On 26 Mar, 15:24, "Rupert \(W.Yorkshire\)"
wrote:
"hazchem" wrote in message

oups.com...



Yesterday Croydon Council sub-contractors came and sprayed weedkiller
outside my front door, on the paving slabs. This is despite my asking
them not to and having a notice on the outside of my front door DO NOT
SPRAY WEEDKILLER ANYWHERE NEAR THIS GARDEN. I am concerned about run-
off when rain comes. I don't want weedkiller washing into my garden.
There is a visible white residue where they sprayed. I don't want to
put my pots on top of it.

Today I got a reply via email, but I don't know if I should believe
them or not.This is what they said:-
"Sorry about the confusion regarding the spraying of the communal area
with weedkiller.
Please be assured that the chemical used becomes inert if it touches
hard services or soil, it only has an effect on green tissue.
Therefore it will be safe to place your pots back out, and it if rains
or you wash off the chemical it will not damage your soil. Also it
will have no adverse affect of the cat or anything the cat steps on or
walks through."

Does this make any sense at all? Which weedkiller could it be? There
are no weeds on the paving slabs so it doesn't make any sense. It is
too early in the year to be using glyphosate, I would think, and
sodium chlorate would not become inert. I did ask them a year ago what
the weedkiller was, but they never told me. I intend to ask them
again, but first I wanted to hear what gardeners with experience of
weedkillers think of what they have told me.

Hazchem

It does sound like glyphosate or a derivative. Quite effective on emerging
weeds at this time of year. I would play safe for a few days and then carry
on as normal.
Best of luck with the council and let us know which weedkiller they were
using.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Should not glyphosate be used to spot-treat weeds on paths or paving
stones? Or sprayed onto areas of weed growing in soil? This was
sprayed onto paving slabs where there were no weeds, not even
seedlings, or moss. Why was there a white residue? Does glyphosate
leave a white residue? I would think sodium chlorate does.

I will ask for the name of the weedkiller, but I have no confidence I
will get the truth. The council will ask the subcontractor and the
subcontractor can say what they like. Even if it is their policy to
use glyphosate, the workers may end up using a cheaper alternative.
The fact that paths and paving slabs have been sprayed suggests it is
not a contact weedkiller, no matter what the council think.

What a waste of money. How much overtime does a worker have to be paid
to come out on a Sunday? Spraying weedkiller in this way doesn't work
anyway. There is a big patch of Japanese knotweed that they haven't
touched. I can see where they have been by the residue (which is ugly)
and they don't seem to have been constistent or thorough in what they
have been doing. What an easy way to make some money. Just go in any
wave a sprayer around, nobody comes to check up on what you have been
doing. Its your tax that's paying for this.