Bindweed, whose responsibility?
Discussion
Behind my house I have a alley/ginnel/jennal/gully/snicket/twitten, depending on where you come from.
This alleyway consists of a slabbed pathway on the right-hand side for people to walk on and then soil/overgrowth area to the left that then joins onto the fence of my back garden.
This overgrowth now has bindweed in it (I think, thin red wire type stem and white trumpet flowers).
The weed has completely taken over the soil area and has come through/over/under mine and neighbours fencing, strangling my roses and plants on the fence border and a bit of damage to the fencing as well.
I'm pretty sure the council have maintained the overgrowth area in the past but not seen them in ages.
Should I be reporting this to them to remove it, and will the remove it from mine/neighbours gardens and rectify the damage it's caused to plants/fences as well?
This alleyway consists of a slabbed pathway on the right-hand side for people to walk on and then soil/overgrowth area to the left that then joins onto the fence of my back garden.
This overgrowth now has bindweed in it (I think, thin red wire type stem and white trumpet flowers).
The weed has completely taken over the soil area and has come through/over/under mine and neighbours fencing, strangling my roses and plants on the fence border and a bit of damage to the fencing as well.
I'm pretty sure the council have maintained the overgrowth area in the past but not seen them in ages.
Should I be reporting this to them to remove it, and will the remove it from mine/neighbours gardens and rectify the damage it's caused to plants/fences as well?
Bindweed doesn't really 'strangle' stuff, it uses it as supports. It's challenging to get rid of but it's a common and normal weed.
It isn't anything notifiable like Japanese Knotweed so I think - were you to ask - the Council staff would quietly chuckle and give you a stiff ignoring if you asked them to deal with it.
It isn't anything notifiable like Japanese Knotweed so I think - were you to ask - the Council staff would quietly chuckle and give you a stiff ignoring if you asked them to deal with it.
The alleyway and it's overgrowth area runs the length of 5 large detached houses so it's quite long rectangular strip, and width wise I'd say the area is about a couple feet.
The whole soil area is covered in the stuff so don't fancy buying weedkiller to sort it all from the outside.
I was under the impression that if I had a tree in my garden that hung over the fence then I would need to trim it so it doesn't overhang into the alleyway so likewise if the council maintained the bit behind my fence then they should sort anything from that side.
Guessing I'll just have to maintain it from my side of the fence then, if they wouldn't entertain it.
The whole soil area is covered in the stuff so don't fancy buying weedkiller to sort it all from the outside.
I was under the impression that if I had a tree in my garden that hung over the fence then I would need to trim it so it doesn't overhang into the alleyway so likewise if the council maintained the bit behind my fence then they should sort anything from that side.
Guessing I'll just have to maintain it from my side of the fence then, if they wouldn't entertain it.
Radec said:
Guessing I'll just have to maintain it from my side of the fence then, if they wouldn't entertain it.
Yes. I think whilst you may have a technical point, you can't really expect the Council to come and tidy up your garden for you - they have more pressing things to do and not enough money to do them 
It will be much, much easier to spray the whole strip outside your property with glyphosate rather than tackle it from the inside, where it has entwined itself with plants you want to keep. If you kill it from the outside it will hopefully die back substantially on your side of the fence as well, leaving you with a much reduced problem.
Maybe mention it to the neighbours first just out of courtesy, although I can’t imagine anyone objecting.
Maybe mention it to the neighbours first just out of courtesy, although I can’t imagine anyone objecting.
As others have said, you need to use a strong weedkiller on it. Pulling it up will make no difference unless you dig out all the roots (and good luck with that!!). Any piece of root, however small,, left in the ground will regrow. I've been fighting it in our curent garden for the three years we've been here and it keeps on coming back.
Petrol strimmers are also good in terms of a fast way to remove such material. Best with a metal tri-blade but a heavy duty plastic cord type is likely fine for bindweed. A rotary lawn mower is another option if conditions allow or a decent pair of garden shears even.
And or as said, careful application of any general weed killer containing Glyphosate, which is the only active ingredient available over the counter.
I think if it was me a and it was all over the place, I would strim/mow/cut it all down to the ground, and then treat anything which came back with Glyphosate to kill remaining roots. But you could also hit it with Glyphosate first and then strim/mow/cut to remove the dead material. by the time your set up to do it, I would likely treat the whole alleyway, or at least a good area either side and or as far as the nearest end, to prevent it coming back and also to allow you to use the alleyway. You could then maintain it by topping it off with a strimmer or mower a couple of times a year.
And or as said, careful application of any general weed killer containing Glyphosate, which is the only active ingredient available over the counter.
