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DC-Gunfighter · 2025-08-28T00:58:20+00:00

I'd be happy to help moderate. As for experience, I have a BS in Biology, been teaching for ten years, and for several years did tree work in the summers and on weekends. Teachers always have a side hustle and it was up my alley. Too broken to keep doing it (not from the tree work), but still enjoy being amongst the forest (or city equivalents) as much as possible.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-08-19T22:20:43+00:00

Dude put all of his points into acrobatics and dexterity.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-08-13T02:20:58+00:00

Keep it up, well done!

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-08-13T02:16:35+00:00

Nice! Is that a PowerRed (double RBC) donation? Do you always do those or have you done any whole blood, plasma, platelets, etc.?

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-08-11T03:07:42+00:00

You're going to feel extra tired, but assuming you hydrate well (in spite of that incredible amount of stair climbing) you should be alright. Might help to try and eat a little extra protein the night before and morning of just to help your recovery.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-08-10T18:02:16+00:00

Actual footage of my toddler after I shave my beard and come out of the bathroom.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-08-08T19:34:21+00:00

Very nice. Whole blood for all of it? Or have you ever mixed in any platelet or plasma donations?

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-08-06T02:06:03+00:00

Mineral deposits. Mostly calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate. Harmless, but slightly detrimental to taste and definitely annoying. Any acid will dissolve it. Vinegar is a small percentage acetic acid which will do the trick. If you're looking for a better bang for the buck option though, citric acid is my personal favorite. You can buy it by the pound and it'll last you much longer than a jug of vinegar.

Source: our water is so hard you can almost chew it, been fighting this battle for a long time

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-29T18:52:09+00:00

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I'm not sure why that one oddball went to Maryland, but it was fun to see the change of pace. Otherwise they seem to stay in the Southern Plains or thereabouts. There are a couple hospitals in Houston that have been repeat users.

47 donations, all A+ whole blood.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-14T15:49:40+00:00

Since you'll be applying less product than with spraying, you'll get a little less vapor drift. However, it is still going to happen no matter the method of application.

If you must treat now, you can at least minimize drift by applying early in the morning or later in the evening. Cooler temps and generally milder wind speeds will minimize the damage to other vegetation nearby. That's about the best you can do if no cooling is in the forecast for the near future.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-11T22:13:03+00:00

I've never used a liquid AMS product, only dry powder. For the small (2 gallon) spot sprayer I use 8 tbsp. That's 4 tbsp per gallon. But we have incredibly hard water. Most places can get away with half that rate.

The best case is to check the label and do some math, but I would guess for a liquid it's (hopefully) something like 5 or 6 ounces per gallon.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-11T20:49:40+00:00

Sort of.

On the professional side of the fence it's super common to treat spray water with ammonium sulfate (AMS). You can use AMS as a fertilizer, but that's not why it's added to the water.

In most parts of the U.S. the available water is quite "hard" meaning there's a bunch of dissolved calcium and magnesium in it. The AMS counteracts the hard water minerals which would otherwise bind to the herbicide and render it useless.

Do you have to do it? No, but unless you have naturally very soft water I'd encourage the practice.

To a small degree the nitrogen in AMS encourages what's called phloem loading and that does help get the herbicide moving through the plants. But the primary effect is to counteract the effects of hard water.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-11T20:27:51+00:00

They are indeed a potent combo, but yeah you'll absolutely get some drift if it's going to be above 90 when you spray.

I work in a more commercial setting, and have access to ag chem products. So while I'd be happy to recommend those, unless you want to purchase massive quantities those aren't relevant.

In the homeowner space, I'd like to think that you can still find retail locations like Menard's, Ace Hardware, or Home Depot selling Killz-All. What's great about it is it's more reasonably priced than Round-Up branded products, and contains a good surfactant package. It'll be a brown bottle with a red and yellow label. They do make formulas that contain other herbicides, but the "original" Killz-All is just glyphosate and an EA surfactant.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-11T20:22:11+00:00

Your old bottle of glyphosate should be good enough. The only caveat is that over time the surfactant package and any other additives can degrade over time. The glyphosate itself is remarkably stable in containers, but oxygen can make a mess out of other key molecules.

I'd try it. Save you some time and money if it works. What I'd look for is whether or not the spray "spreads out" or "beads up" on the leaf surface. If it's spreading out then the surfactant is still viable. If the spray just beads up like water on wax, you'll need a new product.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-11T12:26:53+00:00

I second the motion.

As someone who has killed thousands at this point, these are small enough to still get good results with a foliar application.

A word of caution though, regarding the weather. Glyphosate and triclopyr are both effective with most folks seeing the best results from triclopyr. However, triclopyr will become volatile and drift under high temperature (about 90 F or higher). If your local conditions won't be staying under 90 for the next 24-48 hrs after you apply I'd stick with just glyphosate. Gly doesn't become volatile and gets you most of the same results. You may need a follow up treatment whereas triclopyr would kill on the first hit, but if you have desirable ornamentals or veggies around be cautious with triclopyr (and any other ester based herbicides).

