Bleach is a not very effective, and quite costly, means of trying to kill any "weed". Vinegar, if strong enough (the 3 to 5 percent for normal household use is not) and applied at the right time, is relatively effective.

Hmm, that's weird... I thought bleach would do the job. Yah, I don't have stronger vinegar at home. =/ Is there anything else I can make a concentrate solution off?

And how does the eyedropper method sound? Do you know how much applications are necessary?

Just an update:

I applied bleach using an eyedropper to the leaf heads of creeping charlie at about noon and when I checked it in the late afternoon, all those leaves had turned black. I will update in a few days to note if the plant itself took damage.

Bleach will burn what it contacts, so you will get some effect, same as if you put your hand in the same solution and kept it there for a while. Creeping Charlie is viny, however, so you are likely to kill the head and new sprouts will just appear. As long as you are comfortable with using toxic chemicals, why not use safer chemicals designed to kill the weeds with minimal residual or unintended effects? Glyphosate, 2,4-D, and dicamba will all do a job on the Creeping Charlie without potentially poisoning the ground.

will check those out beeone, thanks. =)

Bleach, the glyphosates, 2,4,D, Dicamba, all of those things poison the soil and your environment. None of them are as innocuous as some would have you believe.

Robert Cox, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension, Horticulture

"Using bleach to kill weeds is not a good idea. Bleach is sodium hypochlorite. It has a pH of about 11 therefore fatal to plants. Application of bleach to weeds will raise the pH of your soil and adds sodium to the soil as the bleach drips off leaves. Both of these circumstances make it harder to grow desirable plants in the treated area.

Ultimately, it is better to use an herbicide according to label directions than to use a household product not intended for that use. Many herbicides are intended and able to alter or interrupt a specific plant physiological process, thus killing the weed. "

morz8,

I didn't want to touch the soil that is why I used the eyedropper. I specifically put a drop in its head and spread it around using the tip of the eyedropper. So far, all the leaves I applied to has dried. Only time will tell if the plant itself is affected... but it seems to be struggling.

I saved a remark from a long-ago thread by an experienced landscaper/gardener who advocated using bleach in a situation where a large weed was growing in the midst of ornamentals and could not be removed by other means. She said to cut off the weed as close to the ground as possible, then put a few drops of bleach on the stalk.

I haven't tried this, but hopefully little if any of the bleach would come in contact with the soil or other vegetation.

That landscaper/gardener was not experienced. Using bleach as an herbicide, pesticide, or anything else it is not meant to be used for is not environmentally sound. Gasoline or kerosene will do the same thing, but no one in their right mind would use them for "weed" control.

Vinex. It will kill anything it touches. Brought down a trumpet vine and I've been working on hedera helix (stupidest thing I ever did was plant that ivy) for five years. You only have to paint a couple of inches of the vine that you leave after cutting it back - but you MUST touch only the vine with the little brush tip. Google Vinex.

Westy

I have been using Vinex for over two years here in Arkansas (where poison ivy is the state plant) and it works exactly as they say on the can - quickly.

The problem is I can't find it any more, here in the 'net or anywhere else. About 2 months ago I tried to order more Vinex for myself and interested neighbors - the Vinex Web was there but it was dead, with a notice that they were temporarily off the 'net. There's some sports Web showing Vinex and others scattered around the 'net but as of today I can't find the Vinex that we want anywhere. I think some other Vinex had the name before our Vinex.

If so, let's hope they have changed their name to something that we all can recognize, and we all spread the good news to everyone.

Vine X, or VineX, or Vine-X is a Triclopyr ester which is available in many formulations. More than likely the manufacturer reformulated that product and is now selling it under another name.
While the Triclopyr ester may be of very low toxicity most formualtions mix that with other, more toxic materials and they could, in a synergistic way, become much more toxic similar to what happened with Agent Orange in Viet Nam.

I applaud the eyedropper method. I had tons of dandilions this spring. I got out my ordinary white vinegar, put it in an old eyedropper bottle and went from plant to plant. Haven't gotten to all of them yet but a big bunch of them are no longer there. I didn't use just a drop. I put the whole amount in the dropper right in the middle of the plant where it emerged from the ground. I know vinegar can hurt the soil but I was very diligent to get it just on the plants.