Comments on: Weed-A-Pocalyspe!

By: douglas2

douglas2 — Mon, 05 May 2008 05:08:11 +0000

Used one in England for weeds in sidewalk cracks and such. The idea is to get the leaves hot enough to go slightly shiny, and then stop, not to incinerate the weed, which just encourages new growth from the intact root. My experience is that the weeds die once they heve been only slightly glazed. But perhaps US weeds are different, like the US lawns in the flymo post.

Of course when the blumber got flu and had to back out of replacing the bathroom on the week it needed to be done, I ended up using it to join the copper tubing, which was amusing to to the other tradesmen…

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 16:55:23 +0000

I will stick to my cordless black and decker weedeater. still going strong on its second year.

By: Baron

Baron — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 14:48:07 +0000

Fun, but Roundup is the best way to make sure it is gone and stays gone.

By: Brau

Brau — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:25:00 +0000

*If* it came with a heated rod to bake the roots … maybe it would actually work - which it doesn’t. If you want to see how well it works, try getting out your BurnzOmatic propane torch and see how long it takes for the weeds to grow back. Then notice how the burned ash fertilizes the ground and makes it better for a new crop of weeds. Good for a quick weenie roast or torching a roof though!

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:15:41 +0000

Not only does it not discourage weeds for any length of time, it encourages other weed seeds to sprout on the bare ground. Not to mention that you reek of smoke after using one. It has some utility but not to the extent that they are portrayed as the be-all in weed control.

By: Chris

Chris — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 21:05:05 +0000

Dan pointed out what I’ve suspected all along: this thing looks like a lot of fun, but it seems like a waste of propane, because it doesn’t really kill the weed roots. It might be effective for very light-duty work, like clearing a few stray stalks of grass out of a sidewalk, but I highly doubt it’ll have any long-term effect on dandelions or other common broadleaf weeds.

By: PeterP

PeterP — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 19:50:05 +0000

I’ve been looking at using one of those to strip paint off of a garage floor. Didn’t think about it’s applications for gardening.

By: Dan

Dan — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:34:00 +0000

I’ve got one of the ones that uses the smaller propane tanks, the “Weed Annihilator”, CDN$30.

It’s very satisfying to watch dandelions frazzle up, but it doesn’t really stop them coming back, sadly..

By: Fred

Fred — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:55:48 +0000

I’ve seen something similar at a local Home Depot - think it sold for less.

Lowes sells a Bernzomatic JT850 torch promoted for a similar purpose - but styled to use throw-away propane tanks. I think it costs about $35