Ortho Ecosense – product review

I’m not one to fuss over how green my lawn is. Nor do I worry about “weed whacking” the edges each time. But I am concerned with the weed-to-lawn ratio happening in my stretch of grass. Soon dandelions would take over and that means bees to dodge whenever romping in the grass. I’ve been searching high and low for a way to kill just the weeds, while not harming the grass, my pets, or the squirrels that forage there. Online searches suggested boiling water, or vinegar and hot water, poured directly on each weed. I tried the boiling water method, but it seemed to shock the surrounding grass and do nothing else. And really – who wants to run in/out of the house over and over with a teakettle? Various hardware stores recommended the granule style fertilizer. They told me it’d be safe once absorbed. I tend to disagree with watering lawns for the simple fact: it uses so much water. I also didn’t feel I had time to wait for the dry method to breakdown on its own. Especially when my cat (the largest tabby known to man) likes to pretend he’s hiding … crouched down in the lawn playing fierce jungle cat.
Ecosense , by Ortho, seemed to be my best option. It was available in gallon sized jugs with a built in handle and sprayer. The product states on the front of the label that it’s safe for kids and pets once dry. This particular product in the Ecosense line uses iron as it’s main weed killing ingredient. Results were said to be visible within a few hours. I knew it would be a tedious job. Each weed would have to be sprayed almost individually, but it would be worth it if it worked on the first application and didn’t have a noxious odor.
The spray mechanism in the gallon size uses a traditional household spray bottle nozzle. It would’ve been better with the pump/pressure style I’ve seen on other products. Depending on the amount of weeds you need to spray, this can quickly become tiring, causing you to have to switch hands frequently. There was no odor that I could tell, and one gallon did indeed stretch far enough for my entire front & back lawns (I live on a double lot and the majority is lawn, not house!) I applied it on a sunny day mid-afternoon. By evening I had not noticed any signs of action. A few areas seemed to be blackening, but I had been warned this was the iron in the product and not to be alarmed. I went to bed that night thinking it was a waste of my time and cramp in my hand.
By morning – different story! All the dandelions were black and starting to shrivel. The weeds along my sidewalk cracks had already dried up! A few more hours passed and they were definitely dead. The surrounding grass was totally unaffected from what I could tell. You may be shocked to see black spots all over your otherwise green lawn, but I’ve been told most all weed killing products – granule or spray – will do this; the lawn fills itself in over a month or so.
Because it had no odor, was relatively inexpensive ($15 for the gallon bottle), and did dry quickly, and appears to have a natural occurring main ingredient – I would recommend this product to pet owners that are wary of using harmful chemicals in the yard.