"hack and squirt" for controlling unwanted trees?

Anyone try this method for clearing unwanted trees on your hunting properties? Saw a few youtube videos on it from the US. They were using a small hatchet to make small 45 degree cuts into the bark then spraying herbicide into it.. I wouldn't mind trying this on my box elders on my own property too.. We have a parcel of private land where we'd like to clear shooting lanes and open up the canopy too without having to go in there with chainsaws.. just thought it might be a good, effective and quick way to see results (within a year or two)

What herbicide have you tried if you've carried this out? I cannot locate the one they suggest.. How about Roundup? Perhaps some other substance like very big grade vinegar?

Vinegar probably would not work as it is not systemic like roundup. To get something that would work you are probably going to need a licence for herbicide/pesticide or be a farmer.

This site has some good tips:

http://forestry.about.com/od/silvicu..._tree_real.htm

Don't know about the 45° cut method but when hydro was clearing lines they would spray the cut end of saplings and small trees with roundup, so it does work. Farm grade would likely be better.
Chainsaw still sounds much quicker to me, but I don't know your situation there.

Cheers

The only way that has worked,somewhat, for me is to first cut off the trees/scrub with a brushcutter/chainsaw. Clear the entire area.

Most of my brush are willow/dogwood/prickly ash/sumac etc, most are very vigorous growers and will off shoot new growth from the stumps within a month or so. While they are young/new, I go back out with the Round-up and hit everything green. I do this a few times and eventually it all dies off if you're vigilant and hit them when you see new growth.

This year I added a new tool to my removal equipment. I picked this up at a garage sale and used it to 'pull' out the small trees. Works fabulous, pulls them with little effort and takes out the whole root ball.

I've seen it for sale at TSC...

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/too...5512_200365512

I have a lot of prickly ash that keeps progressing in along the fringes, but I much prefer mechanical methods like the brush-hog and chainsaw, I not really a fan of herbicides, I have a health population of leper frogs and I like to keep them that way. Those herbicides can really mess up amphibians because they breed through there skin. Also because it can accumulate in the fatty tissue of other mammals, I'm not sure introducing herbicides into areas where the game I hunt is likely to be feeding is such a great idea. It's bad enough that our domesticate meat supply is tainted with the stuff, again in the name of better crop production. I'd like to think our wild meat is less so. But I'm enough of a realist to know that members of the deer family and waterfowl do venture into cultivated crop, but I rather keep their forest feed free of the stuff, as much as possible.

You don't stop hunting because you grow old. You grow old because you stop hunting.
-Gun Nut

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Originally Posted by Gun Nut

I have a lot of prickly ash that keeps progressing in along the fringes, but I much prefer mechanical methods like the brush-hog and chainsaw, I not really a fan of herbicides, I have a health population of leper frogs and I like to keep them that way. Those herbicides can really mess up amphibians because they breed through there skin. Also because it can accumulate in the fatty tissue of other mammals, I'm not sure introducing herbicides into areas where the game I hunt is likely to be feeding is such a great idea. It's bad enough that our domesticate meat supply is tainted with the stuff, again in the name of better crop production. I'd like to think our wild meat is less so. But I'm enough of a realist to know that members of the deer family and waterfowl do venture into cultivated crop, but I rather keep their forest feed free of the stuff, as much as possible.

You don't stop hunting because you grow old. You grow old because you stop hunting.
-Gun Nut

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My understanding is that Roundup become inert after application and contact with the ground (i.e. it is neutralized). Other stuff can be harmful for sure...


Thanks guys... going to try a few methods... maybe girdling is the way to go. The walnut trees are a problem too on my own property. They sprout up like weeds and they kill other stuff around them b/c of that toxin they emit.. can't stand those things... Keep in mind I am not on a rural property and my lot is landscaped.. if it was natural setting, I wouldn't care so much..

regards

I use Remedy in the States. Add a sufactant and drive the tractor along the fencerow and spray the leaves of any tree.

Or paintbrush a band around the trunk.

Very effective.

When I was a Jr. Ranger in the 70's, we as a group of energetic teenagers used to go out with trimming axes, and would girdle all the unwanted deciduous trees. There was no 'spray' , it was hack, hack, hack ,then on to the next tree.

not a fan of herbicides either; good brushcutter or clearing saw is the way to go for me.
besides some workout and avoiding unnecessary chemicals it feels a bit more manly than scratching and poisioning LOL

Having to maintain a 5000 acre perimeter would take care of that nonsense................

