Tips on getting on top of creeping thistles

[Guiggs]

So over the last 4 or 5 years I've started making in roads to getting rid of creeping thistles with the topper and knapsack.
Spot spraying Is a killer and can be fruitless if not got right so I've now brought a sprayer for the quad.
Can anybody recommend a chemical that won't break the bank but will knock the thistles hard?
Any tips on methods and or timings etc?
Don't want to have to go through this for another 5 years!

 

[Great In Grass]

MCPA is cheap spray when at the rosette stage and the plant is 15-25cms wide/high.

 

[Sheepfog]

Thistlex is good, but very expensive. MCPA (such as Agritox) works well and is what I use and is a lot cheaper. Creeping thistles might take a year or two to get on top of.

 

[clemmo]

Thistlex Is your best bet

 

[Guiggs]

Are those clover safe?

 

[clemmo]

No, both will check clover

 

[Guiggs]

Any decent sprays that won't damage clover?

 

[clemmo]

Mcpb (spruce is one )

 

[Happy hillbily]

I quite often get asked what spray I use on thistles, as here is much cleaner than the sorounding fields, get laughed at when i tell them that i dont spray but use a small scythe and quad bike. Like the one below

Its on the quad all summer long bungied to the front rack, when you go round the stock have it to hand, you be surprised how many you can cut just going around, dont try and do the whole lot in one go, just do a few, and keep at it every time your checking the stock, you will clear the fields quite quickly, and if you keep it up, thistles stop being a problem. Only problem is my neighbours love cutting their fforest of thistles once they have gone to seed !!!

 

[Ffermer Bach]

why not weed wipe with roundup? If you are not organic

 

[spin cycle]

wait until mid july....then cut....cut again before first frost...mid oct?......2-3 years will do it but don't over graze.....advice i picked up on here and it works

old drum mower probably better than pasture topper

used some thistlex for a quicker job on a little pp i took on.....does it do job in one or do you have to go back again next year?

 

[Sussex Martin]

I had a 7 acre field that was alive with the bloody things, quad bike sprayer and Thistlex done a much better job than expected with very few coming back the following year.

 

[tepapa]

Thistlex in a weed wiper will knock them back but you will need to do a couple of times to get them all as they will be at different growth stages they day you spray/wipe.
I read on here somewhere that someone was using round up in a knapsack and spraying one every 30 rosettes and it was transolacting well into the roots and knocking out the whole patch. The lost grass around one thistle was easily worth killing the rest. Dont have many thistles to try it myself but i like the idea.

Edit, ideally they want to be at the correct rosette growth stage so best to top and spray regrowth if they have started to bolt.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

wait until mid july....then cut....cut again before first frost...mid oct?......2-3 years will do it but don't over graze.....advice i picked up on here and it works

old drum mower probably better than pasture topper

used some thistlex for a quicker job on a little pp i took on.....does it do job in one or do you have to go back again next year?

I've said it on a recent thread about thistles but cutting in July is a waste of time in much of the SW as they'll have already set seed by then.

 

[Goweresque]

Thistlex is good, but very expensive. MCPA (such as Agritox) works well and is what I use and is a lot cheaper. Creeping thistles might take a year or two to get on top of.

Why do you say Thistlex is expensive? It works out about £10/acre, a little more than MCPA/2,4D which is about £7/acre but not going to break the bank.

Progreen sell 3l of Thistlex for £70+vat, it does just over 7 acres:

https://www.progreen.co.uk/weed-control/selective/thistlex-3-l

If you have a large acreage to do and need a lot of chemical they are usually open to a bit off the price too.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

Why do you say Thistlex is expensive? It works out about £10/acre, a little more than MCPA/2,4D which is about £7/acre but not going to break the bank.

Progreen sell 3l of Thistlex for £70+vat, it does just over 7 acres:

https://www.progreen.co.uk/weed-control/selective/thistlex-3-l

If you have a large acreage to do and need a lot of chemical they are usually open to a bit off the price too.

But I'm told it will wipe out the clover?

 

[Goweresque]

But I'm told it will wipe out the clover?

Quite possibly, not sure to be honest. But there's only 2 things that get rid of creeping thistle properly, and thats the Thistlex active ingredients (which are also in Pastor, but at a lower rate and more expense) or Forefront T, which is indeed pretty dear (£25-30/acre) and has other significant restrictions on its use. Other sprays will burn thistles off for the season, but they'll come back in the autumn/next season.

 

[Poorbuthappy]

Quite possibly, not sure to be honest. But there's only 2 things that get rid of creeping thistle properly, and thats the Thistlex active ingredients (which are also in Pastor, but at a lower rate and more expense) or Forefront T, which is indeed pretty dear (£25-30/acre) and has other significant restrictions on its use. Other sprays will burn thistles off for the season, but they'll come back in the autumn/next season.

I used mcpa when we moved here 10 years ago and it was pretty effective. They've gradually got worse over last few years though so just had another go. Also done some on grass keep I take that were really thick so will be interested how well it works.

 

[Y Fan Wen]

If you've got pp with wwc, even though it gets checked by Thistlex it will be back next year no problem.
If you value your clover more, then wiping is good and effective, reasonably cheap as well.

 

[Flat 10]

Does thistlex use clorpyralid? Shield and mcpa in separate passes work well in cereals.