Add dishwashing liquid to weed killer?

billyfieldman, Mar 20, 1:48pm
Would adding dishwashing liquid to weed killer make it more effective?
Some on the internet say good to add. Some like this one say no.
https://zamzows.com/index.php/2016/03/15/should-you-use-dish-soap-with-weed-killer/

I just bought a bottle of cheap Just brand weed killer from Warehouse. Planning to spray on Jasmine weed.

What is a good ratio of weed killer to water for Jasmine weed? The label says 1L makes 100Litres. That means 10ml per litre. Should I double or triple the concentration to guarantee killing the jasmine weed.

lilyfield, Mar 20, 2:10pm
Do you realize that 'cheap' weedekiller ' contents and proportions of ingedients are the same as expensive round up?
I follow instructions , it works perfectly well on all weeds. For stumps I use it neat drippled into bored stumps. Diluting with dishwash does nothing.

lindylambchops1, Mar 20, 2:21pm
x1
Ah yes, the age-old question of how much dish soap to add to Roundup. Because why use an actual pesticide when you can just DIY it with some dish soap, am I right? (Note: Please do not actually do this. Roundup is a powerful herbicide that should be used with caution and according to the label instructions.)

But let's say you're still dead-set on using dish soap as an additive. How much should you add? Well, the short answer is: none. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Dish soap is not a substitute for a proper herbicide, and adding it to Roundup (or any other herbicide) could actually do more harm than good.

"But wait," you say. "I heard that dish soap can help Roundup stick to the plants better." Ah, yes, the ol' "stick-to-itiveness" argument. While it's true that some dish soaps contain surfactants that can help herbicides adhere to plants, there's no guarantee that the soap you're using will have the right kind or amount of surfactant to do the job effectively.

Plus, adding dish soap to Roundup could actually harm your plants by altering the pH balance of the solution or causing unwanted foaming. And let's not forget about the potential harm to non-target organisms like beneficial insects or neighboring plants.

Please do not add dish soap to Roundup or any other herbicide. If you're having trouble getting your herbicide to stick to plants, look for a product specifically designed for that purpose, or consult with a professional. And if all else fails, just embrace the weeds and call it a wildflower garden. Hey, it's trendy these days, right?

articferrit, Mar 20, 2:48pm
Ive just done a weed spray and I always add dishwash to increase the 'stickability' of the spray. Increasing the dilution rate achieves nothing, and the warehouse stuff is exactly the same as 'label' brands.

woody89, Mar 20, 3:13pm
I didn't read the link provided (slap me lol) but have often used a surfactant with weed spray. Dish wash is simply a cheap surfactant.

gpg58, Mar 20, 3:45pm
Always add some to mine, especially in hot dry weather. (helps break the surface tension, so spray stays on rather than just roll off)
http://www.gardenandgreenhouse.net/articles/july-august-2013/surfactants-a-simple-solution-to-improving-herbicide-performance/

marte, Mar 21, 4:24am
I add a tiny bit of dishwash per 5 litres of made up weedkiller.
I add it at the 4+ litre mark when I'm filling the container so it wont foam up too much.

Plants have a waxy layer on the leafs, the detergent helps it stick to the leaf.

I spray the weeds either morning or afternoon so its got the best chance to penetrate into the leafs.
And about 5 days later I spray the weeds again.

From memory I think the weedkiller acts by making the plant cells grow to fast, then they burst and the plant dies.
So I figure that a second spray will probably get what the first spary missed (coverage) and because its timed when the plants trying to grow fast, its going to do the most damage to it.

I mix the concentrate towards the 'lean' amount, like 80% of the instructions volume of weedkiller per litre of water.

