberries, only creates more blackberries... and weed whacking poison oak, creates red itchy patches and general discomfort... lol.

yeah, i don't whack the oak

the berries I whack when they are small, then yank the (root) balls by hand.