Page Coulson said she was "extremely concerned" the contractors employed by the council went ahead with the spraying in what were "very windy" conditions.

"Winds were up to 20km/h. You cannot spray in wind, full stop," she said.

"I don't care if that is the time you have booked in to spray road verges; if it is windy you don't do it.

"Not only were my plants covered in it, but I also was covered in it."

Mrs Coulson said adding to her concerns was the amount of chemicals being used.

"I watched as litres were sprayed on to one shrub. Now if they are using Grazon, which is what it smelt like to me, this is highly toxic stuff; it's not Roundup," she said.

"I also couldn't believe that on one day I saw the contractors spraying in a environmentally protected area from the seat of the truck."

Mrs Coulson said Wingecarribee Council was very apologetic and equally concerned.

"They had no idea this contractor was spraying from inside the truck," she said.

Among the "carnage" on her property, Mrs Coulson lost five illy agnes shrubs, one lilac tree and a eucalyptus, all of which the council has promised would be replaced by the contractor responsible.

The council's parks and open spaces co-ordinator, Greg Bray, confirmed the chemical used was Grazon.

He has apologised to Mrs Coulson and assured all residents more stringent rules would be applied in the future.

"As a result of this incident, council has reviewed chemical spraying contractors' qualifications and will now require all spray contractors working on council property to hold a SMART train AQF IV Chemical Application," he said.