Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 12 May 2022
Committee on Public Petitions
Consideration of Public Petition on a Ban on Herbicides in Public Areas: Discussion
Mr. James Walsh:
The question around it being used every six weeks is only about the invasive species. Foamstream is used for normal grass maintenance, similar to pesticides, two or three times per year. It is only the invasive species that have to be treated every six weeks because they need to be treated when they are small to medium-sized. They need to be treated more regularly to make sure they do not grow too big. Invasive species make up a very small percentage of the reason people spray in public areas. It has normally just been injected in most places with pesticides. It is not, therefore, the biggest problem. They should by law also be using alternatives to that but it is down at the bottom of the severity of problems. Definitely with the invasive species, however, Foamstream would be used every six weeks because plants are small to medium-sized. I do not know how many times they need to apply pesticides on invasive species currently. I think maybe if they inject it once, that will go down to the root. I am not sure; I really do not know. I have been told by people who are very knowledgeable about Foamstream that it tends to work better. Like another man said, plants grow back wilder again with pesticides but with the Foamstream, the oils go down into the root. They actually nourish the insects in the ground as well because it is organic. It is less likely for the invasive species to come back up. That is what I was told.
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