In article , marie marie.1b7l3o@n
ews.gardenbanter.co.uk writes

marie Wrote:
No, THEY WERE NOT.
Today i had a meeting with the council enviromental officer (the
supervisor of the person that done the damage) and a representative of
the manufacturers of the weedkiller.
I now know the weedkiller is called Touche.
It's 2 main ingredients are GLYPHOSATE and DIURON.
The council man said it was a contact herbicide, yet the rep of the
maker said it was contact as well as systemic herbicide.
Now i am confused, i thought it had to be one or the other...not both?

Glyphosate is a systemic herbicide. Don't know what Diuron is.
It's perfectly possibly to put two differently acting herbicides
together into the same weedkiller, though since a systemic herbicide
needs time to translocate to the roots, I'm not sure how you would put a
contact herbicide with it and not spoil that action.

I wonder if what the council man meant was that Glyphosate has to touch
the plant if it is to kill it - it can't leach through the soil.

They both refused to take responsibility for the damage, they said
Drift had not caused them to die.
Just for my own peace of mind i took the liberty of recording this
conversation today. I did not tell them i was recording it.

Take legal advice if you want to rely on the recording for later
evidence. I have an idea you're not allowed to record without telling
the other person (which is why we have to sit through so many telephone
preambles 'This call mey be recorded for training and quality assurance
purposes ...'

It seems the only way i am going to get close to resolving this is to
have some of the conifers analysed, but even then they might say it
wasn't their man that done it.
Is it worth dragging it all through the small claims court, or is that
the approach they want me to take, and just dont bother.
This council is renowned for not admitting to anything they do wrong.

I don't know about the chance of success in the small claims court, but
clearly atm they are hoping that you will just give up.

Pity it's not just before local elections. Well motivated councillors
can sometimes achieve miracles.
--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"