Any systemic will kill everything the liquid touches, Roundup is as good as any. If your bindweed is through other plants you will need to put on thin rubber gloves, pour some of the Roundup into a small bowl put a cotton glove on the hand you are going to use to put the Roundup on the leaves and carefully with your fingers paint the bind weed - long process. The only alternative is to spray and accept you will lose any other plant that the spray hits.

Regarding your perennial weeds. Contact Gardening.Adviser@bayergarden.co.uk I use their products and you will find your fears of contamination are unfounded and you will be able to clarify and get expert answers to all your weed control questions best wishes Nib

I'd go for the generic glyphosate, should be the cheapest option, and dilute as required for spraying - this one, as I said before, kills through the foliage and is inert on the soil.

A tip I once got for for putting weed killer directly onto individual weeds was, once diluted or if ready to use: put it into a tub/bowl and paint it on with an appropriate sized paint brush. I used a very small one, it took me a while but it done the job. If it is near other plants you could try masking/separating or slotting in between them with something like a sheet of plastic or card. Although be careful of drips from the plastic when you remove.

The gloved fingers work better Scottish you know exactly where the herbicide is going.

Thanks everyone!

Nib, I'll certainly keep hold of that Bayer contact, since they'll be able to advise me on all sorts of their products.

Moon Grow, after reading your advice, I set off yesterday morning to buy Roundup.

I happened to bump into an old neighbour from before I moved - a farmer. The subject soon got on to my bindweed! He told me what they use and where he gets it.

So, I made a special trip to the shop and found that they did a garden version - not so potent, but I'm not allowed to use agricultural controls.

It's made by Scotts and is called UMUPRO. It's selective and it's specifically for bindweeds in orchards. The active ingredient is 2,4D dimethylamine salt. The same stuff that's in weed and feed mix but much more concentrated. There is one for shrubberies also which is like a tin of hair mousse.

So, I've decided to make a three pronged attack! Generic glyphosate on the drive and courtyard...Roundup, ready to use on isolated weeds on the gravel paths...
...the UMUPRO in three days time (I cut the healthy parts of the grass yesterday), then again if necessary...then weed and feed...then reseed!

Anything I find growing through plants, I'll zap with the same stuff using gloves or a paintbrush (I'll try both!)

Here's hoping...and I'll let you know how it goes!

Hmm, wouldn't recommend glyphosate on paved, cobbled or gravelled areas - use a specific path treatment which will sit in the soil for up to six months and keep weeds at bay - glyphosate only kills what it touches and doesn't prevent regrowth, whereas a path treatment will.

Thanks, Bamboo...am killing the weeds already there and am putting down membrane then gravel, so it'll only be those that manage to pop through which will need treatment