Herbicides

WSRL.ORG / Weed Herbicide Information For Rural Dwellers - Nov. 2010 - Revised Nov. 2010 - Page 2

The companion page to this page is the Noxious Weed Page (Page 1). This page attempts to provide information and guidance on the more commonly available herbicides that can be purchased without a license. It is, of course, up to the individual user of herbicides to become familiar with the properties of the herbicide he/she is using so as to not damage desirable plants. This information is usually available in the manufacturer's MSDS document and/or the product labeling which must be available to the user by law. This page will not cover the use of "Restricted Use" herbicides/pesticides but information on their use can be found here.

Major Knapweed Infestation-2009

Herbicides can take several forms as can their method of application. This page will cover commonly available herbicides that can be purchased locally without a license. This page will also attempt to cover, to a limited degree, herbicide types and issues associated with "Organic" herbicides and organic farms. The least possible use of these products should be the goal of everyone reading this page.

It Gets Complicated -

It should not be a surprise to readers that public safety is not a top priority for some corporations relative to their profits. It should also be realized that ideologicial extremes and outright paranoia exists on the user/consumer side of these products as well. In my view, the EPA, though not perfect, strikes a reasonable middle ground in this area. Labeling for virtually all consumer products is a critical issue and especially here. It is suggested that readers become familiar with the EPA Labeling Review Manual. It details requirements for labeling all types of products along with which are covered under the EPA and which are covered under the FDA.

Credible Data Sources -

The following information should not be used in lieu of manufacturer product labeling and MSDS information but as an additional aid and information source when purchasing and using herbicides. As an example of the different data sources consumers can experience on the Internet, review the data on the very common 2,4-D herbicide presented by Oregon State University (fact sheet) and technical data sheet and this site. Not that the "Pesticide.org" website doesn't have some good ideas, Oregon State presents essentially the same information that many other prominent universities with plant science programs present including CSU. This page recommends that the NPIC (Oregon State) site or the University of Georgia Invasives.org site be used as an additional primary information source in addition to manufacturer product labeling and MSDS information. It does not appear that the NPIC site has information on every herbicide being used.

Herbicide Persistence (Half Life) -

When purchasing and applying a herbicide, it's best to be aware of how quickly the herbicide degrades into something other than a herbicide. Data sheets nearly always show the decay rate or half life of the herbicide for standard application conditions. It's also important to know that the half life of a herbicide can be greatly extended if it is shielded from those agents responsible for causing the herbicide to degrade. Typical agents can include but are not limited to things like sunlight, air/ground temperature at time of application, humidity/moisture at time of application, soil organisms present etc. Rain can radically alter the performance of a herbicide depending how fast plant leaves absorb the herbicide. With few exceptions, OTC herbicides typically degrade to undetectable levels over a period of a few weeks to a few months.

Vaporization (Spray Drift) -

One of the most economical ways of applying herbicide is by liquid spray. The big three no-nos in this area are a) don't spray with the wind blowing, b) don't spray if the temperature is above 85 degrees, c) try not to spray inside the drip line of a tree. Some herbicides are much more deadly to trees than others. The following document gives a good description of what not to do. It's obviously written for the big time boom sprayers. With good weed control, I'd like to think no more than spot spraying is required to maintain a reasonable balance.

Bioaccumulation -

In terms of humans, animals, fish and birds, it's important to understand which chemicals are easily eliminated from the body without major problems. Any chemical agent that, by it's nature, accumulates is a major potential threat to living organisms. Product labeling along with data from university plant science programs is your friend in this case. In my experience, most all OTC herbicides I'm familiar with do not have bioaccumulation problems associated with them at least in terms of humans.

No Spray Signs -

In my experience, maybe the fastest way to spread noxious weeds is to erect a "No Spray" sign.

No Spray Zone

The sign pictured to the right is typical of what gets erected. The canal operator, when questioned, admitted they had no policy regarding such signs or their real meaning. In the case of herbicides, do these signs include granular type herbicides? What about cut and paint type operations? Are they included? In the case of organics, do the signs mean only synthetic pesticides or do they include organic pesticides such as this one? Who does the spraying? Is the adjoining land owner now free to use whatever means or chemicals he/she choses in controlling noxious weeds. Considering the larger scope of the entire canal, allowing anyone but a trained professional spray chemicals next to the canal sounds like a very bad idea to me. In my view, it's very unfortunate that the canal operator does not have a clear policy regarding such signs and what is really included. Hopefully, this will change in the near future.

Organic Herbicides -

For those that can not stand the thought of applying any type of synthetic herbicide to their fields, there are organic herbicides. Often times mechanical control of weeds is either ineffective or counter productive. Chopping up certain types of weeds or weed roots with a string trimmer or other device, for example, can result in multiplying the weed problem many fold. Seeds are often widely spread. Bits of plants end up being buried and propagate into new plants. Burning weeds with propane can also be ineffective and expensive. The following slide show from CSU details the elements of organic herbicides and their use. To the no-spray people, I would say more power to you. That is, as long as your ideologies and practices don't bleed over onto my property and cause me additional work and expense.

Miche.com Colorado State Statutes (CSS) / Colorado Revised Statutes (CRS) Listing-

I apologize for linking to the Miche legal resources website. This is the only place on line I have found that provides access to current CSS data. The site is an abomination (my opinion) to use or link to. If all else fails go to go to this site.and look up Title 35, Article 5.5 to access this information.

- Invasives Page -- Trees Page -- Irrigation Page -- Organics Page

EPA Information
November 2010

Tools
November 2010

Persistance Infor.
November 2010

Herbicide Information Links
Updated Nov. 2010