Pre-treat weeds with soapy water before spraying weed killer?

[HomeGuy]

I mix concentrated Ortho Weed B Gon (Plus Grabgrass Control) with water according to the label and use a 1-gallon handpump sprayer.

I suppose that it works, but I don't exactly see the spray "wetting" the leaves and stems of the stuff I'm spraying. Looks more like most of it beads up on the leaves and runs off.

I'm thinking that this stuff would be more effective if it "stuck" to the leaves, and I think that's only going to happen if the surface tension is reduced, possibly by pre-spraying the weeds with soapy water, or alternatively maybe adding soap in with the weed killer and water.

Does anyone have a clue regarding if the effectiveness of water-soluble weed killer is increased if a surface-tension reducing agent is used?

And just for clarity, Ortho Weed B Gon contains:

2,4-D (Dimethylamine salt) Quinclorac Dicamba (dimethlamine salt)

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, In this city chemical week killer wass banned few years ago. We use DW liquid+salt+vinegar to kill weeds and use arm strong power to physically remove weeds in our small city lot.

[Pico Rico]

Bu . . bu . . but:

DW liquid+salt+vinegar is a chemical weed killer

[Tony Hwang]

Hi, You're right but it won't make our dog or neighborhood small children sick or who knows even die.

[hrhofmann]

I have heard of that, but wonder if the manufacturer wouldn't add something like that to make the product more effective (and charge more $$).

[dpb]

On 07/13/2014 9:52 PM, HomeGuy wrote: ...

Indeed they do...

[philoÂÂ]

No way would I ever toxify my yard, I found that after a good rain it's pretty easy to pull out the weeds roots and all.

A number of years ago garlic mustard took over and after a good rain, those things came out with little effort and now that I've cleared the yard , no more than three or four return each year.

[Ed Pawlowski]

How big is your yard? How well do your neighbors keep theirs so seeds don't fly to your yard? Sometimes you need more than just pulling the weeds, though there are better methods than just chemicals.

[dadiOH]

Don't pre-spray, just add a small amount of surfacant to the weed killer. I can't tell you how much bu tI add about a cap full or two of liquid dish detergent to my 35 gallon spray tank with either 2,4-D or Rodeo/Roundup.

[dadiOH]

Good luck doing that along a half mile of fence.

[Stormin Mormon]

For sure, it's acidic and saline, not to mention destroys surface tension. What a chemical mix.

[Stormin Mormon]

I wouldn't be sure.... depends how long the exposure. Sodium causes heart problems, and vinegar can upset the pH balance.

[Stormin Mormon]

My landlord is concerned about trim weeds, mow the lawn. A couple year ago, I sprayed Roundup all around my trailer, right near the skirting. Left a dead zone. Which is OK with me, at least it's not weeds and doesn't cost me money when the landlord decides to send his guy out to trim my weeds. Far as I know, no children or animals were killed. Except the little boy who... no, probably not the cause.....

[Frank]

I would assume the mix is formulated for maximum effectiveness and works best when directions are followed.

I had a neighbor that had one of these jobs at DuPont and that is all he did.

[trader_4]

I have a lot of good info on this, but heh, why should I (or anyone else) help out the jerk who constantly starts one off topic America bashing thread after another? The more weeds he has in his lawn the better.

[clare]

For killing oily weeds like poison ivey, some people fing adding a few spoonfulls of diesel fuel does the trick - it acts as a surfactant, wetting the leaves more effectively

[Stormin Mormon]

I can imagine diesel and ivy oil mixing, but that doesn't make it a surfactant.

[J Burns]

In many cases, I've found clipping effective. The leaves won't hurt you. It's the sap. Hedge shears give a nice reach and can be rinsed afterward.

[Terry Coombs]

FWIW and for anyone who cares , QUIT KILLING THE BEES ! Just about every one of those compounds for killing weeds has an effect on our pollinators . Add in the effects of neonic and other pesticides and you can end up with colony collapse disorder , where the bees just wander off and die . It wouldn't take a bomb to bring this country down , just one crop sprayer full of pesticides at the right time and right place could kill up to 3/4 of the bees in this country , and without them we'd starve ...

[Pete C.]

Eliminating dogs would be a big benefit actually...