# Tortoise and Weed Killer



## BowDownBowser (May 31, 2014)

So I just moved to a house with a yard that needs major work. In order to fix it we have to kill pretty much everything growing so we've sprayed spectracide weed and grass killer. How long until It would be okay to let my tortoise out in the yard ? I don't want anything to happen to him. The container says safer for humans and pets after it dries, but I assume they problem aren't talking about a tortoise who will eat anything still growing. Any suggestions?


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## dmmj (May 31, 2014)

To be honest I (personally) would wait a min. 6 months, maybe longer, but that's me.


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## Yvonne G (May 31, 2014)

In my opinion, once you've raked up all the dead stuff and planted new, or have just plain dirt left, I would assume its ok for the tortoise to go back out there. The plant takes the poison down to its roots, or it kills the top growth, then per the instructions on the label it has a reentry time after the poison dries. I would hack down the dead plants, rake them up and out before adding a tortoise.


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## Tom (May 31, 2014)

That poison is now in your soil. Are new weeds and grass that grow in that area going to soak up that poison and incorporate it into their cells? Are you sure?

I wouldn't put a tortoise out there for at least a year. I would let several crops of weeds grow up out there and remove them. Once the weeds are growing freely again, I think it could be assumed that the weed killer poison would be mostly dissipated.

What's wrong with brush hogs, mowers, weeds whackers, shovels, rakes and elbow grease? I just can't fathom putting down poison in an area where I want a live animal to live and eat off the land...


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## BowDownBowser (May 31, 2014)

Tom said:


> That poison is now in your soil. Are new weeds and grass that grow in that area going to soak up that poison and incorporate it into their cells? Are you sure?
> 
> I wouldn't put a tortoise out there for at least a year. I would let several crops of weeds grow up out there and remove them. Once the weeds are growing freely again, I think it could be assumed that the weed killer poison would be mostly dissipated.
> 
> What's wrong with brush hogs, mowers, weeds whackers, shovels, rakes and elbow grease? I just can't fathom putting down poison in an area where I want a live animal to live and eat off the land...



None of those things take away the root and nothing that was growing was tortoise safe sure a shovel can take away the root but its not practical in a large scale situation. There are areas I didn't spray, but run off is my concern. My idea was to build and enclosure with a wood bottom and fill in with would and plant in that. The soil around the house is really primarily sand anyway which isn't a good thing for a tortoise anyway. I would be topping his area with soil if it were to be just out in the yard. All I'm trying to to is get the info from people like you who've probably come across or heard of this situation before and weigh my options.


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## Tom (May 31, 2014)

Sorry. I don't have experience with chemicals like that. I don't use them.

I think your plan of making a big box with a bottom and trucking in "clean" dirt is a good one. I don't know how big your sulcata is, but hopefully the box will be big enough to last him until the weed killer dissipates. You guys get a lot of rain there and your sandy soil drains pretty well, doesn't it? I think you will be okay sooner there than I would be here.


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## BowDownBowser (May 31, 2014)

Tom said:


> Sorry. I don't have experience with chemicals like that. I don't use them.
> 
> I think your plan of making a big box with a bottom and trucking in "clean" dirt is a good one. I don't know how big your sulcata is, but hopefully the box will be big enough to last him until the weed killer dissipates. You guys get a lot of rain there and your sandy soil drains pretty well, doesn't it? I think you will be okay sooner there than I would be here.


He's only about 3.5 inches scl right now and I could build big i wouldn't have a problem getting the wood


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## Jtort (May 31, 2014)

I've never used it, but I heard vinegar will kill weeds (and any other plant that you put it on). I'm also not sure about the effects on a tortoise...


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## tortoisetime565 (May 31, 2014)

I've heard of vinegar. I've used or also... My info is that you should DILUTE DILUTE DILUTE. I had a table full of organic dirt and I had a fruit fly infestation so I used the vinegar on the dirt, just the top, it killed the grass I had growing, it almost seemed to kill the dirt. I could not grow anything in the table after that.


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## ascott (Jun 1, 2014)

I would not allow the tort into the area at all for at least a year...and during that year I would water on a regular basis if you are not in an area that has regular rain fall....I mean, even ground considered for organic growth can not be deemed so for at least 7 years.....although it is not a popular method...pulling and weeding small sections at a time is much more effective than spraying weed killer....also, there may have been some valuable weeds in the mix....after all what makes a weed is a plant growing in an undesired location...but when you have tortoise...the location suddenly is not so undesirable.....I wish you well....you can also try to transect your property into manageable spaces, water each space heavily and wait for the weeds to grow---then hunker down and pull the weeds from the roots up...then onto the next section.....I know first hand, that while this may seem overwhelming---it is the most effective method to control growth of positive vegetation as well as depletion of unwanted plant growth....


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## Yvonne G (Jun 1, 2014)

Someone posted this on Facebook yesterday:

In a pump sprayer add 1 gallon of vinegar, 2 cups of epsom salts, 1/4 cup of the original blue Dawn dish soap. Mix and spray in the morning after the dew has evaporated.

I haven't tried this yet, but I'm going to. I think for Bermuda grass it will take multiple sprayings, but its nice to have an eco friendly substitute for round-up.


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