How to make a soda bottle weed killer spray shield
Published by Hanna | Filed Under: How To
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I have to kill the Canada thistle that is growing where I want to put my new vegetable beds. I have mentioned before that I do not garden 100% organic. One of the big reasons why is Canada thistle. I can’t get rid of the damn stuff. Pulling them out of the ground is the worst thing you can do as the root breaks and 2 thistles grow where one was before. They seem to be impervious to boiling water and bleach. I have even tried regular Roundup to no avail.
Today I bought super-strength Roundup for hard to kill weeds. Those suckers are gonna die.
But super-strength Roundup will kill the plants I want just as fast as it will (hopefully) kill the thistle and there is a slight wind today. So I will be using a soda bottle shield to make sure that the Roundup goes on the thistle and no place else.
Making a soda bottle shield is easy. You will need a regular plastic soda bottle and scissors.
Remove the cap from the soda bottle.
Cut off the bottom of the soda bottle.
Place the soda bottle over the desired target weed.
Spray the lethal Roundup plant toxin into the bottle through the top opening.
The soda bottle will keep the Roundup contained to just the weed and you won’t have to worry about the drift of the Roundup mist landing on the plants you want to keep.
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Hanna
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May 6th, 2006
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April 27th, 2008 at 9:06 pm
hi .As i have a backyard habitat i never use chemicals.Just today I
dug up all the thistles (they’re small now) and transplanted them to one area of the garden.Later they have beautiful purple flowers and the finches love them.Enjoy the beauty of ALL nature.
sincerely sue
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May 24th, 2008 at 12:50 am
are you nuts!? this may work for you, but what about your poor neighbors or the people who live down the road a mile or so. now they have your thistle growing in their yard. i know of what i speak. the thistle has cost me hundreds in new plant material. it loves to invade my beautiful iris bed and weave its roots in with those of my rhizomes. i have had to totally tear down the bed twice in the last three years, and still have lost over 25% of my flowers.
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July 26th, 2008 at 11:51 pm
Just be sure to leave it in place for awhile. I have heard some say they lifted it and it dripped some of the roundup on a good plant, so leave the bottle in place for an hour maybe? I save the bottles and then I can kill several in a short time! lol My problem is trumpet vines.
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October 13th, 2008 at 8:10 pm
Hello…When I use a 3 gallon hand sprayer I usually mix a 6% solution (that’s strong) of Roundup and 2,4-D. 2,4-D is Weed-Be-Gone basically, except now 2,4-D comes in different strengths. RoundUp will kill the root and 2,4-D will burn the tops off. 2,4-D just helps the RoundUp work faster. Anyway, I just place small buckets, flower pots, cottage cheese containers or whatever I can find over the plants I want to keep then spray the rest. Wait a little while so the buckets or whatever are dry (won’t hurt the plants) then remove them. Another thing I do in the spring is to use a 3 point sprayer on my tractor to spray the entire garden with RoundUp, wait a week then plant. This usually keeps the weeds away for about a month. After that, you can use the hand sprayer with the containers.
Thanx for listening…..Grady
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October 26th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
by the sounds of it sue up there has scotch thistles or nodding thistle …there weeds it is againts the law to purposefuly grow them or have them on your property and not make any atempt to remove them
once those birds get into it they spread the seeds and then they dump then down the road on farms and other places
give a thought about the farmers like me who have to implement a $10,000 intergrated pest managment system just to make the place viable
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February 22nd, 2009 at 8:59 pm
[...] Plus, it’s safe around kids and environmentally friendly. Oh and it’s cheap. Just today I used it as a weed killer. I quadrupled its strength by mixing with boiling water, salt, and dish soap. That’s the [...]
April 14th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
[...] weed killer spray shield [...]
April 19th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I will have to try the soda bottle sprayer. We have this tuberous plant that looks sort of like a dwarfy elephant’s ear thingy (its not the real deal) that’s growing in our front flower bed. I have tried digging it up many many times. The roots go under the driveway, and its impossible to get out without removing the driveway. Aargh.
I think its coming from down the block in a rental unit that doesn’t do anything to the yard except spray fertilizer. Its time for that thing to die, as the compost I put on the flowers is helping the monster grow.
Slight drama added for emphasis.
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August 11th, 2009 at 7:22 pm
Hi Hannah,
I live in Australia and found your website to be very interesting with lots of good tips, and funny too! I just wanted to thank you for providing me a way to look after my garden using household items.
All the best from Down Under!!!
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May 8th, 2010 at 11:57 am
Another way to be selective is rubber glover and a pair of old cotton gloves over top you can then put the weed killer on the glove and wipe the leaves of the offending plant and not get it on anything you may want to keep. As well and not getting it on your skin. Takes more time but works well.
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