2-4D

WormWiggler

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So I purchased some 2,4-D Anime 4 to spray on the lawn. The booklet with it made my head spin and made me crave alcohol. Can I get some practical advise. I am mostly looking to kill thistles, but I likely have all weeds known to man that I can legally have. What time of day is best, cool morning, hot afternoon.... I would think as windless as possible, what is temperature inversion? I suppose too close to the garden would cause me some misery. How about pets?
 


PrairieGhost

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I lost my temper with the cover and mixed to heavy. Now I'm hoping the grass survives. Luckily I only sprayed a few small spots.
That quarts per acre drives me nuts. So what pressure and how fast do I drive. I put a pint in my 14 gal sprayer and I cover about a half acre. Has always worked out for me. Spot spraying I put a half cup in a 3 gal sprayer. Been doing the same thing for 30 years. Assume I worked it out once some time back.
 
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Wallike

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2-4D is my best friend. My dad was a county weed sprayer for many years of his retirement and said don't expect it to work miracles in on application. Mix it per directions and usually hitting it twice four to five days apart works best. Creeping Jenny and big varieties of thistle are pretty hardy and sometimes take another blasting. Be patient as it kills from the roots up. You can tell if you mix to strong as it will burn the edges of the foliage in about 24 hours. Use it regularly and the grass will eventually help with some of the weed control.

Oh, and I forgot to mention...Please use with all the precautions stated. This is a chemical and will cause health issues if not used properly. Calm conditions, cool mornings and at least 12 hours before rain works best.
 
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guywhofishes

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mid summer is usually a bad time to spray - but that's because they usually go dormant like the grass - the weeds need to be growing for herbicides to do their damage

but mine are growing like weeds (har) so if I sprayed now they'd die pretty well

but I'll wait for late September as usual - when they're greening up and sending their nutrients down to the roots - along with the herbicide... ba ha ha haaaar
 

PAIN

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I put 4 cups in my 15 gallon sprayer. I spray once a week in May and once every two weeks in June and then let it sit until September. It can damage trees and gardens so stay a good distance away, I only spray in the morning when calm. I keep pets off for at least an hour and have had no issues.
 


Allen

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It's really tough to kill thistle this time of year. Best time to kill thistle is early June when it's only about 6-12 inches tall, I forget what they refer to it as the stage of development.

Milestone is a good one for going after thistle. https://www.techlinenews.com/articl...application-timing-for-canada-thistle-control

Note, the way to calibrate your spray application is to fill your sprayer with water and turn it on to see how much you are putting out to the mist behind you. Then figure out with your driving speed, how much territory do you cover in the time it takes to empty your sprayer.

I, though, will be the first to admit that it's frustrating as hell for me to try and spray weeds with my UTV. I just can't control the speed for shit on the rough terrain. Drive too fast and you don't get enough spray on the weeds, drive too slow and the grass may suffer.
 

guywhofishes

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I found that spraying a long concrete driveway or street with water and a stopwatch is an excellent way to figure out what you're laying down for square footage per minute (measure the wet area you just created after one minute of travel).

Then figure how long it takes to empty 10 gallons of waster from your sprayer. Then you can adjust your speed or pump rate to get near perfect application rates
 

Up Y'oars

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I just used the Bayer product of 2-4-D last night. It was the first chance for me to get that task completed, so I'm probably screwed on its effectiveness as much as the unanticipated rain this morning at 5am. Uggh.

The bottle was 40oz and it measures out to all of the contents for 12-1/2gal of my 15gal sprayer. I used one full bottle on the first tank and then another bottle for the other 12-1/2gal on the second tank to do my 2 acres of property. I did have about 5gal remaining of the 25gal that was mixed. With the rain I'll probably take a route around to the problem spots next weekend and use up whats left in the tank.
 

Phill Latio

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on another note, does anyone have any success using 2-4d with creeping jenny?
 

Ericb

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I've been using 24d for a couple years now I think based off of recommendations from this site. Read the label as there are differnt concentrations you can buy. I seem to remember someone come on here and threatening v for the illegal information posted. I found usually using the lower end of the mix rates and multiple applications has produced the best results. I may have killed a young plant my wife planted. Thought it was a weed, but have never had any issues with burning grass. I'm actually about to go go do some spraying as we speak as summer activities I've gotten a little behind.
 


PrairieGhost

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Oh I do have one bit of advise. You know farmers (some of you) usually use a surfactant so the spray doesn't run off the plant. When I worked for the Fish and Wildlife I did a bit of burning. They recommended a surfactant to help water cling and put out fire better. We found that a pint of Dawn dish soap in a 500 gallon tank worked as well as the $125 fire surfactant. Now I always mix a spoonful with my water and herbicide.
 

