Killing Giant Horsetail (Equisetum) Update #2

My last giant equisetum update was in July, a month after the nursery who recommended I plant giant horsetail in my yard, started using a poison called SedgeHammer to try to prevent it’s rapid spread and eventually kill it off.  For those of you who don’t know, horsetail (equisetum) is an invasive weed that can be incredibly damaging and take over your yard.   It can spread underneath your driveway to the other side, and go deep under concrete fence footings to reach your neighbor’s house.  Our problem has been going on for about 3+ years and has been a costly disaster. I want to do an update because it’s one of the most widely searched topics on my blog (other than flying long haul with kids).  That makes me think that others are having the same problem and I want to help.

Here’s my 2 prior posts about the situation:

Killing Giant Horsetail Update
Killing Giant Horsetail: My Giant Nightmare

The post photo is a stalk of horsetail about a month after an application of SedgeHammer. The SedgeHammer does work but it’s taking a LONG TIME. What happens is that the stalks gradually shrivel up and die. The nursery who is doing the applications has lost the sense of urgency about it, probably since the SedgeHammer is working. I intend to change that because I am very anti poison in my yard.  The thought of it makes me crazy even though I’ve been assured “it’s safe”.   The nursery told me they would come once a week until it’s gone, but that drifted to every 2 weeks and now it’s been a month since the last application, though it’s holiday season.

I think that if it was really applied once a week, the problem would definitely go away faster. Because when the stalks are allowed to live, that means that the underground runners are still growing. I think it’s key to stop the growth of the underground system.  So if you have horsetail, you may want to try SedgeHammer but be diligent about applying it frequently.  I am not personally doing the applications (I refused since this isn’t my fault) so please do your research before you apply anything like this yourself.  Just wanted to let you know that I think it does work. The thicker stalks take longer to die.  The new, skinny ones will totally die off with one application.

Giant Horsetail is nasty, stay miles away from it. In fact, I would stay away from all varieties of horsetail.  It grows in the wild but it’s also sold at almost every nursery. Avoid it at all costs, especially the giant kind which recommended for our yard (behind a n expensive chemical barrier that was unable to control it).  Don’t let people tell you that if you put horsetail in a planter that it’s going to be ok.  All it takes is for one stalk to break off and blow away without you noticing and then root in your yard.   Then you have a huge problem.

Tagged as: Gardening, Giant Equisetum, Giant Horsetail, Home, Horsetail, Invasive Weeds, Killing Horsetail