A Vet's best friend

One of the many reasons Eezapet is in high demand - Wandering Willy, Tradescantia,Wandering Jew -call it what you will this weed creeps everywhere and anywhere – full shade, full sun it doesn’t care. I bet it would even grow through the dark days of northern Scandinavia! (ponders – ‘wonder if it does??’)

It’s like a succulent – it doesn’t need much to grow in to get its strength.  Every node in contact with the ground will root, and so the cycle begins!  It’s invasive! Not only that it is a noxious weed that can give your pet nasty, itchy rashes.

 Most dogs I know get a nasty skin reaction if they have been in contact. From past experiences with my allergy suffering dog Coco - 5 mins in wandering dew = 1 week of constant scratching and rashes. Now if I know my dogs have been into wandering dew on their walks I wash their feet in saline water and at the first sign of itching apply Eezapet – relieves the itch fast. The quicker you contain that itch the better! 

We can supply you with as much Eezapet as you need, but really, if you have this weed and own pets you’ll want to eradicate it from your property.

Removal - How do you do this?

Whatever you do DO NOT use a weed eater this just spreads all those little nodes everywhere and by the next morning they will have set root!

The best way to remove is to ‘roll it like a carpet’. Try not to cut the stems. Get your garden fork underneath, lift and roll. Use your arms and fingers to help lift it up and roll it back. It takes time but once cleared it is very rewarding. It may be easier to do this when the soil is damp.  You will then have to go over the soil picking up the remaining pieces; try using your fingers in a spreading lifting motion to bring up the remaining bits. You will have to go over the soil again usually about 10 days later, use a garden fork to help lift the soil.

And wear garden gloves otherwise you might need to use Salveez our skincare product for eczema and humans!

Writing this makes it sound daunting but it is so rewarding to have your garden ‘irritant-free’, you look back, sigh with accomplishment ,happy you don’t have to worry about your dog scratching tonight!  

If you have wandering dew and are thinking about getting chickens - great idea - chickens LOVE wandering dew and is known as the salad for chickens - they do an amazing job of clearing every node from the garden - they love this stuff!

I was previously an organic gardener, using permaculture principals for many years and have cleared many ‘wild’ sections in Wellington of the weed with its nick-name ‘vet’s best friend’.  There are other weeds out there that are harder to control – Cape Ivy being one of them. If you want to keep up to date on environmental allergies then sign up for our monthly newsletter jammed pack full of tips and info.