Lesson learned, double label herbicides

[M.Magis]

I have a small hillside that has a poison ivy/ironweed/goldenrod problem, so I decided to hit it with some 2,4D before my wife and kids got home Sat evening. Grabbed my 12v sprayer and went to the cabinet in the garage where I keep herbicides/pesticides. I was pretty sure I had half a bottle of 2,4D Amine from last year. The label had deteriorated over time and had flaked away, but I couldn't think of anything else it would be since I don't use a lot of herbicides. Mixed it, sprayed a bit of pasture and then drove back to the house. Had some left over so later I sprayed a bit of the yard that's over run with weeds. Checked Sunday afternoon and didn't notice any sign of the weeds drooping. Seemed odd, but didn't think much about it. Checked again Monday and nothing, and last night nothing again. At that point I knew something was wrong, and eventually it clicked in my head, the bottle I used wasn't 2,4D, it was some clethodim I had left over from a few years ago. As if I didn't have enough to do this summer, I can add replanting pasture and my yard to that list. Idiot.

 

[M-5]

Amine is easily distinguished by smell to me

 

[M.Magis]

I probably don't use it enough to remember well, but I did check the smell and to me it smelled exactly like I thought it should. Still no excuse though, just a few days before I mixed up a small hand bottle for some weeds in the patio pavers. For whatever reason, I didn't recognize the bottle on Saturday.

 

[greybeard]

My sis has about 4 gallons of diferent and unknown chemicals that she "thinks" is herbicide. Tried to give them to me but I flat refused them. No labels and some are probably 10+ years old--might include DDT for all I know.
I don't keep anything that I don't for sure what is, but my father had all kinds of stuff in un-labeled jugs. I sent it all in when the county had a once-per-year cleanup that you could bring stuff like that in to a collection point. I took a sniff of one jug and it nearly knocked me out--not a reccomended way to test unknown contents.

 

[m&kCattle]

Clethodim has a very strong smell imo. Ive done it and learned, write on the jug with a marker and keep an inventory of what you have. Then if a label comes off you can print one out. Labels are important.