Creating dead zone around AC unit

Agent Orange or the current commercial equivalent?

Lou

I avoid weed killers, since so many animals use my yard as a dinner table, but I might make an exception in this instance because once the area is covered, nothing will be eating there unless there's a type of animal which eats stones the size of ping pong balls.

what IS the current commerical equiv that you can buy at Lowe's?

How about just grading the area so that water runs off the plastic rather than ponding. Direct it away from the house.

If you wanted to get fancy, install a french drain system.

A course or three of paver blocks is a zillion times better than spending your life cussing small stones.

There are some other weed killers which proport to have an extended effect for up to a year.

Tractor hydraulic fluid, and "purple" degreaser come to mind...

Landscaping fabric allows water to go through and inhibits weed growth. It can be put under a layer of gravel instead of plastic.

That's an interesting idea. Could be disassembled like Legos if necessary, too.

Why not a precast concrete or recycled pop bottle AC pad, tilted slightly away from the house to prevent ponding? They come in several sizes, and can pretty easily be slipped under the AC unit without disconnecting it. May need a few shims under the coil box to keep it level, but that is easy enough. If there is slack in the cables and hoses, also a good idea to raise the box up a few inches.

-- aem sends...

That's what I have, one of those cast fiberglass like pads, I always thought that was the manditory default, had one at my last house too. I'm sure it would require a few strong backs to insert a pad after the fact:

You are right about the plastic being a bad idea. We have landscape fabric, available in different strengths, with river rock on top and used in similar areas where nothing grows. We have Trex on our finger dock, about 7 years old. Full sun, all day, Florida. Concrete pavers or black vinyl lawn edging work nicely around the rock and contain it well.

I've got the same type of pad, but still, I'd like a barren area for a foot or two around the thing.

And if there is you might hope the bad stuff gets it:-))

whose that pussy in the window?

"JoeSpareBedroom" wrote in news:aKt3m.1183$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe16.iad:

We killed a law area once with newspaper. Thick layer, hold down with rocks. I have to do something like you want in the corner where our AC is.

Have heard that one before and it works.

I use newspaper in some of my vegetable & flower beds. Works, but it'll be gone in a season. Not appropriate for the area I'm talking about here.

Then I think the patio pavers would be the best solution. I just string trim, would still need to edge around patio blocks or anything else, but I've no idea if you have lawn. I'd choose most anything before small stones... a plastic edging filled with pine bark nuggets like I have prevents weeds (I have barrier cloth under the nuggets). I had to install the fence as that is the third shrub, deer got the previous two... nothing else works other than fencing.

Originally I had no fence, a week later I had no shrub, that little cyprus is long gone:

I spent a fortune on every deer repellant on the market, spent many, many hours spraying, even in fridgid winter weather, and then having to wash the stink off my clothes and myself... all to no avail... only a fence works.