And I found the Mitre10 product to be better and its a darker bright yellow and easier to see where you sprayed.

billyfieldman, Mar 21, 6:14pm
Thanks. Looks like it would work either add or don't add dishwashing liquid. I think I'll try some with and some without to see which one works faster.

dibble35, Mar 21, 7:12pm
Looks like you will need something stronger than Glyphosate.

http://www.weedbusters.org.nz/weed-information/jasminum-polyanthum/59/

marte, Mar 21, 11:29pm
The stuff I got at Mitre10 was the 'Number 8' brand.
Same price as warehouse, but bright yellow.

tim41, Mar 22, 6:49am
get some pulse from farmlands .does the same as detergent but no foaming

kevymtnz, Mar 22, 7:49am
petrol is cheaper

harm_less, Mar 22, 9:12am
That is the mode of action for hormone herbicides such as Tordon or 245-T. The growth hormones are disrupted as the herbicide's active ingredient mimics auxins with uncontrolled growth causing cell rupture. Seed viability is also adversely effected.

Glysophate (Round-up) interferes with amino acid synthesis in the plant effectively causing it to poison itself with the resulting byproducts of this disruption. Existing seeds on the sprayed plant will still be viable.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyphosate#Mode_of_action

The Warehouse gives no ingredient listing for 'Just' but assume it will be a diluted glysophate, in which case it will have minimal effect on jasmine.

morticia, Mar 22, 9:43am
Council staff here reckon the surfactant and sticky qualities of dishwash added to sprays and promoted as effective is rubbish and to use a proper penetrant in the mix for a much faster and more effective knock down right from first touch, and that's what they use with plain glyphosate and find longer term effectiveness on most weeds, even the difficult ones.

The penetrant is supposed to damage the surface and allow faster and more uptake. I bought some a few weeks ago to use on convolvulus and a wee patch of jasmine but haven't had time to use it yet. The glyphosate already kicks the convolvulus, I want to kick it even harder.

jenny188, Mar 22, 4:15pm
Some plant leaves have a natural wax or outer oil coat. Dish-wash being a detergent helps break down the oil or wax and allows better contact with the plant surfaces therefore a better 'kill'. So it is more effective on some plants but not all.

tweake, Mar 22, 7:29pm
penetrant is dirt cheap to buy anyway. you use so little of it.
i think it was something like 10ml for a back pack sprayer.

brantome, Mar 24, 2:11pm
W,house brand vg Dishwashing liquid, small amount added- better. To kill jasmine put weed killer in large bottle (double dose) then put a strand of jasmine vine in bottle - slow but very effective. spreads along the vine. Make hole in bottle or container cap to secure the contents Use as many bottles dependent on amount of jasmine

khayyam, Apr 1, 3:33pm
yeah detergent can be used as a surfactant as that is what essentially a surfactant/wetting agent is. Generally a real slow kill with glyphos' is the best but it can be hurried along by dissolving urea in the spray - or spreading granular urea on your grass/broad leaf weeds a few days before spraying - get them boosting along before applying the herbicide.

billyfieldman, Apr 26, 3:01pm
Just some feedback. It's now about 4 weeks after the spray. I don't see much difference whether I added dishwashing detergent.

Only about 50% had turned brown and died. The rest are still green. So I'm doing another round with double the recommended dose.

colin433, Apr 27, 4:07pm
I worked for a market research firm years ago, and one of our subjects was the original ROUNDUP. I remember their jingle was 'kills them all, roots and all'
So any tough to kill plants, I dip the ends of each of the longest 'branches' into a jam jar of gysophate (same as r/up). The plant takes up the weedkiller and takes it to the roots. You don't need to do every 'branch' it's the roots you want to kill.

billyfieldman, Apr 28, 12:33pm
Thanks. Is that undiluted? I'll try that if the second round of spraying doesn't work.

brouser3, Nov 19, 12:47pm
Back in the day when dish wash was far less chemically complicated to what it is today, it was often recommended as an inexpensive additive as it broke down the bonds between the water molecules in the spray mix allowing better spread over the leaf. However over time dish-wash has become increasingly chemically complex and there is some risk as to how it will affect the spray chemical and consequently the effectiveness. https://zamzows.com/index.php/2016/03/15/should-you-use-dish-soap-with-weed-killer/