Are weed burners effective?

They are can be very satisfying! Excellent for getting the bonfire going as well but weeding properly is more efficient in my opinion.

I tried one, but as i''m in my 80s I found it difficult to use, I have no muscle strength in my arms so it strained my back holding it in front of me. I should imagine a young fit person would find them brilliant.
(Try leaning slightly forwards with a brush in your stretched arms for a few minutes, and it gives you some idea how your own body reacts.)

The one we had wasn’t a permanent solution but was quite satisfying to use. It did end up in the “used half a dozen times then forgotten” corner of the shed.

I wouldn’t use one with children around as you need to concentrate. Try going on to a local recycling site and asking if anyone has one lurking at the back of their shed?

I have one, have had it for 5 years and love it. Mine is a gas one with a real flame, rather than electric one.

It is much less effort that weeding and most of all it means I am not using chemicals to control weeds in gravel and patios and paths.

You do need to use it regularly, but 15-30minutes a week kees the paths, patio, gravel drive in our large garden clear, once I have done the first clearance.

I was sceptical at first but they’re brilliant. We use ours on the gravelled areas. Quick, effective, saves the knees and no chemicals.

Thank you, *midgey’. I was thinking about narrow cracks in block paving or paving slabs. Have you used it on those?

DH uses a weed burner and it works really well on hard to get at weeds in tarmac etc. I don't do it I would cremate my feet.

I had one but passed it on!
They are a bit scary and really shouldn’t be used in a breeze. It didn’t work as well as I thought it would but maybe I let the weeds on my patio get too big! It was a gas one.

I’ve had one in the past, but because they only kill the weed above the surface rather than the root as well, the weeds are back within a week. I eventually dug out the old grout between the paving slabs and redid it with a product called Easy Joint, which you brush in and it sets. That has proved far more effective.

That’s interesting. I thought it would zap them for good!

Depends on the weeds. Annual ones are easy to kill but if you have perennial weeds such as buttercups or ground elder you can only get rid of them by digging the roots out.

Weed burners are ideal for getting rid of a weed or two that appear then spraying works better.

My OH loves his. It started as a delicate rod with a small canister of gas attached. After several modifications it is more like a WW1 flame thrower with a heavy 35 kilo gas canister lugged around from place to place behind it.
It apparently gives him endless satisfaction so I let him continue as it keeps him entertained.
Unfortunately it doesn’t kill off the weeds, just destroys the foliage above ground so they soon recover.
Complete waste of time in my opinion.

Casdon I have found my weed burner effective in killing weeds completely. A dandelion may not be killed on the first application, although many are, but regular burning will kill the most intransigent weed.

What i do find is that the instructions that come with the burner that suggest a quick waft over weeds with the burner kills them is unduly optimistic. In fact each weed or clump of weeds needs to have the burner concentrated on it for 20 seconds or more, certainly at the beginning. Whn the endemic weeds are killed and you are getting the weeds with in a day or two of germination then a couple of seconds burning will eliminate them.

I'm 75 and I don't find our gas weedburner heavy or scary. It works well on paths and patio. You don't need to incinerate the whole weed as a quick frazzle causes them to die off but it's very satisfying to incinerate the entire weed! Use with care near dried brushwood, etc.

I guess it depends where your weeds are growing Monica. I wouldn’t be happy to use a weed burner for as long as 20 seconds per weed between my paving slabs in case it damaged them, and because the roots on perennial weeds spread it just never killed them. It would probably be a good method for gravel though.

Casdon the patio is mainly where I use it. I can see the problem if you have wooden decking but there would be no problem with stone or concrete slabs, the concentrated flame is not going to get anywhere near a heat that could damage them.

My main problem is dandelions and other weeds with a tap root. Kill that off and the weed will not come back.

I had couch grass, it’s a nightmare because the roots spread under the slabs. I’ had dandelions, and docks as well although the latter only came up once when I didn’t weed for a while. . It’s been sorted with the Easy Joint better than any weeder - maybe I didn’t leave it on each weed for long enough, but I just didn’t find the weed burner effective.

I bought a gas weed burner and used it once or twice but I couldn't bear seeing all the insect life getting shrivelled up by it so I abandoned it.

How does the Easy Joint work, Casdon? My experience of weeds like twitch grass is that they'll push their way up through anything... I'm afraid that I sometimes resort to weedkiller when I get tired of hand pulling them...

I had to dig out all the grout and soil from between the slabs MaizieD, until I had a narrow trench that was about 2inches deep (took ages). I brushed in the Easy Joint mixture dry, and I think it must expand when it gets wet, because it bonds to the concrete of the slabs so there aren’t any gaps. The only place I’ve had continuing problems with the grass is right next to the lawn, on the first row of the slabs.

I thought this was about a different kind of weed ?

They are therapeutic or so DH thinks, the weeds do grow back after a time and he's quite happy to be out again.

Maizie as soon as I see insects I pull away while they get out of reach, but this is a rare occurrence because once you have a settled regular pattern of burning the weeds off, the new weeds are only about at the 2 leaf point when you burn them and you can see clearly that there are no insects in the vicinity.

ElaineI

I thought this was about a different kind of weed ?

Naughty, naughty! ?