Annual Weed Control Program - Natural Areas and Parks
Weed Management Practices
The City of Melville uses a number of techniques and strategies to control weeds for practical and effective long term outcomes, usually in combination, these include:
- Hand weeding
- Slashing/brush cutting
- Herbicide application
- Injection of tree stumps
Natural Areas (Bushlands, Wetlands and Foreshore) - Herbicide Control Program
Together with the assistance of qualified bushland contractors, we undertake herbicide control to manage annual and perennial weeds in the City’s natural area reserves.
- Signage will be displayed on vehicles and in strategic locations while works are in progress.
- Our staff and contractors use current best management practices to avoid any off-target damage.
- We include using dyes with herbicides to identify areas that have been treated.
- Please note that weekend work is carried out as required.
Specific herbicides used include:
- Fusilade Forte® (Fluazifop-p), which is a grass specific herbicide used to target grass weeds such as Perennial Veldt Grass in bushlands.
- Round Up® Biactive (Glyphosate) and Metsulfuron, which is used to target bulbous and spring growing weeds in bushlands.
The methods and chemical concentrations that we employ are considered best practice management and are only applied when required, and done in a safe and responsible manner.
Natural Areas Spraying Times and Locations
Week commencing Monday, 21 July 2025, treatments will be carried out in Blue Wren, Troy Park, Peter Ellis, Robert Wier, Richard Lewis, Harold Field, Quenda Wetland, Fredrick Baldwin, Booragoon Lake, Piney Lakes, Blue Gum, Marmion Lake, Bateman, Point Walter, Attadale Bushland and surrounds, Ern Stapleton, Harry Sandon, Len Shearer, Stock Road Bushland, Ken Ingram, Blackwall Reach Reserve, Bull Creek / Gabbiljee, Dudley Hartree, Bob Gordon and Ken Hurst.
Parks - Winter Weed Broadacre Herbicide Control Program (July to September) The City's Parks team, with the assistance of registered spray contractors, undertake selective herbicide control to manage weeds in accordance with the manufacturer's label instructions within the City’s active and passive parks. Government agencies responsible for pesticide legislation include the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA), the Environment Protection Authority (EPA), and Safe Work. They collectively approve the use of herbicides in agriculture and the food industry.
Herbicide application within the City of Melville adheres to legal requirements and holds registration with relevant government bodies. Advertising for herbicide application appears in both the Melville Times and on the City's website, with products strictly used according to label instructions (MSDS).
Only certified contractors are engaged for herbicide application within the City, with stringent monitoring protocols in place for broadacre product application. Additionally, all schools are notified prior to herbicide application commencing.
During the course of our winter weed control program, the following precautions are taken:
- Signage is displayed on vehicles and in strategic locations while works are in progress, stating the chemical name being used.
- Signage will remain in place until any surface to which it was applied is dry.
- Staff and contractors use current best management practice to avoid any off-target damage.
Specific herbicide used:
- Spearhead, a turf specific herbicide targeting medics, bindii, oxalis, cats eye and wild oats.
Parks Spraying Times and Locations
The City will be undertaking Broadacre Herbicide spraying across both active and passive reserves to manage winter weeds. Spraying is scheduled to take place from Monday 21 July, 2025 through to the end of September 2025, weather permitting.
Registered herbicides Casper and Spearhead will be used in accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines. Clear signage will be displayed at key locations within the reserves and on vehicles while spraying is in progress.
Dates and Locations to be confirmed closer to the starting date. For more information, please contact the City on 08 9364 0666 or 1300 635 845.
Streetscapes - Herbicide Control Program
The City’s road reserves are treated with a non-selective herbicide; this includes kerb lines, footpaths, medians, roundabouts and buffer zones, during the course of our streetscapes weed control program (throughout the year dependant on weather conditions).
- Signage is displayed on vehicles while works are in progress, stating the chemical name being used.
- Staff and contractors use current best management practices to avoid any off-target damage.
Streetscapes Spraying Times and Locations
The City’s Road Reserve Weed Spraying Contractor will be spraying weeds on footpaths and kerb-lines in the suburbs of Booragoon, Ardross, Mount Pleasant, Brentwood, Applecross, Attadale and Bicton the week beginning Monday, 26 May 2025 depending on the weather.
Glyphosate
The City of Melville is guided by regulatory advice from the Department of Health (DOH) and the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) in relation to the use of glyphosate. The DOH advises that a recent review by the APVMA is that products containing glyphosate are safe to use, when used in accordance with the label instructions. The APVMA review considered the 2015 International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) assessment and concluded that the scientific weight of evidence indicates that exposure to glyphosate does not pose a carcinogenic or genotoxic risk to humans.
Guided by the APVMA and the DOH on the use of glyphosate, the City will continue to use glyphosate for weed control in selected areas in accordance with best practice procedures and in a safe and careful manner. All pesticides used by the City and its contractors are approved by the APVMA and are applied in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions by staff who are trained in safe and proper application.
A fact sheet on Glyphosate Safety and Use is available should you wish to refer to it and details regarding the registration of products, registration and assessment of glyphosate are also available from the APVMA.
Please note that if requested by a resident, the City will avoid spraying adjacent to their property.