Horsetail is one of those annoying weeds that sometimes crops up on your lawn. If you see this weed in your grass, chances are that you want to get rid of it as quickly as possible. But there are some horsetail killing mistakes that you want to avoid making. Below are 6 common mistakes that many people make when trying to get rid of horsetail.
Horsetail Killing Mistakes 1 – Using Vinegar to Kill Horsetail
You can control horsetail using vinegar aboveground. However, it’s not going to kill it down to its rough. Applying strong vinegar, which has been mixed with some dish soap, will help with killing horsetail aboveground quickly. However, you are still going to have underground rhizomes. These will continue growing. The acid in vinegar only will attack the stems and leaves and the roots will be left.
Horsetail Killing Mistakes 2 – Using Roundup
Roundup doesn’t kill horsetail. The weed’s waxy leaves give them protection from the majority of topical herbicides, and the plant’s resistance to Roundup’s active ingredient makes this a huge mistake.
Horsetail Killing Mistakes 3 – Using WD-40
Another thing that you shouldn’t use when you are faced with horsetail is WD-40. Along with being ineffective in penetrating and killing the roots of horsetail, it’s also going to be very toxic to put in your soil. Even a bit of WD-40 runoff can stop plants from growing for a few years.
Horsetail Killing Mistakes 4 – Using Bleach
Similar to using vinegar, spraying horsetail with bleach isn’t going to wipe out an infestation. It will burn the plants because of it being a high pH. But it’s not going to kill its roots. So, horsetail is going to grow back.
Horsetail Killing Mistakes 5 – Using Ground Covering or Sheet Mulching
Horsetail will thrive in the low-light, low oxygen environment that you create when you cover the area with thick mulch or plastic sheeting. Along with this, since it establishes such large networks of roots, it’s also going to find the uncovered areas to sprout. Doing this might hold horsetail briefly. However, it’s eventually going to push up through around the mulch’s edges, through the mulch, or even start growing under the ground covering.
Horsetail Killing Mistakes 6 – Pulling the Weeds by Hand
You’re not going to be able to do this and get rid of your weeds. The roots of horsetail can grow down as far as 5 feet. You aren’t going to kill it just by pulling up the portion that is exposed. If you are doing this, you are going to find that it’s coming back again and again.
We hope that you found this to be useful. If you are looking for someone to take care of your lawn or you are looking for other landscaping work, contact us for a quote. We are happy to answer your questions.
