Herbicides and bike trails

[Mojoman]

I have been told that I should use a herbicide (cant remember the name now...) on the bike trails. Is this standard practice? I am a little adverse to this as its something I don't think should be introduced into the environment unless really necessary and the trails are all on private property so its not going to go down to well with the landowners!

Any trail builders here with some advice? I know weedeating etc is a pain and a cost but surely its a better alternative to just spraying poisons around?

 

[johannrissik]

Spraying herbicide in the veld so that people can ride their bikes there? Next thing you'll have to spray it with insecticide. And then tar it. And.....

 

..and no, please don't tell me the Monsanto shpiel about glyphosate breaking down.

[RocknRolla]

I have seen this being very effective with clearing trails.

Spoke to Eric (spelling) from VG, and he told me he had no choice but to spray one section of VG route (next to the fence after concrete strips, on the way to the river before Daggapad - does this make ANY sense?) as the vegitation was getting the better of the trail.

Dunnow the impact on the environment, no the brandname.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

I have been told that I should use a herbicide (cant remember the name now...) on the bike trails. Is this standard practice? I am a little adverse to this as its something I don't think should be introduced into the environment unless really necessary and the trails are all on private property so its not going to go down to well with the landowners!

 

Any trail builders here with some advice? I know weedeating etc is a pain and a cost but surely its a better alternative to just spraying poisons around?

 

 

Short answer. No. It's not a Standard practice. But in some cases it may be warranted.

 

But chief of all is that you must get owner consent to be able to do that

[Mousea]

Dont do it, if you sprayed poison on my land I would be ticked off

 

Roundup etc kills every thing and the weeds that come up afterwards are even worse.

 

Stick to the good old costly weed eater

[Mojoman]

I will continue to use the weedeater, no worries there! But I just wondered if this is how its done on bike trails (and hiking trails etc).

And Johan I was also told that glyphosate breaks down and that's why its used.
 

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

 

And Johan I was also told that glyphosate breaks down and that's why its used.

 

It does. The great thing about science is that it stays true whether or not you believe in it. And in this case science says it does. The thing with the majority of "conflicting" studies is that they're not scientifically sound, and a lot of them rely on cherry picked information taken to make the "organic" alternative (which most of those sites sell) is more healthy. Which in most cases is just junk science.

[G00SE]

It does. The great thing about science is that it stays true whether or not you believe in it. And in this case science says it does. The thing with the majority of "conflicting" studies is that they're not scientifically sound, and a lot of them rely on cherry picked information taken to make the "organic" alternative (which most of those sites sell) is more healthy. Which in most cases is just junk science.

 

Most of these types of studies are not scientifically sound, from both sides of the fence.

The "organic" guys don't have the money to fund proper studies, an the big companies fund the other ones to get the results they want.

Not saying this is the case with glyphosate, but it could be...

 

An any case I would not do it purely for ethical reasons, no matter what the science says.

[johannrissik]

I have used Roundup and might use it again if needed, but with reservations. I personally don't think that using glyphosate-based herbicides to clear trails for people to ride bikes is justified.

Oh, and as for the "science"...glyphosate residual is a very real issue (and no, I'm not talking about woowoo organic sites). I would question anything that comes from the long arm of the Monsanto marketing department.

 

I was initially alerted to the glyphosate residual issue by a Protea grower who had used Roundup to clear an area of Kikuyu for commercial Protea cultivation. All the Protea plants that he planted, died, apparently due to the glyphosate residue. Some plants are more sensitive to it than others, but if it nails proteas, it can't be good in a Fynbos environment. 

 

I'll do some more research.

[deanbean]

I have used Roundup and might use it again if needed, but with reservations. I personally don't think that using glyphosate-based herbicides to clear trails for people to ride bikes is justified.

Oh, and as for the "science"...glyphosate residual is a very real issue (and no, I'm not talking about woowoo organic sites). I would question anything that comes from the long arm of the Monsanto marketing department.

 

I was initially alerted to the glyphosate residual issue by a Protea grower who had used Roundup to clear an area of Kikuyu for commercial Protea cultivation. All the Protea plants that he planted, died, apparently due to the glyphosate residue. Some plants are more sensitive to it than others, but if it nails proteas, it can't be good in a Fynbos environment.

