Does anyone know how to best rid a yard of Kikuyu ? I have sprayed it with
round up 6 times over the last year and it still keeps coming up . Im
considering a bobcat to remove the top 6 to 8 inches of soil and then
replace with imported soil as a last resort but I will prolly have to relay
the reticulation after a bobcat has been in . Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks
Rod

On 2003-10-19, Rod wrote:
Does anyone know how to best rid a yard of Kikuyu ? I have sprayed it with
round up 6 times over the last year and it still keeps coming up . Im

We have something similar, if not the same as Kikuyu and a combination
of mulch and herbicide seems to have done the trick. Though perhaps not
much use if you want to plant some other kind of grass there.

considering a bobcat to remove the top 6 to 8 inches of soil and then
replace with imported soil as a last resort but I will prolly have to relay
the reticulation after a bobcat has been in . Any suggestions appreciated.

Probably not such a good idea. Any decent top soil that you have, you
lose. Plus you risk bringing in other weeds. We bought in black sand
for an area where there was nothing but clay and it seems to have bought
in couch.

--
Jeremy Lunn
Melbourne, Australia
Homepage: http://www.austux.net/
http://www.jabber.org.au/ - the next generation of Instant Messaging.

If you are in sandy soil - i.e. like Perth - you will need to get rid of in
excess of 12" of dirt to get rid of Kikuyu grass - it is the nastiest stuff!
I've been trying roundup for 20 years and it seems to thrive on it!

Joanne


"Rod" wrote in message
. au...
Does anyone know how to best rid a yard of Kikuyu ? I have sprayed it with
round up 6 times over the last year and it still keeps coming up . Im
considering a bobcat to remove the top 6 to 8 inches of soil and then
replace with imported soil as a last resort but I will prolly have to relay
the reticulation after a bobcat has been in . Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks
Rod

"A Dizzy Blonde" wrote in message
...
If you are in sandy soil - i.e. like Perth - you will need to get rid of
in
excess of 12" of dirt to get rid of Kikuyu grass - it is the nastiest
stuff!
I've been trying roundup for 20 years and it seems to thrive on it!

Joanne

Thanks Joanne

I am indeed in Perth Sad news about t he 12 inches but if thats what it
takes Im gonna do it. I tried selective round up for 4 years ( it was
in a buffalo lawn) but then gave up and did the whole lawn , the buffalo
is gone but the kikuyu persists even after 6 applications new stuff still
sprouts .

I dont know how it got in the lawn ( its only in the back , front is free)
but I curse the day I first saw it.

Rod

Rod wrote:
Does anyone know how to best rid a yard of Kikuyu ? I have sprayed it with
round up 6 times over the last year and it still keeps coming up . Im
considering a bobcat to remove the top 6 to 8 inches of soil and then
replace with imported soil as a last resort but I will prolly have to relay
the reticulation after a bobcat has been in . Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks
Rod


Have you tried using it double strength, or even stronger?


Jane

I am indeed in Perth Sad news about t he 12 inches but if thats what it
takes Im gonna do it. I tried selective round up for 4 years ( it was
in a buffalo lawn) but then gave up and did the whole lawn , the buffalo
is gone but the kikuyu persists even after 6 applications new stuff still
sprouts .

I dont know how it got in the lawn ( its only in the back , front is free)
but I curse the day I first saw it.

Rod

Rod, another suggestion - if you are in an area where you can - both geese
and pigs love the dreaded roots of kikuyu...........but will also create
chaos in the rest of the garden unless tended. Not an overly suitable
suggestion for inner suburbia.

Joanne (kikuyu in the back lawn and in one garden bed at the front - both
cases courtesy of escapee runners from neighbours property)

On Sun, 19 Oct 2003 14:36:37 +0800, "Rod"
wrote:

Does anyone know how to best rid a yard of Kikuyu ? I have sprayed it with
round up 6 times over the last year and it still keeps coming up . Im
considering a bobcat to remove the top 6 to 8 inches of soil and then
replace with imported soil as a last resort but I will prolly have to relay
the reticulation after a bobcat has been in . Any suggestions appreciated.


I've just been through a similar process with a 'lawn' that was part
couch, part kikuyu, and a large amount of clover and other weeds.

The two bobcat people we spoke to said they would need to take 15 -
30cm of soil to get rid of the lawn, which for our 120sqm would cost
about $1000.

We ended up using a turf cuttter, which cuts the top 6cm of lawn and
allows you to roll it (and dispose of as required). We then just left
it for a few weeks and sprayed whatever grew, Seems to be working
pretty well (that was about a month ago and now we just have a large
sandpit in our backyard).

The other option we considered was rotary hoeing the lot, but this is
only viable where the grass is dead (and not likely to regrow from
tiny bits).

On 2003-10-19, A Dizzy Blonde wrote:
I am indeed in Perth Sad news about t he 12 inches but if thats what it
takes Im gonna do it. I tried selective round up for 4 years ( it was
in a buffalo lawn) but then gave up and did the whole lawn , the buffalo
is gone but the kikuyu persists even after 6 applications new stuff still
sprouts .

