# How to kill bindweeds (morning glories) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 17, 2014, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961 "2014-06-17T03:40:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/21 "2014-06-17T16:28:46Z")
I’ve applied Roundup using a piece of cardboard as a mask to protect desirable plants. Make a slit in the cardboard from one edge toward the center. Slide the vine into the slit and apply. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/22 "2014-06-17T16:32:16Z")
Another problem with bindweed is that it re-seeds itself like a mofo. If it’s already blooming, then it’s probably already dropped a few early seeds. I had bindweed. Here’s my advice: learn to like the flowers, and find some other [Sisyphusian](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus) task to occupy your time instead. Seriously. You’ll single-handedly bring peace to the Middle East before you get rid of the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/23 "2014-06-17T19:53:10Z")
Flowers? Mine have an occasional puny white flower, usually none. So I don’t even get any satisfaction from gorgeous blooms. What we need is some kind of bindweed weevil. Can such a thing be genetically engineered? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/24 "2014-06-17T21:17:28Z")
Move your house and garden to a point within the Arctic Circle. In the winter. Although, I guess in high summer, there’s no “morning” _per se_ then, either… ---
**Author:** ![dracoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/90db22/32.png) [@dracoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dracoi)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/25 "2014-06-17T21:37:26Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > And how is this easier than pulling them up? They are all around my tomatoes, my beans, and lots of other places. 1. the poison will kill it down to the root, whereas pulling them up often leaves something behind that can regrow 2. pulling them off of plants like tomatoes can cause damage to the branches and leaves of the tomatoes. Selectively poisoning them means you don’t have to pull them off to kill them. There are no ideal solutions for some kinds of weeds like these. I swear, we’ll try to colonize Mars and we’ll have dandelions growing there before we even start terraforming. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/26 "2014-06-17T21:37:53Z")
Any weed can be defeated without even using herbicide, if you have the advantage of tackling it in an enclosed or bounded space (such as a walled garden or a flower bed enclosed by solid paths or lawn - and if you have the time to be able to weed by hand every couple of days at least. I once rid a 20 foot border of horsetails just by diligently and persistently pulling off all the top growth - if you keep doing this, and don’t miss any, eventually, any green plant has to die - if it can’t grow leaves to manufacture food. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/27 "2014-06-17T23:31:35Z")
Sun Tzu is clear on this: “ **when in death ground, fight** ” > [@](#): > > [Field bindweed](https://extension.usu.edu/weedguides/files/uploads/Convolvulaceae.pdf) produces a tap root which can penetrate up to 10 feet in depth. Many spreading roots grow laterally from the tap root, sometimes extending 30 feet. … > Due to an extremely hard seed coat, some seeds can remain viable in the soil for more than 50 years. Persistent chemical attack is likely to kill every other dicot on your property, so pull, pul, pull, and don’t _ever_ let let the stuff go to seed. After 10 years of plucking, it’ll stop being such a problem, until the new neighbors get lazy and let it grow wild all over their former tomato trellises. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/28 "2014-06-18T03:04:57Z")
I’ve been battling bindweed for several years. What was working well, until I got lazy, was using a weeding stick (not sure of the real name, but just a metal bar with a V-shaped end), and digging down where it comes out of the ground, to get out as much of the root/runner as I can. I had it in among some yews, and that didn’t work there because the roots are too dense, but what did work there was to pull off the foliage, then put a tuna fish can over the plant with a small rock on top, and leave it there for a month. I don’t think I have it beneath the yews anymore. I went out today, and dug some out of the garden bed. I’ve got a lot in my lawn now, that I’m just going to spray. It’s liable to rain any time, so I didn’t do that today. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/29 "2014-06-18T13:27:33Z")
To really get rid of bindweed,you have to make some serious sacrifises. Mow everthing down, save seeds of what you’d like to return. Then just nuke um all from space or closer. Once every living thing that is nurtured directly from the ground appears to be dead, haul away the dendritis, then cover the entire area with two layers of black plastic. Make sure it’s staked down well. No light of water can get under it. Leave it for a full 4 seasons. The next spring, poke holes where you want your decoratives and plant them one at a tiime. Leave the plastic until your desired plants have a good hold. Even so You’ll have to be vigilant. The moment you see a shoot of the bindweed yank it out am burn it. The other side effect from the plastic is it kills all insects that attack the roots of your plants. The ground is sterile for 18 nches down. No nemotodes . BTW Bind weed and morning glory are not related, well, maybe distantly, but they arent kissin’ cousians ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/30 "2014-06-18T14:16:43Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > BTW Bind weed and morning glory are not related, well, maybe distantly, but they arent kissin’ cousians They’re members of Convolvulacae. That’s not a distant relationship. ETA: depending on the precise meaning of ‘bindweed’ - it’s a common name that may refer to several different plants, including a couple that are not closely related to morning glory ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/31 "2014-06-18T14:21:54Z")
(but the OP clearly is talking about the related kind) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/32 "2014-06-18T14:25:28Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > (but the OP clearly is talking about the related kind) Gotta hand it to Linnaeus. Edited To Ask: are there any uses for bindweed? We specifically encourage a large patch of chickweed that we routinely harvest for our budgies. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/33 "2014-06-18T14:37:03Z")
Not that I know of. (I also cultivate chickweed, for my own consumption) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/34 "2014-06-18T14:38:53Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Not that I know of. (I also cultivate chickweed, for my own consumption) heh, I’ve taken a nibble as well! ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/35 "2014-06-18T14:46:37Z")
Try chickweed Pakora - it’s lovely. [http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/chickweed\_pakora](http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/chickweed_pakora) (don’t make this with bindweed, anyone - I think the foliage may be poisonous) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2014, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961/36 "2014-06-18T15:26:46Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Try chickweed Pakora - it’s lovely. > [http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/chickweed\_pakora](http://www.atomicshrimp.com/st/content/chickweed_pakora) > > (don’t make this with bindweed, anyone - I think the foliage may be poisonous) Will try this. I’ve done a few of your recipes (the fresh cheese-paneer was great) and I’ve been meaning to try the beet/chocolate muffins. Thanks! /hijack. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-kill-bindweeds-morning-glories/690961.md?page=1)