 

I'll do some more research.

I'll be interested in what you find. We use it to spray under electric fences.

[CogitoErgoSum]

I am going to be slated for this - I used both types of systemic herbicides for my trail. Read again - MY TRAIL (on my personal plot. I don't get a lot of traffic that can keep the tracks clean. If you cut singletrack on your own, without any help, it takes a lot of your time to keep going back and cut again. I cleared the singletrack with a weed eater, then sprayed it after two weeks)

 

Used RoundUp at first - effective for around 4-6 months then some grow back occurs. RoundUp supposedly breaks up when in contact with the soil. Gets absorbed through the plant's leafs, transformed to the roots thus killing the plant.

 

Then I also used a herbicide that stays in the soil (called Outpace). This I use on Lantana. If you have cleared Lantana by hand before, you would understand why you would rather spray it. Lantana is terrible. They are massive, and again, to go in and do the job on your own without help will take weeks.

 

A lot of farmers use both types (one breaking up, and one that doesn't) on their farms for various reasons.

 

And also, I use RoundUp around the electrical fence

[Matts 300]

There was an letter in die burger a while back about a woman who was concerned about roundup being used to spray the foot paths of the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens. She wanted to walk bear feet there and thought the roundup would be harmful to here feet. A guy responded to the letter. He was at a marketing day of roundup when it started and to show the people how safe round is, the marketing guys of roundup each took a shot of roundup. So it is really not harmful to humans or the ground. But i do think it could be a problem spraying the herbicide. We spray roundup a systemic herbicide and paraquat a contact herbicide. The problem is once you sprayed died one weed type another gets the chance to grow so it is a never ending story, but i will use it in trails if i had the landowners permission. It really safes a lot of time and money and you can even use a pre-grow herbicide to stop seeds from developing and keep the trail cleaner for longer. 

[Cassie]

Just periodically organize an event throught there!! nothing kills like the 1000's of wheels of a MTB stampede!!

[Plentipotential]

I am going to be slated for this - I used both types of systemic herbicides for my trail. Read again - MY TRAIL (on my personal plot. I don't get a lot of traffic that can keep the tracks clean. If you cut singletrack on your own, without any help, it takes a lot of your time to keep going back and cut again. I cleared the singletrack with a weed eater, then sprayed it after two weeks)

 

Used RoundUp at first - effective for around 4-6 months then some grow back occurs. RoundUp supposedly breaks up when in contact with the soil. Gets absorbed through the plant's leafs, transformed to the roots thus killing the plant.

 

Then I also used a herbicide that stays in the soil (called Outpace). This I use on Lantana. If you have cleared Lantana by hand before, you would understand why you would rather spray it. Lantana is terrible. They are massive, and again, to go in and do the job on your own without help will take weeks.

 

A lot of farmers use both types (one breaking up, and one that doesn't) on their farms for various reasons.

 

And also, I use RoundUp around the electrical fence

 

cjlieben, where can I buy these herbicides other than BW/hardware stores?

 

Ta

[johannrissik]

There was an letter in die burger a while back about a woman who was concerned about roundup being used to spray the foot paths of the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens. She wanted to walk bear feet there and thought the roundup would be harmful to here feet. A guy responded to the letter. He was at a marketing day of roundup when it started and to show the people how safe round is, the marketing guys of roundup each took a shot of roundup. So it is really not harmful to humans or the ground. But i do think it could be a problem spraying the herbicide. We spray roundup a systemic herbicide and paraquat a contact herbicide. The problem is once you sprayed died one weed type another gets the chance to grow so it is a never ending story, but i will use it in trails if i had the landowners permission. It really safes a lot of time and money and you can even use a pre-grow herbicide to stop seeds from developing and keep the trail cleaner for longer. 

 

Umm, no.

 

Funnily enough I have a similar story. When I was a kid, the Dipterex rep used to come round to the farm. To prove to my old man how safe Dipterex was, he used to put a teaspoon of it in his tea.......

Poor guy is long dead.

FYI Dipterex in those days contained an organophosphate......

 

Whatever your feelings on the issue of herbicides and poisons, just make sure that what you're drinking really is Kool-Aid. Promise?

[amosdelange]

.... She wanted to walk bear feet there ... 

 

Roudup might just sort out her hairy foot problem.