Are you using a contact or systemic herbicide?

--
Jeremy Lunn
Melbourne, Australia
Homepage: http://www.austux.net/
http://www.jabber.org.au/ - the next generation of Instant Messaging.

"Jeremy Lunn" wrote in message
...
On 2003-10-19, A Dizzy Blonde Nospam@hotmail. sprouts .

Are you using a contact or systemic herbicide?

--


Im using Round Up as systemic I believe .

Im gonna try using it double strength as previously suggested and see how
that goes.

Rod

I have a great couch lawn and have also had trouble with foreign grasses,
notably winter grass during the cooler months. I too tried spraying the
worst areas with roundup and then replacing the dead areas with fresh turf.

Guess what? it grows back. Just like the kikuyu will.

The solution I found was to get in a professional turf mob. They sprayed
the full lawn with selective chemicals that are usual used in commerical
areas like bowling greens and golf courses. This kills everything but the
couch.

It was only $70 per application and a couple of goes over 18months did the
trick.

A lot easier and cheaper than killing and replacing.

My advice? Contact a professional and see what they can do.


"Rod" wrote in message
. au...
Does anyone know how to best rid a yard of Kikuyu ? I have sprayed it with
round up 6 times over the last year and it still keeps coming up . Im
considering a bobcat to remove the top 6 to 8 inches of soil and then
replace with imported soil as a last resort but I will prolly have to
relay
the reticulation after a bobcat has been in . Any suggestions appreciated.

Thanks
Rod

On 2003-10-20, Rod wrote:
Im using Round Up as systemic I believe .

Im gonna try using it double strength as previously suggested and see how
that goes.

Oh yeah, we just buy the concentrate so can mix to any strength (the
highest generally being 50% for bamboo). Just recently bought a 5 litre
Hills Garden Sprayer so can now get quite a bit done with little effort
and hopefully killing off the wasteland of weeds that we have will
reduce their ability to spread to other areas.

--
Jeremy Lunn
Melbourne, Australia
Homepage: http://www.austux.net/
http://www.jabber.org.au/ - the next generation of Instant Messaging.

On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 22:06:21 +1000, "Gurrie"
wrote:

I have a great couch lawn and have also had trouble with foreign grasses,
notably winter grass during the cooler months. I too tried spraying the
worst areas with roundup and then replacing the dead areas with fresh turf.

Guess what? it grows back. Just like the kikuyu will.

The solution I found was to get in a professional turf mob. They sprayed
the full lawn with selective chemicals that are usual used in commerical
areas like bowling greens and golf courses. This kills everything but the
couch.

It was only $70 per application and a couple of goes over 18months did the
trick.

A lot easier and cheaper than killing and replacing.

My advice? Contact a professional and see what they can do.


And see if you can get a guarantee, so they have to come back when it
does.....

I too live on the snady plains of Perth, and some 30 odd years ago,
probably pre Round-up days.

I wanted to have a vegie garden at the back of the block at the rented
premises we were in.

I found I had to dig down around 2 1/2 ~ 3 feet (in the "old Money")
in my attempts to get rid of it sufficiently to grow the vegies.

Each little piece that is left in the ground will cover a football
field very shortly after if it gets a chance and with watering.

The bloke that lived behind had previously and still at the time used
to resort to pouring petrol along the fence line in an effort to keep
it out of his garden.

I wish you luck, but I suppose with modern chemicals anything may be
possible.

Rod wrote:

Does anyone know how to best rid a yard of Kikuyu ? I have sprayed it with
round up 6 times over the last year and it still keeps coming up .

I'm mystified.
Is your poision old?
What concentration?
Are you doing it on a warm afternoon (so the sap is flowing).
Could this re-emergence be reinfestation?

1% Roundup usually knocks Kikuyu.
Have you been cleaning up the dead stuff?
You can also paint the stalk on a walm day the moment they re-emerge.

"Terry Collins" wrote in message
...
Rod wrote:

Does anyone know how to best rid a yard of Kikuyu ? I have sprayed it
with
round up 6 times over the last year and it still keeps coming up .

I'm mystified.
Is your poision old?
What concentration?
Are you doing it on a warm afternoon (so the sap is flowing).
Could this re-emergence be reinfestation?

1% Roundup usually knocks Kikuyu.
Have you been cleaning up the dead stuff?
You can also paint the stalk on a walm day the moment they re-emerge.

The round up that I am using is not old and was bought new.

Each time that I spray it it is killed off but about 4 weeks later new
plants emerge. It does effectively kill everything but new growth emerges
each time.

I have been using the roundup at recommended concentrations, although I have
not cleaned up the dead plants except for the first time when I killed the
whole lawn including the remnants of the buffalo lawn that the kikuyu was
infesting. It did not seem necessary to clean up as the dead remnants
disappeared in a short time frame.

I have just resprayed the latest infestation with double strength . I have
been advised to wait for emergence of new plants apply fertiliser and then
spray it again with roundup . Hopefully this will affect a solution.

Rod