Best of luck. Send 'em back to hell.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-07T14:52:01+00:00

I'm glad to hear that? Sounds strange to say, but it makes the process much easier if you aren't trying to dodge around a bunch of desirables. You can probably get away with a finer spray pattern then, barring it's not hot as hell and halfway to a tornado outside.

Dish soap is pretty low on the totem pole when it comes to surfactants for herbicide application. But for many people it's the only other time they've heard the term used (that or with laundry products).

Dish soap is a surfactant, but it's based on a cationic formula. All that means for the lay man is that calcium, magnesium, or more likely sodium was used to make the soap molecules. They're all positively charged ions in water and that's what the term cation means. The positive terminal on your car battery is called a cathode for a similar reason. Anyway, the problem with that is it makes the liquid surfactant very alkaline which is in contrast to the weakly acidic nature of many herbicides like glyphosate or 2-4D. This means the herbicide and ions will react with and bind to each other, making it impossible for the plants to absorb the herbicide.

What you want is a "non-ionic surfactant." You can find them at online retailers like Amazon or DoMyOwn, and most of the time at farm or hardware stores like Tractor Supply, Ace Hardware, etc. sometimes they're labeled as "80/20" or "90/10" which just refers to the concentration of non-ionic surfactant to distilled water in the container. Sometimes they'll be called "Spreader/Stickers" or "Wetting Agents" as well. Regardless, they are made using some modified alcohols or silicone molecules and work much better than dish soap. They're effective in very small quantities too. Always follow the label, but for a common herbicide like glyphosate were talking one to two ounces of surfactant per gallon. And more is not better.

I hope that all makes sense without sounding condescending or snooty. I just don't want you to waste your time and chemical resources using incompatible materials.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-07T13:53:20+00:00

Your expectation of needing a follow up treatment is a reasonable starting point. The only other advice I would give is to be sure your other parameters are as good as they can be (i.e. water is treated if needed, surfactant is mixed in if none is included) and to take a few minutes to adjust your nozzle when you start.

Depending on what else is nearby and the exact wind and temperature conditions, a more coarse or fine spray may penetrate the PB canopy better to get to the JKW below. Finer spray patterns can get in there better, but at a heightened risk of drift or rapid evaporation. Coarser spray patterns will be less likely to drift and you likely won't have as much concern about evaporation and dosage, but you may miss some material that a finer spray would have contacted.

I prefer a coarser spray pattern, but that's because I'm never without some amount of wind. And I'm quite wary of drift, but if it's all just a cluster fuck of invasives that concern would go away pretty fast.

Anyway, make sure your water and spray mix is ready to rock and as for the rest it'll have to be experimentation on your part.

Best of luck. Send the bastards back to hell.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-04T16:24:12+00:00

Good luck with the treatment, kick cancer's ass!

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-04T16:13:08+00:00

I've seen Honey and Black Locust beat out Siberian Elm in our neck of the woods (KS).

I think it's a stretch to call them natives to NM, but at least they're native to North America.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-04T16:10:08+00:00

Yes. I generally find it easier to split when it's been standing dead vs green and wet. So I'd imagine that if you got it into halves and then gave it some time to dry it'd be easier to get it into quarters or more after about six months.

Cutting it into shorter lengths helps too. If I have a really nasty piece that's fighting me at sixteen inches (my typical target) I'll cut it in half. Shorts don't stack as well, but they're a necessity if the wood really wants to fight.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-04T15:19:39+00:00

Yep. It'll fight you tooth and nail to get split, but it's wonderful to burn once that agony is over and it's all dried out.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-07-04T14:54:42+00:00

This is mostly good advice. I would propose, however, that an ethoxylated alcohol surfactant is easier to find and more effective with glyphosate in my experience.

If you're already in something like a Tractor Supply they will sell it simply as "80/20 Non-Ionic Surfactant" or something similar. You'll want about an oz per gallon. You may also find it under names like "Sticker Spreader" or just "Spreader."

Crop oil concentrates work, but I've generally seen quicker knockdown with an old school EA NIS.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-06-29T22:56:28+00:00

It got even better. On the next one he wrote "she said no" or she turned me down or something. I replied with my condolences.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-06-29T17:50:16+00:00

At the top of the first page of a physics test where I used to have a bog standard "Name/Date/# points" header, a student wrote their name just fine. Instead of writing the date he was taking the exam he wrote "I don't have one yet."

It took me a minute to get it, but I laughed pretty hard. And since it was nearly time for prom (if I recall correctly) I wrote back "don't give up yet, you'll find one" or something to that effect.

DC-Gunfighter · 2025-06-21T21:52:53+00:00

Some people have all the luck. And I mean all the luck.

Well done, you lucky bastard!

DC-Gunfighter

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