Auggie

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This is the Bible on weed control. https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/weeds/weed-control-guides/nd-weed-control-guide-1
It even has instructions on backpack sprayer calibration.
Adding an MSO to your 2-4D will improve its effectiveness. Small weeds are easier to kill. Dandelions are best controlled in the fall.
An inversion occurs when there a fflew degree temp difference (warmer lower). The warm air rises and the higher cooler air falls. This will pickup the spray and relocate it. It's most likely to occur in the evening. The NDSU North Dakota Ag Weather Network (NDAWN) has several inversion monitors across the state.
FOLLOW THE LABEL!!!
 

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I had my first of many baths in 2-4-D (and 2-4-T back then too) in the mid to late 50’s when we kids all fought to see who would flag for the spray planes. We’d get doused every pass all day, then after riding our bikes home at nite we’d usually be too tired for a shower. Then same thing the next day! Paid great for 10-12 yr old kids, and no OSHA or WC or EPA then. Haven’t died yet, but maybe I’m a tough old geezer. Sometimes flagged for DDT when grasshoppers were bad, too. DDT was tough on falcon eggs, but I didn’t lay eggs so never worried about it!
Nowadays I try follow labels but get frustrated trying to figure out application rates and spray concentrations. I admit I tend to overkill but so far haven’t killed anything I didn’t intend to.
 


luvcatchingbass

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So I purchased some 2,4-D Anime 4 to spray on the lawn. The booklet with it made my head spin and made me crave alcohol. Can I get some practical advise. I am mostly looking to kill thistles, but I likely have all weeds known to man that I can legally have. What time of day is best, cool morning, hot afternoon.... I would think as windless as possible, what is temperature inversion? I suppose too close to the garden would cause me some misery. How about pets?
Ok I may not know much growing up around my father who is a retired crop duster and certified mechanic being around helping at a younger age than he wanted. At this point you have a lot of good info given to you in this thread.Auggie's link is good for sure and I suggest saving it for the oddball times just in case.
One question I have is in your case if a city type lot what are your dimensions roughly and what do you have planted veg garden, flower garden wise as well as you neighbors proximity in the event of a lift? If your worried about OD you're lawn figure out square footage, convert to acre and if you feel it's too strong back off the dose add a touch of dish soap do the deed and give it time like stated before, 7-10days can tell you if its working. Slow kills are better than fast burns, if you hit 14 days in my opinion you have 2 decisions depending on weed type. You either hit it again within 14-25ish days with similar dose if weeds are showing recovering or start planning a late summer early fall before dormancy sets in.
Side note, if it is just thistle and spotty just digging out the roots helps. If wide spread I personally prefer Tordon but it is more inversion prone to me
 

Deerwatcher

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Mix 1 to 1.5 qt per 10 gallons of water
Run about 27-32 psi at 8-10 mph
Thats for acre
 

WormWiggler

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lots of great advise, 2 gallon hand sprayer on hand, i suppose a wind free morning will happen eventually
 

Kentucky Windage

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lots of great advise, 2 gallon hand sprayer on hand, i suppose a wind free morning will happen eventually

light and distinct winds. Use wind direction to your advantage to control drift. You may need a couple few different wind directions to get your entire yard sprayed. It doesn’t need to be done all at once.

IME, it is almost impossible to accurately apply herbicides properly when dealing with hand sprayers. You have multiple inconsistent variables (ground speed, rate and pressure most notably) working against you. You won’t consistently walk the same speed, keep your arm locked like a real boom, and your rate and pressure are all variable because they rely on what you’ve provided it via the hand pump. Don’t let this bother you, just do the best you can. Know what the what the labeled rates are are try to spread that amount of hercide over the known measured area. I always opt for the high end of every rate. Kill things more dead than less dead.

Have multiple sprayers for different products. Example: one sprayer for glyphosate (non-selective), one for 2,4-D (selective). You won’t be as likely to use a contaminated sprayer and kill non target plants.

Wear safety equipment and do not bring clothes you were wearing while spraying in the house. Drop them at the door. Be aware of what you handle and then touch afterwards.

Do not walk through your treated areas during application. Always walk where you haven’t sprayed backing away from the treated area. I’ve seen roundup sprayed in an area, someone walk through it, and then walk off into the grass leaving kill spot footprints into their yard.

Is that better LuvsCatchingBass?
 


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