Weeds in Winnipeg the “worst they’ve been in a long time”

WINNIPEG – On her hands and knees, using a kitchen knife, Marilyn Isaac pulls out weeds one by one.

“I dig down as far as I can, it’s just manual labour,” said Isaac who’s done this for four hours a day for the last three weeks.

she says it’s the only way to win the battle against weeds this summer.

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“This year has been the worst for different types of weeds in my garden,” said Issac.

And she’s not alone.

“We have lots of weeds on the lawns here in Manitoba,” said David Hinton, who owns Weedman. He says the weather has been perfect for weeds this summer and the recent ban on certain pesticides means there no quick fix for getting rid of them.

“The weeds are growing like crazy and lots of phone calls,” Hinton says they’ve been really busy this summer.

Winnipeggers used to be able to choose from a variety of chemicals to spray but since the province banned the use of synthetic pesticides last year due to health concerns, Hinton says the options are very limited.

“With the new regulations in Manitoba we really only have one product for controlling weeds on lawns,” said Hinton. He says Weed B Gon works but it takes applying several times before its effective.

But he says there are things you can do to prevent weeds including fertilizing and not cutting your grass too short.

“Cutting it high is so important we’re recommending everyone cut two and half three inches which is normally the highest setting on your mower that’ll make a big difference on the amount of weeds you have,” said Hinton.

Issac will try anything but she’s not pulling another weed this summer.

“I’m sick and tired of working in the grass,” said Issac, “I’ve had enough.”

The restrictions don’t apply to golf courses and they don’t prevent someone from buying pesticides outside the province and bringing them back to manitoba, however you still can’t use them.