I think if it was me a and it was all over the place, I would strim/mow/cut it all down to the ground, and then treat anything which came back with Glyphosate to kill remaining roots. But you could also hit it with Glyphosate first and then strim/mow/cut to remove the dead material. by the time your set up to do it, I would likely treat the whole alleyway, or at least a good area either side and or as far as the nearest end, to prevent it coming back and also to allow you to use the alleyway. You could then maintain it by topping it off with a strimmer or mower a couple of times a year.
Having had experience if this dreadful stuff (from a neighbours garden too!) I would certainly do something about it as soon as possible. Once it gets a root in the garden on your side of the fence you will need to remove every last vestige of root before being able to get rid of it. It's awful stuff.
I used to kill any bindweed in my garden with Roundup Gel, wiping it carefully onto just the bindweed leaves. But now the gel has disappeared (or is available for £100 on Fleabay) due to the carcinogen concerns, I'm struggling to find anything as effective. I found a Roundup spray that allegedly still has glyphosate in it and carefully just sprayed the large leaves, but the bindweed appears to have shrugged it off and carries on.
Anybody know of something similar to and as effective as the Roundup Gel that can be applied selectively to just the bindweed?
Anybody know of something similar to and as effective as the Roundup Gel that can be applied selectively to just the bindweed?
Dashnine said:
Anybody know of something similar to and as effective as the Roundup Gel that can be applied selectively to just the bindweed?
You can mix generic glyphosate with wallpaper paste, but might have to experiment with the proportions to get the right consistency.Just get the cheapest "360" glyphosate from Ebay, it's all the same.
Cheapest strong glyophosphate from Amazon / ebay, dilute it and into a small (5 litre ?) spray cannister and get at it in the alley (though you may want to consider as above and strim it all back in the alley then wait for it to re-appear before blasting with glyo). If you just focus on your garden you will be forever fighting it (it grows really fast). If it's already taken hold in the alley you'll probably be a couple of years before completely rid of it in my experience. Spray the bulk of it now in a dry spell (be careful of overspray) then in about 2 months time go back and do it all again (anything that is re-growing).
Then have a wander down the alley every month and give any leaves you see sprouting another spray.
If in your garden, unwrap the binds on any plants as much as possible, stick them in a plastic bag and spray (to avoid over spray). If you just pluck it out it will re-grow as it uses rhizomes to feed growth which are buried and you need the plant to take the glyo down into the root system.
Then have a wander down the alley every month and give any leaves you see sprouting another spray.
If in your garden, unwrap the binds on any plants as much as possible, stick them in a plastic bag and spray (to avoid over spray). If you just pluck it out it will re-grow as it uses rhizomes to feed growth which are buried and you need the plant to take the glyo down into the root system.
Sorry to bump this but I'm having similar issues with it growing into my boundary from the gardens around a car park for adjacent apartments.
I had a go at it last year but now realise my attempts to untangle and then pull what I could from the ground were futile.
It's back and my hedges and trees and other plants appear to have been overrun within 48 hours... or I haven't been looking carefully enough.
I see you can buy Ammonium Sulphamate as a "compost accelerator" on eBay but is Glyphosate a more viable option?
It's really embedded in the gardens for the apartments and their contracted gardener is rubbish so if I want to protect my garden it looks like I need to try and tackle it but I don't want to murder all the plants with chemicals and get into bother
I had a go at it last year but now realise my attempts to untangle and then pull what I could from the ground were futile.
It's back and my hedges and trees and other plants appear to have been overrun within 48 hours... or I haven't been looking carefully enough.
I see you can buy Ammonium Sulphamate as a "compost accelerator" on eBay but is Glyphosate a more viable option?
It's really embedded in the gardens for the apartments and their contracted gardener is rubbish so if I want to protect my garden it looks like I need to try and tackle it but I don't want to murder all the plants with chemicals and get into bother
Edited by thetapeworm on Wednesday 22 May 10:49
Byker28i said:
Bindweed grows from the tiniest bit of root. You have to kill it with weedkiller. Just ripping it out makes it look nice for a bit but it comes back.
Easy if it's in scrub, harder if it's mixed in your plants, then you have to dig out every bit of root
No you don't.Easy if it's in scrub, harder if it's mixed in your plants, then you have to dig out every bit of root
The way some people go on about a few common weeds, you'd expect 90% of the land mass to be choked by bindweed, ground elder and the like.
If you chop it off a few times, it doesn't get to put energy into its roots. It's a matter of getting on top of the problem and staying on top.
ewanjp said:
I got rid of all the bind weed in our garden by getting a 'stick' type glyphostate applicater - like a stick of deodrant. Stuck that on all the weeds I could see for a couple of seasons.
I've read about these and people painting stuff on to target specific weeds but most of the content seems quite old and I get the impression some kind of ban has been brought in over the past year or so due to concerns over the chemicals involved? Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff