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Weed Burners. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

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  • #1

    Weed Burners. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

    I had the misfortune to be a bit of a plank yesterday.

    I intended digging out some quite large evergreen bush things but I wasn't prepared for how hard it would be. The root systems were massive and one plant in particular had roots as thick as a small child's arm. 4 hours later and I had only just got one out and even then there were still roots left in the ground. I was exhausted.

    I then thought it might be easier if I attacked the underneath of the second bush, with the weed burner wand I had. I figured it might weaken the plant enough for me to dig it up easier. Well if ever there was a mistake made......... The whole bush caught fire and within seconds there was thick smoke everywhere (I live in a cul de sac in a housing scheme, my neighbours would not have been happy). The flames were 3 feet high and I admit to panicking a tad as I ran to get bowls of water. Thankfully it looked worse than it was and it burnt itself out as soon as the plant was decimated.

    I will now only ever use my weed wand on the occasional weeds in the paths.

    Have any of you ever had a weed wand incident? Or is it just me?
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  • #2
    Yikes!
    I personally wouldn't go near one after seeing our neighbour with his!
    He set fire to his shoe
    If he hadn't been so quick thinking he could have been a tower of flames
    "Nicos, Queen of Gooooogle" and... GYO's own Miss Marple

    Location....Normandy France

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    • #3
      Gardening_gal, I recently was excavating leftover roots from a huge tree removal by hand. (the roots are ALL OVER my small garden, most of them the size of an adult lower leg/ wrist. I found what really made it easier is to dig and remove in sections. A crappy blunt old screwdriver/ something pointy and sharpish to just scrape out the compacted soil around all the nooks and crannies, then saw it with a small hand saw part way, and chisel the rest with a nice sharp 1.5" chisel until you broke through, then pry that MF out and hear the satisfying SNAP.

      Bonus points if you managed to hollow out along the length of one long root, cut one end and pry the whole length and more out like a champ using the "long object on a swivelling point/ fulcrum" force...
      Last edited by Lady BlackThumb; 10-04-2019, 12:24 PM.

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      • #4
        An electric reciprocating saw is very good for tree roots as the blades are bendy and replaceable.
        Riddlesdown (S Croydon)

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        • #5
          Couldn’t be without my mattock from screwfix.
          Bought when I saw it recommended on this forum.

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          • #6
            Mattock all the way for me.... AND BOOTS WITH TOE PROTECTION! But I'm conservation volunteer trained and cut my saw teeth on digging out rhododenrons....

            A reciprocating saw? So you can amputate the burnt toes? *faints*

            GG, I'm glad it worked out okay. BTW, most evergreen bushes have a high proportion of oils/waxes in their leaves. They go up like firecrackers.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by 1Bee View Post

              GG, I'm glad it worked out okay. BTW, most evergreen bushes have a high proportion of oils/waxes in their leaves. They go up like firecrackers.
              I had no idea. I thought it would have been kinda damp and not have done much. Gardening can be so educational.

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              • #8
                Well clearly you are all so much more sensible than me. I was really hoping for some more disaster stories so I wouldn't have felt so alone.

                #nicosneighbourkindredspirit
                Last edited by gardening_gal; 11-04-2019, 12:09 PM.

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                • #9
                  Ha, I'm a newbie gardener, and the cheap approach is my jam right now moment. Thus the low tech approach. (I don't particularly fancy ending up with a Homebase collection of power saws and flame throwers for my tiny shed, plus storing petrol/kerosene/ all the burny liquid things).

                  That said, doesn't the weed burner kill the microbes in the soil? (I guess is less lingering than say Roundup though). It's odd that you posted this thread just as I saw a vid of it on Youtube recently and thought "PSHAW, look at those crazy Amuricans and their need to use over the top flamethrowers for weeds!"

                  (The google ad stalking must be stalking me)

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                  • #10
                    Tbh I was hoping the weed burner would kill things in the soil as it's a cat's toilet area normally. The garden is paved and gravelled mostly and the local cats seem to be attracted to these bushes. I think they are like an oasis in a huge litter tray for them.

                    The weed burner is just a little thing from Aldi, it uses small cannisters of gas. (Just in case you were envisioning huge flame thrower type affairs. )

                    Also I am going to be growing in raised beds so not really an issue.

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                    • #11
                      Not a tree, although I suspect a laylandii might be a suitable test object. When I moved here the garden was flat but sloping poor soil.
                      It grew some good strong grass - couch I suspect, and I decided it had to go. So it was sprayed and it dutifully died. I however did nothing and the next lot grew. So with the kill grass success the first time I sprayed the second lot and it dutifully died.

                      By this time I had sort of semi-dense 2.3 to 3 foot high straw, and nothing to remove it with. So like you I got a weed burner and started to burn the stuff.

                      That stuff burnt well. As in a arc of flame moved steadily from the corner I started in to the opposite corner in about 2 minutes. Then thankfully it ran out of anything to burn.

                      All I recall muttering was "Oh, S**t!!!"

                      Still it was over quick, somewhere in the moment I did realise that once all my stuff was up in flames then it had no more fuel. I think my exclamation was the realisation that I was not in charge/control of it however.

                      Bought a strimmer after that.

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                      • #12
                        Mmmm. Seen these but for some reason I didn't get one because I'm frightened of setting things alight which can suddenly go out of control. OH and our handyman gardener love to have a bonfire when there's not much wind, but I keep a strict eye on them because one time OH couldn't get the bonfire going so he got the spare petrol can and chucked some on it. He could have had a flash-back and he would not be here to tell the stupid tale!
                        I work very hard so please don't expect me to think as well!

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Miss Mousetrousers View Post
                          Mmmm. .......I'm frightened of setting things alight ......
                          I'm happy to set things on fire, I'm just a bit frightened if they actually burn better than expected.

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                          • #14
                            the one thing I hate about no-dig is the reduction in things I can burn (as I'm now thinking "that's potential compost")...

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