Brown/green slimy algae "Nostoc Commune"

gamefisher, Jan 3, 7:51pm
does anyone know the most effective way to get rid of this as I have it on my driveway. Copper sulphate & Sdium hypochloride not working and it seems Roundup feeds it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nostoc_commune

dibble35, Jan 3, 9:00pm
The only thing i've found that seems to have an effect is I think the sodium hydrochloride you mentioned above. I think this is what we use at work. Is it pool chlorine? Anyway we sprinkle it on reasonably thickly on the patches. It does kill those patches but because the 'spores' are everywhere it is back within a month. Someone reckons they had success with strong doses of copper sprayed on but when i tried at his recommended dose it didnt work. Neither has sulphur or vinegar which were also recommended at various times. Horrible blimmen stuff and it can grow so thickly in the right conditions

gram, Jan 3, 9:57pm
It's quite nutritious. If you were inclined you could eat it.

steptoesnr, Jan 5, 8:25pm
Also known (understandably!) as gorilla snot. As yet have not found an effective "pesticide" other than establishing ground cover.

dibble35, Jan 6, 1:52am
Yep can see this becoming quite a problem in certain areas.

golfdiver, Jan 6, 5:15pm
Any moss killer will do it. Get the slow release benylkonium chloride version

golfdiver, Jan 6, 5:16pm
I've always thought gorilla snot referred to various sealants on the market

dibble35, Jan 6, 7:05pm
Hi, Will it definitely kill it? Have you tried it yourself and its worked? Not hassling, just asking as so many people have said this or that will work and it doesnt. Thanks :-)

golfdiver, Jan 6, 9:41pm
I'm a commercial operator and yes it does kill it.

koru67, Jan 6, 10:38pm
Ooh, sounds like what we had growing on a damp part of our lawn over winter. I presume it will return, so will try the above suggestions. Thanks to OP and all responders.

oh_hunnihunni, Jan 6, 10:50pm
I thought it was the yellow stuff surgeons love painting over every available bit of bare skin.

gamefisher, Jan 6, 11:09pm
Thanks will give it a try

dibble35, Jan 10, 5:46am
Hi again, I passed on your recommendation to my boss and he was very 'scoffy' saying that Gorilla snot isnt a moss, its a bacterium (if you google it this is what comes up) and hes tried 2 diff moss killers and an algaecide in the past and none have worked. He reckons it'll be the chloride in the benylkonium chloride you recommended that is working. He reckons he spoke to a lady at RD1 who says copper sulphate will in fact kill it, it needs to be sprinkled on in powder form (would work out expensive i'd imagine) Its chloride of lime that we have used with some success in the past. The boss is doing a field trial at the moment comparing the chloride of lime and the copper sulphate. Dont shoot the messenger! , just passing on what my boss said.

golfdiver, Jan 10, 6:13am
Your boss is too scoffy for his own good. I really hope he isn't confusing chlorine and chloride. I had the exact same stuff as you growing under our tramp and along a shaded area. Killed it dead and it is now a black remnant.
Potassium sulphate in a powder will also work but as you say is an expensive way to do it. Bear in mind, benylkonium kills lichen as well.

sboydnz, Jan 10, 11:49pm
I posted on here last year with the same problem and still can't get rid of it. I've tried Wet & forget ( even in concentrated form) mixtures of white vinegar /salt & dishwasher detergent (strong/medium & weak mixtures) various weed killers (as someone has already posted roundup seems to worsen the problem) various types of lime ,sulphates, I've just about run out of things to try, all to NO avail I still have a great abundance of the annoying snot. When it rains the problem gets worse the small black brittle chips return in a vengence and blow out to 100 times their size into King Kong snot, horrible green slimy stuff. Haven't tried the Benylkonium I'll hit it with that and see what happens. Thank you, very informative thread.

golfdiver, Jan 11, 4:17am
Active ingredient in Wet and Forget is Benykonium. There are many names for the product, and I think they use deckyl octyl , or something like that. It simply means 10. 8 which is where it sits on the quaternary chain.
I have found it works. But lots of things grow back. Weeds mould etc. Maybe better trying to work out why this grows? Lack of sunlight normally.
potassium sulphate also works very well. Buy it as powdered moss killer from My Tree 10

gamefisher, Jun 16, 3:19pm
It is an algae I am going to try this (Michael Viney in the Irish Times advised: "Apply a chlorothalonil- or mancozeb-based fungicide to the infested area once every seven to 14 days until the nostoc is dead.")
If that fails I will use a flame thrower when it is dry lol.