Cat(h) wrote:
Further to an earlier post, Janet Barraclough (I think?) said she
dealt with weeds on her driveway and other paths with a
flame-thrower
rather than chemicals.
I rather like the sound of it, and have found somethign called the
Weed Wizard, a small hand-held flamethrower which operates with a
small bottle of butane, for what seems a reasonable cost of ?39.
Bearing in mind the huge cost of Pathclear for the surface I need
to
treat, the fact that it is a toxic chemical, and that it is making
little enough impression - except stunting their growth - on my
weeds
this time of year, I am very tempted by this tool. It also has the
potential of being used even in beds (plant beds, that is...).
Has anyone else here any experience of this tool? Is it any good?
How widely available are the small butane bottles? How dear are
they?
Thank you for any helpful comment!

I don't know the particular model you mention, but the rule here is
not "Small is beautiful", but "Small is absolutely lousy". In my own
experience, big isn't much better, either, though I know some people
are happy with flame guns. (My mother criticises my vacuum-cleaning
technique, as I rush the job: maybe I'm the same with
flame-throwers.) I don't like the sound of "small butane bottles":
the stuff is pricey, especially in little packets, so I bet that
would make it more expensive than a chemical treatment. And I'm
usually among the last to recommend herbicides.

--
Mike.