On Sat, 15 Jul 2006 16:07:22 -0400, mm
wrote:

On 15 Jul 2006 11:12:54 -0700, "Bob" wrote:


mm wrote:

Does concentrated Round-up weaken and go bad as quickly as the stuff
sold for immediate application?

I have been using Roundup for many, many years and here's my
experience:
Roundup, as it comes in the container you buy, will last 2-3 years
before it starts to weaken. However, once you dilute it to specs for
spraying, it is only good for 2-3 days.

This is just what I was afraid of. Thanks for confirming. So at
least I wasn't an idiot for not mixing the stuff up when I only had a
few minutes to go spraying.

The original Roundup was a great product, but it had to be mixed with a
surfactant (soap) to get it to stick to the leaves. Mixing reduced the
use time to 2-3 days. Then Roundup decided to add the surfactant at
the factory (Roundup Ultra) (Increased price). But it didn't work
nearly as good as the original product because of the mix. So they had
to increase the strength to make it last longer (another price
increase). I now buy a generic brand because it's cheaper and works
better than Roundup.

I'll look for that next time.

A 4-oz. bottle came included with something else I wanted to buy, but
in order to mix it, I want to put on gloves and long pants (do I need
that?) and so it's been more than a year and I've never gotten around
to doing it.

The ingredient in Roundup is little/no toxic to humans. I even had a
salesman tell me you could drink it with no ill effects (but how many
people believe salesmen?). The standard used to measure toxicity is
table salt. Roundup is less toxic than salt. HOWEVER, always follow
the manufacturers directions.

To you and timbirr, I read the instructions and would have read them
again, but I just wanted some reassurance. Thank you both.

I"m thinking it might have been cheaper in the long run to buy it
already diluted.

Depends on how much you use and how fast you use it.

Yep.

Bob


Actually table salt is very bad for your landscaping. The only way to
rid the soil of table salt is to dilute it. On the other hand,
RoundUp breaks down when in contact with the soil--much safer than
table salt if you intent to landscape later. I know RoundUp contains
a surfactant, but you can increase the intensity of the RoundUp by
spraying the poison ivy with a soap solution (1 T of dishwashing
liquid in a 1 qt spray bottle of warm water). Allow this to dry, then
apply the RoundUp. I would never mix RoundUp (or any other product)
with another compound unless specified on the manufacturer's label. I
know that RoundUp specifies that it is "waterproof" after 2-3 hours,
but you'll get better results when there is no rain in the next 24
hours.