The presence of weeds in your garden, driveways, and backyard can turn these places into an eyesore; weeds look so out of place in most places that they must be gotten rid of.
Asides from reducing the aesthetics of a place, weeds can harbor pests and disease-carrying organisms that are detrimental to your health and those of the people around you, hence the need to remove weeds from our space.
RM43 comes to the rescue; this herbicide which is becoming a household name, is renowned for getting rid of tough weeds and stopping their re-emergence.
The major issue people have with herbicides is how to dilute them for use. The recommended mixture is 7.4 fluid ounces of RM43 per gallon of water.
What Is RM43?
RM43 is an all-purpose herbicide used for total weed control and spot control of certain plants. This potent insecticide is effective against over 159 weeds, including poison ivy, poison oak, honeysuckle, clover, thistle, kudzu, among others.
It eradicates weeds that grow in the garden, roadsides, walkways, fence lines, and other such places.
The herbicides are composed of two herbicides are glyphosate and imazapyr, the former works to kill weeds, while the latter is a surfactant that ensures that the weeds do not reappear later.
The number 43 in RM43 represents the percentage of glyphosate in the herbicide, which is quite high compared to other similar products in the market. That is why it is very effective against weeds.
Where Can I Use RM43?
This powerful weed killer can be used in many ways to get rid of unwanted plants and ensure that these weeds do not re-emerge. There are lots of places that you can safely apply RM43 in and get the best results, including:
- The tennis court
- The barns
- Your driveway
- Agricultural uncultivated areas
- Parking areas farmyard,
- Vacant lots
- Around farm buildings and premises
- Curb fencerows
- Warehouse
- Brick walls and other places like these.
RM43 should be sprayed on the leaves of the weeds in these places, and the foliage will absorb the herbicide and kill the weed.
When spraying RM43 in places where your plants are growing, you must be careful in your application because this herbicide does not discriminate between weeds and your plant. After all, it is meant for total vegetation control.
You, however, must be very careful when spraying RM43 because it can pose an environmental hazard if care is not taken.
This herbicide should never be applied near or directly to water bodies, fish ponds, streams, lakes, or rivers.
It should not be applied anywhere with surface water so that they don’t kill living organisms in such waters.
When Do I Use RM43?
You can apply RM43 at any time, and it will still be effective, but if you want optimum performance, then the best time to use this herbicide is in the late spring or early summer when these weeds and plants are growing actively.
Choose a warm, sunny, and calm day to apply RM43 for best results. Temperatures higher than 60 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal, and the speed of the weed should be less than 10mph; this is to endure that wind does cause the herbicide to drift to places it is not wanted or even splash on people and animals.
The area should be rain-fast for about 2 hours after application to prevent run-off of the herbicide by the rain.
For bare ground or areas invaded by weeds, apply the RM43 as directed in the manufacturer’s manual. Suppose the weeds are taller than 6 inches.
In that case, you will have to mow or cut down these weeds, clear the debris and leave the area like that for 2 weeks before applying the herbicides to ensure that you eradicate any new growth that usually emerges after mowing.
If you want to apply RM43 in Woody vines or brushes, you will have to mow or cut these brushes and vines and allow for full leaf formation before you apply the herbicides.
To keep weeds from growing under asphalt driveways, tennis courts, parking areas, play areas, and the like, you will have to apply this herbicide before laying surfacing materials.
All the areas must be treated uniformly to ensure the same result. In areas with heavy rainfall, you will have to treat the areas for longer if you are to achieve a good result.
Precautions To Take While Using g RM43
There are always safety precautions to imbibe while working with substances like herbicides which can be poisonous to man; some of the safety precautions that apply include the ones below:
1. You must ensure that you wear protective clothing and accessories like face masks while applying these herbicides. Only protected handlers are permitted to enter an area where the application of RM43 is ongoing.
2. You must be careful while applying the herbicides to ensure that the product does not get to persons or animals directly or through drift by the wind.
3. Until a treated area is dried, no one should be allowed to enter such a place because the herbicides might touch them or use their hands to handle the herbicides, which will cause itching. They can mistakenly ingest this poisonous chemical.
4. This herbicide should not be used on food crops or feed. Animals should be kept away from such areas too.
5. You must ensure that you are aware of the specific local regulation in your locality regarding pesticides to ensure that you are on the right side of the law with regards to pesticide use in your locality.
6. You should be careful when spraying some terrain like sloppy areas where run-off could affect other plants or even get into water bodies because it will adversely affect the plants and animals’ life in such places.
How To Mix RM43
RM43 has to be mixed with water before it is sprayed because, in its raw form, the herbicide is too concentrated and toxic and can cause many health and environmental hazards.
This is how you will dilute RM43 for different applications:
1. Dilution For Total Vegetation Control (Bare Ground)
If you want to spray bare ground to kill all the plant life in it, you will need to use hand-operated spray equipment like a pump-up sprayer, ATV/tractor-mounted sprayer, and sprinkling can or backpack sprayer.
The recommended mixture is 7.4 fluid ounces, equivalent to 0.46 pints of RM43, which should be diluted in 1 to 10 gallons of water.
If the bare ground has very stubborn weeds, you could dilute the 0.46 pint in a minimum of 1 gallon, any concentration above that is not safe for the environment.
The mixture above should be applied to 1,000 square feet, and the application rate should not exceed 2.5 gallons per acre per year while still maintaining the 0.46 pint per 1 to 10 gallons of water.
2. Dilution For Spot Control of Brush, Vines, and Weeds
You also use hand-operated spray equipment like backpack sprayers, sprinkling can, and the likes for this application. In this case, however, you have to mix 6 ounces of RM43 in 1 gallon of water to get the spray solution.
This solution should be thoroughly mixed and uniformly sprayed so that the foliage of the plants gets soaked with the herbicide. You should apply this mixture to actively growing vines, weeds, and brushes to get the best result.
How Does RM43 Affect Trees?
Many people seeking a way to kill a tree in their space or take care of that pesky tree stump in the backyard that has become an abode for different rodents and insects may want to know if RM43 can kill a tree?
The answer is Yes, RM43 can kill trees, but it all depends on the tree’s age and its size, but it might not be as easy, economical, and faster than other means of getting rid of trees.
If you want to get rid of young trees that are not big, you can use this herbicide to kill them. You make the same solution as you would for bare ground and apply it to the tree’s leaves; it will kill it and even keep it from regenerating. RM43 will not effectively kill them for bigger and older trees, so you have to resort to other methods.
Conclusion
RM43 provides an effective solution for controlling weeds and other invasive plants. It kills the weeds and ensures that the weed does not regrow, all thanks to glyphosate and imazapyr, the two different herbicides that combine to give this herbicide.
1 to 10 gallons of water can be used to mix 0.46 pint of RM43 to get a solution that you can spray on bare ground to take care of most kinds of weeds.
So go ahead today and get one for yourself, but remember to stick to the safety measures that will ensure that you, your loved ones, and animals are safe while applying RM43.
Helpful Links:
- What To Put Under Rocks To Prevent Weeds?
- Can You Dethatch St. Augustine Grass?
- How to Get Rid of a Tree Stump With Charcoal
- How Do You Rot a Tree Stump Naturally?
- How To Cut Grass Without a Lawnmower (6 Creative Ways)
We trust this article helped you know how RM43 affects trees. You may also want to check out What Kills Weeds in the Winter.
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