Rugs/carpet For Weed Controll

[Nyboy]

Years ago I was watching a garden show on TV. They where touring a private garden that belong to older woman. She did everything herself. When they asked for her best garden secret she replied carpet I hate weeding. I started picking up carpet from the trash and using it for weed block, I would cover it with a mulch. I used it all around my door and covered it in colored gravel mulch. It did great job stopping weeds from growing though gravel. After finding alive snake in my house, every spring I have a exterminator spray foundation of my house with snake repellent (found out waste of money) One spring the guy spraying uncovered some rug, he asked why it was there. When I told him for weed block, he said BIG mistake. He said as it started to break down it would become a heaven for insects. His advise was pull it all up. As anyone here that uses carpet for weed block find increase in bugs near it?

 

[Ridgerunner]

No, I have not noticed an insect problem, but I find that Bermuda grass and some other things can grow roots through it if you leave it alone for long. I put some carpet down in walkways a few years back when we replaced it with wooden floors and covered it with wood chips for appearances. If I don't take it up and clean the rotted wood chips off of it annually, Bermuda, crab grass, and some weeds grow in the rotted wood chips and sets roots in the carpet. Those are close to impossible to get out. I have had Bermuda send shoots under the carpet and grow up through it too, but that's a minor problem as long as you take it up annually. I find landscaping cloth needs to be pulled up and cleaned off annually also, the same thing happens with the roots growing through it.

I do not use carpet around things I grow for food. I'm not sure what chemicals might leach out of it.

 

[aftermidnight]

Although DH helps me out with the heavy stuff and when I'm out of commission, which is happening more frequently these days, I'm the only one that does most of the gardening around here. Yes I do use carpet, I have a lot of gravel paths and keeping them weeded is getting ahead of me so what I did was get hold of some pieces of industrial type carpet. These I plop down on sections of path for a couple of weeks and then lift them on a hot sunny day and the sun finishes the weeds off and those sections of path stay weed free for quite awhile, then I move the carpet to a different spot, this goes on all summer.
I also used duroid roofing tiles on paths down in my back forty (forty steps from the back door) Mostly veggies here along with my greenhouse. I say use whatever works for you. In one of my flower beds until I can get to it and to stop the weeds from taking over you'd never know there were roofing tiles under there, I'll lift them when I decide what I want to plant there.

Annette

 

[baymule]

No I don't use carpet. I'd rather have the weeds. There was so much trash and garbage on this place that we worked so hard to clean up, no way I'd crap it up again. It stands to reason that carpet would create a wonderful habitat for bugs, snakes and mice. How thoughtful of you!

 

[journey11]

I've got a strip of coal conveyor belt DH got from the plant. I drag it around on spots with quack grass and other tough weeds and let the hot summer sun heat it up and fry the weeds. Doesn't take long. One spot near the garden I left it lying there quite awhile and a family of voles took up residence underneath as evidenced by their tunnels which were exposed when I removed it. I wonder if your snake was after voles or other rodents beneath your carpet?

 

[dickiebird]

I til quite a few gardens for friends and customers.
One that I used to do for a friend had carpet between the rows. I dropped by one day not having any idea they had used this the previous year, and started to til.
My tiller covers over 5' per pass, it didn't take long for the tines to be a great big ball of carpet, what a mess.
I was quite perturbed that they hadn't mentioned this before I started.
My friend was in a wheelchair so couldn't help, but he had a 14 yr old son. Between the 2 of us and a great big ole butcher knife we were able to get back to business.
I took a lot of work to remove the rest of the old carpet off the garden but we did it.
They were left with quite a bunch of crappy old carpet to dispose of.
I did notice that it really didn't do the job they expected as there were lots of weeds growing through the carpet.

THANX RICH