I'm screwed

[Tom-N-Texas]

A couple weeks ago I did weed spray application on 2 yards (next door neighbors) and I did not properly clean out my spray tank first. Unfortunately the time before I had used Round-Up in the container! YIKES!!!

Now I've got 12-15 big, sweeping dead spots in both yards! What's worse is they're both great customers in a very nice neighborhood. I'm dead meat. Any suggestions?

(Be warned -- always clean out your sprayer!)

[BCSteel]

A couple weeks ago I did weed spray application on 2 yards (next door neighbors) and I did not properly clean out my spray tank first. Unfortunately the time before I had used Round-Up in the container! YIKES!!!

Now I've got 12-15 big, sweeping dead spots in both yards! What's worse is they're both great customers in a very nice neighborhood. I'm dead meat. Any suggestions?

(Be warned -- always clean out your sprayer!)


Ya, find a new profession. Why wouldn't you, at the bare minimum, rinse out your sprayer and hoses before you started spraying anything again?

[wanabe]

I would just prep the dead areas and lay down some sod, at your expense. You do not want this going arround how you killed a customers lawn. Next time, wash out your sprayer as soon as you are done. Do not let it dry! When I spray atrazine products on my farm, it usually takes 1.5-2 hours to wash it out. It needs to be washed 3 times or more.

[DFW Area Landscaper]

If you just treated it and it's bermuda, hit it with nitrogen. It is probably too late but you can try it.

We have been experimenting with glyphoshpate to eradicate dallisgrass in bermuda. We treat the lawn and leave a note on the door explaining to the customer that they have dallisgrass and it is the only weed that won't be eradicated by our normal six app program.

If they call us to ask about their options with dallisgrass, we tell them we can pull it at our normal hourly rates, which is very expensive...several hundred and up normally. Then I tell them we could spray it with grass killer. It will leave ugly dead spots in the lawn that will eventually fill back in.

Anyway, we apply the nitrogen and then about a week later we appy the glyphposphate. What I'm noticing is that we are not getting 100% kill on the bermuda or on the dallisgrass. We will have to make some followup applications to completely eradicate the dallisgrass.

If you don't get 100% kill from the roundup hit it with nitrogen every four weeks at a very heavy rate. Being this close to the solstice, it can fill back in pretty fast.

Later,
DFW Area Landscaper

[Hank Reardon]

After make the repair, buy another sprayer and make sure they are labeled.

[jgtxusa]

Been there before, but light glysophate will work its way out quick. Try the nitrogen like the other posts said. Its not like you were spraying at 2% or something, so it might work out. Good luck.

[Runner]

How hot has it been down there? The dead spots COULD easily be burn from your selective mix, not the glyphosate.There are a FEW lawns up around here like that. One is a Scotts, and one is a Lawn Doctor. I even have some slight tire tracks in one because of improper watering. When I did this lawn, I should've had it dilluted way down, but I was still running just under 2 oz. per M. If this is the case, you will have to wait a couple of weeks before you can reseed (I would suggest slitseeding).

[Tom-N-Texas]

It's pretty hot here (90s) but I've never had burn spots like this. I've had some mild discoloration from strong MSMA treatments but these spots are dead.

I think I'm going to have to re-sod the bad areas. It looks pretty bad. Learned an expensive lessen.

[ArizPestWeed]

why not reseed ?

[lucky4511]

i would not want reseeding if it were my lawn...i would want if fixed now!

[jtrice11]

I just finished spraying a large complex with a non selective herbacide, when I finished I drained the tank, flushed it, mixed a batch of a neutralizing agent that I got from Lesco and rinsed it again with plain water. Should I be ok?

This is my first year and I need to spray Momentum on Wednesday, I don't want to end up killing anything.

[Runner]

You should be ok. Triple rinse is better, but if it was just glyphosate (without the salts for residual), you should be alright.

[Garth]

What we do is keep our tanks separate, one for herbicides, one for plant growth regulator, another for insecticide, etc. They are cleaned after every use but keeping a tank for a single purpose keeps chemical interaction and contamination from occuring.

[jtrice11]

Unfortunately I only have one 200 gal tank. If our business grows, I will definately invest in a 50-100 gallon tank for specific purposes.

[weedmaster]

I have just drained my tank and not rinsed it before by accident. You will have some yellowing but no giant dead spots if you run your hose into the tank for several minutes to mix any residual roundup with a bunch of water it will be so diluted it will not kill bermuda. The more water the better.A very small residual of roundup wont kill anything. I live in a neighborhood where I can't just rinse and dump my tank in the driveway. Where do I dispose of the rinsed tank 3 times? Is this triple rinsing and dumping the whole tank legal? I need 2 tanks also.

[jajwrigh]

I purposely sprayed a patch of clover on the side of my house the other day when it was 92 degrees to see what would happen. It was a 2'x2' area and it is absolutely torched!! I would spray above 79 degrees and won't spread above 85, especially when it is so damn dry!!

[nocutting]

:dizzy: Everybody makes mistakes and accidents do happen, [ the best excuse for this is that you left the spray hose on the lawn during your lunch break it 3was so hot that day that the liqued got super heated and burnt the lawn......Fix it fast w/ sod.....now get another rig just for fert ,isect & disease control. And save the 1st one for weed only apps........learn from the lesson and be thank-ful worse things didnt happen. :)

[ThreeWide]

You didn't mention what turf type, but if it is Bermuda even Glyphosate does not completely kill it.

Other than re-sodding, you could try applying 46-0-0 about every 7 to 10 days until it comes back. And it will come back.

It all depends on how much patience you and your clients have.

[gslawncare]

bust out the sod cutter and start rolling. you should have replaced the spots the day you found the murder case.