No kidding..Round up becomes inert very quickly, not an issue. That's why, even here in Ontario where every herbicide is banned except it, it's still allowed

I had the trees and scrub professionally removed from under my hydro lines back on the 4th of Aug...the machine mulched everything down to the ground. The pic below shows the regrowth in the past 5 weeks. The off shoots coming back on the willow are already almost 2' high (the spade is 3').

If I don't use Round-up to control the re-growth....I'd have to brush cut this back every 3-4 months or it will be back in full force by next summer.

There is another alternative to stop re-growth permanently, it's illegal. PM if your interested.

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p...psriqtmb3f.jpg

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Originally Posted by skypilot

Having to maintain a 5000 acre perimeter would take care of that nonsense................

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If I had 5000!!!!! Acre i wouldn't have time to waste to read every post on here. Not sure if i should congratulate you or express my condolences considering you're apperently trying to turn them into baren land

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Originally Posted by Waftrudnir

If I had 5000!!!!! Acre i wouldn't have time to waste to read every post on here. Not sure if i should congratulate you or express my condolences considering you're apperently trying to turn them into baren land

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Not really, just the perimeters need to be clean.
The leases require clearly marking the perimeter and the parcels, posting same, keeping outside perimeters cleared among other requirements like working with the landowners' foresters etc.

If I had to hack and cut a path or ROW it would be a never ending or completed project. The herbicide works well although there is some cleaning periodically to maintain it.

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Originally Posted by skypilot

Not really, just the perimeters need to be clean.
The leases require clearly marking the perimeter and the parcels, posting same, keeping outside perimeters cleared among other requirements like working with the landowners' foresters etc.

If I had to hack and cut a path or ROW it would be a never ending or completed project. The herbicide works well although there is some cleaning periodically to maintain it.

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Lol
Lucky you, anyone who needs to do some clearing will soon figure out, it's a never ending job...
There is a reason for all the methods legally available. Farming crop for a living is one thing, but maintain a property for hunting is another. Haven't have a problem myself doing an acre or two a day very casually with a good hand held cutter as long as i don' t need to clean up/ shred the brush.
If I had more to clean and the funds, i'd look into a slashbuster or similar rather than a "hack and poison" approach like the op mentioned

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Originally Posted by Waftrudnir

Haven't have a problem myself doing an acre or two a day very casually with a good hand held cutter as long as i don' t need to clean up/ shred the brush.

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well if you only have an acre to casual clean then you don't see the reality of the work required to constantly maintain 100+ acres....totally different scenario and you'd change your mind about herbicides pretty quick. Hand held cutter...LOL....

For me its a combo of chainsaws as anything over 4 i utilise for firewood anything under i run through the wood chipper and once we get to the brush the bush hog does the rest... I spent a day this august on the bush hog cutting everything down to 6".

If your planning any significant clearing get yourself a 20 tonne excavator with mechanical thumb and real good operator we cleared a 40 yard wide section 350 yards long thru our bush and have replanted it in oats and clover for the deer.

Every winter once froze i will cut back the new shrubs to keep the green grass and clover plush.

MikePal ... ever heard of Dichlorprop? or Garlon

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Originally Posted by MikePal

well if you only have an acre to casual clean then you don't see the reality of the work required to constantly maintain 100+ acres....totally different scenario and you'd change your mind about herbicides pretty quick. Hand held cutter...LOL....

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Yeah I find it amusing when people chirp about Glyphosate being poison to humans and the environment. Even the EPA, UN and European Food Agency agree that it's unlikely to cause cancer in humans. Soap, salt and vinegar concoctions are probably worse for the environment than glyphosate. Here's a little reading to that effect..... http://weedcontrolfreaks.com/2014/06...nd-glyphosate/

The enviro-nazis are the worst great new capitalists... earth-lovers in wolfs clothing

For those who want to make their own herbicide spray as mentioned above (the one that uses vinegar) buy the higher strength. The vinegar commonly sold in the grocery store is roughly 5% (I think) while we sell horticultural vinegar which is 20% acetic acid