What is Tordon and What is It Used For?

Tordon is a herbicide meant for woody plants. Generally speaking, this means invasive trees. However, there are other woody plants out there as well. It is worth mentioning that Tordon is the name of the product that contains picloram as well as other ingredients.

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Why Would You Want to Use Tordon?

As mentioned earlier, Tordon is a herbicide meant for woody plants. Due to this, it is used whenever people want to remove either a tree or some other kind of woody plant, which can happen for a wide range of reasons. For example, trees can become invasive species in the same way as other living organisms. As such, they can pose a serious problem for native competitors, thus sending waves of disruption rippling throughout the ecosystem.

Alternatively, trees are more than capable of growing in places where they are unwanted, which can cause a whole host of serious issues. For instance, it is interesting to note that tree roots can break into sewer lines in search of water as well as other nutrients, thus causing leaks as well as blockages. Since sewer lines connect buildings to the sewer system, this is something that can be both expensive and time-consuming to fix, particularly since the interested parties will have to search for the location of the breach before being able to do anything about it. In any case, the important point is that people can have a wide range of reasons for getting rid of a wide range of woody plants, at which point, Tordon can come in use.

On a related note, some people have been known to use Tordon on plants other than woody plants. Their reasoning might be something along the lines of a herbicide being a herbicide, meaning that if it is good for one kind of plant, it should be good for a different kind of plant. However, it is important to note that this is not the case.

Tordon is very specifically meant for use on woody plants, meaning that interested individuals cannot count on it having the desired effect when it is used on plants other than woody plants. Instead, they should look into a different herbicide that is meant for that different kind of plant. If interested individuals think about it, this limitation makes sense. After all, something that is poisonous to one kind of animal isn’t necessarily to another kind of animal, so it stands to reason that something that is poisonous to one kind of plant isn’t necessarily poisonous to another kind of plant. As such, interested individuals shouldn’t expect Tordon to do anything about plants that are beyond its intended use.

Here are some other things that interested individuals should know about Tordon:

There Are Multiple Ways that Tordon Is Applied

It is interesting to note that there are multiple ways to apply Tordon to undesired trees, which is perhaps unsurprising considering how bark serves as a capable protector of its more vulnerable counterparts. For example, if people are looking to get rid of a tree stump, they can either paint Tordon or spray Tordon on the cambium. In contrast, if people are working with a more intact tree, they are going to need to put more effort into the whole business.

One solution would be actually injecting Tordon into the tree, which needs to be repeated all around the tree’s perimeter rather than just the once. Another solution would be using an ax to make cuts all around the tree in a manner that the injured areas overlap. After which, interested individuals can either paint Tordon on the injured area or spray Tordon on the injured areas.

These methods might require expertise, experience, and equipment that aren’t always available to interested individuals, which is one more reason to leave the use of said product to someone with absolute confidence in their knowledge that they know what they are doing. In fact, it is worth mentioning that Tordon isn’t recommended for either commercial or residential lawns, which should put things in perspective.

Be Careful About Using This Close to Desired Trees

Interested individuals should be careful about using Tordon close to desired trees. This is because if they aren’t careful, they could wind up hurting those desired trees as well. Sometimes, this can happen because the Tordon is in the topsoil, with the result that it can be taken up by the roots of both desired and undesired trees. Other times, this can happen because the target can excrete some of the active ingredients of Tordon, which can be taken up by the other plants in their surroundings. In other words, interested individuals should make sure that their use of Tordon won’t cause damage to woody plants that they actually want to keep around.

You Don’t Want to Get This Stuff on Yourself

Picloram doesn’t have a reputation for being particularly dangerous to humans and animals. However, it is still not something that interested individuals want to get on themselves. For those who are curious, they should be careful about inhaling it, ingesting it, and letting it come into contact with either their eyes or their skin.

As such, it is a good idea for interested individuals to wear both eye protection and skin protection when working with the stuff. Furthermore, if they do come into contact with it, they should take various steps depending on what has happened. If interested individuals get it in their eyes, they should irrigate their eyes right away. Similarly, if interested individuals get it on their skin, they should wash their skin right away. As for those who have breathed in picloram, they should look for fresh air right away.

Ingestion is more problematic, so much so that interested individuals should seek out medical assistance right away. Symptom-wise, picloram has been known to cause irritation in the eyes, the skin, and the respiratory system. Furthermore, it has been known to cause liver as well as kidney changes in certain animals, so that is another point of potential concern. Regardless, Tordon comes with instructions on how it should be used, so interested individuals should pay very close attention to that.