Heavy Duty Herbicide?

[N80]

You have teen-age children? That is your own work force! Why are you even considering chemicals?

You must not have teenage children!

Seriously, you need a good 55 gallon 3pt. hitch sprayer with a pto roller pump. It is easy enough to rig one up, or buy one already rigged, to use either the boom or a hand-held wand sprayer.

It looks like that would be handy in the long run regardless of what I do. It will go on the long list of things I want to go on my tractor.

You can effectively control brush on a small area with your axes and machetes.

Well, that's just the thing. You can't. The slope is so steep it is hard to stand up. The briars are literally head high. And within a few months, the brush is right back up, denser than ever, particularly the gums. The dam required 10-12 guys with chainsaws and a good part of a day. The slope has been done by me many times. Painting gum stumps with brush-b-gone works like a charm, but there are literally hundreds of tiny little sapling in addition to the larger ones coming up from stumps.

Let the kids do the sweaty work;

Seriously, do you have kids? Mine are like mules. Lots of upkeep without much return in labor. One day they may work like fiends, the next...well...you know. We'll see how they do on Saturday.

 

[N80]

N80--

I think you will be happier in the long run if you think about what you want growing there in addition to getting rid of what is there now.

I think you are right. We have very aggressive monkey grass in our yard at home. My wife suggested using it. It might work!

Another thought: the one thing that is guaranteed to slow the growth of plants is shade. Fast-growing trees planted to the south will help somewhat.

Unfortunately the pond is on the south side of the slope. The dam runs north-south and gets sun all day. I've about decided that I'm not worrying about the dam. If the county is going to selectively tax me for its upkeep.....then they can keep it up.

 

[N80]

N80- Just sprig it all in kudzu

You know, its odd, but we don't have any kudzu on my place. Its in the area, and its all around where I live, just not on my property. But yes, it does make a good ground cover...and tree cover...and house cover and it you stand still in one place very long it will cover you too!

Be VERY glad you don't have the "tree of heaven" on your land. It is getting to be a real problem in some areas in the NC mountains. Very hard to kill and if you just cut it you get 10X as many over a 30-40 ft radius coming back up. It grows very fast but is useless as firewood, another name for it is the "stinking tree". It also somehow poisons the ground making it very hard for desireable trees to grow.

I've heard of those. Don't know what they are. But, they have a lot in common with sweetgum from you description. The gum here can compete with the planted pines. There are places on some property that we lease that is totally planted pines that get sprayed about every two years and the only thing that keeps up with the pines is the gums. Sounds like this tree of heaven is even worse. Were they an import like kudzu?

 

[turbo36]

I did some very steep bank mowing a couple of years back with an ASV Track machine and front mounted mulcher after the initial "OH S**T" going over the bank the first time It was actually very stable .

 

[AlanB]

George, at my place I went to Rural King and bought a 25 gallon spot sprayer with a 2gpm pump on it, I think it was $109. I strapped it to a wooden pallet with two straps from HF that were $1 each and carry it on my carryall. I use my jumper battery to power it.

It works really well for controlling my brush.

I used these folks products, bought at Rural King, and even though I was out of the parameters (active growth occuring) I was very impressed with how well it worked.

I would suggest you call the gentleman at the bottom of the link, he was extremely helpful too me.

Home & Farm Frequently Asked Questions

I am sure he would have some suggestions and insight.

I would try and chemically knock it down, then see if I could not do flowers, mowing or something to keep it knocked down.

I considered sheep for my areas, but just did not want to be responsible for more animals.

I think your kids sound much like mine, Somehow, my kids are always willing to go help someone else with a project, but you think they would help old dad clear a dog pen area for their dogs????? You know the answer

Home & Farm Frequently Asked Questions

 

[N80]

Thanks Alan, I will look into that.

 

[Skyco]

Sounds like this tree of heaven is even worse. Were they an import like kudzu?

Yup! Came from China in the 1780's, I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time
Here is more info-
PCA Alien Plant Working Group - Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima)

I'm also dealing with gums IN the pond, since the water has been low I've been cutting them and painting the stumps with brush killer.

 

[1bush2hog]

N80 - Sounds like a good place to fence in some goats -

Or maybe you can you ride a 4 wheeler on this slope? If so, maybe a pull behind mower would work for you after you get the >2" stuff out of the way. Body weight can be an effective counter balance as well on an atv.

CAUTION - Watch out for the yellow jackets if you weed whack it this weekend

 

[Redbug]

Hi George,

I would just get a backpack sprayer, (which is what I use), and spray with Roundup Original Max...49%, (or generic glyphosate whichever you can get cheapest), mixed in a 2-3% solution. For the trees, (sweetgum, etc), cut them down with the chainsaw, then paint the fresh cut stumps with undiluted glyphosate. The glyphosate will be absorbed into the root and the tree stump will die and not sprout back. That's the method I use.

That's a good deal on that sprayer, though, with a lot of other things to do with it. Why not get both a backpack sprayer AND the tractor sprayer?!!!

 

[dmccarty]

Or maybe you can you ride a 4 wheeler on this slope? If so, maybe a pull behind mower would work for you after you get the >2" stuff out of the way. Body weight can be an effective counter balance as well on an atv.

DR did just come out with this tow behind mower that will handle 2.5 inch saplings.

DR® Power Equipment - Tow Behind - Fast

Can an ATV handle the slope?

Later,
Dan

 

[N80]

An ATV could probably handle the actual grade. But the current condition of the slope makes it impassable for any type of vehicle short of a dozer. There are lots of old pine, cedar and gun stumps. Big rocks. And the brush is so thick it is hard to walk through. In other words, even if this spot was flat, there would be no way to take any kind of mower in it until the big stumps and rocks were removed. The slope is also very uneven with little gullies running down it. Not deep, but very irregular.

I've come to the conclusion that this is a perfect situation for chemicals. Maybe once I get all the brush and stuff down I can start on stump removal, etc and get it nice and level. But again, there is no room at the bottom to maneuver a vehicle, its water at the bottom.

I've just got to settle on a chemical and application technique. Being currently broke, I'm going to try to knock it all down by hand this weekend and maybe rent a backpack sprayer to finish it off.

I've decided not to mess with the dam right now.

 

[1bush2hog]

...The slope is also very uneven with little gullies running down it. Not deep, but very irregular.

I've come to the conclusion that this is a perfect situation for chemicals. Maybe once I get all the brush and stuff down I can start on stump removal, etc and get it nice and level. But again, there is no room at the bottom to maneuver a vehicle, its water at the bottom.

I've just got to settle on a chemical and application technique. Being currently broke, I'm going to try to knock it all down by hand this weekend and maybe rent a backpack sprayer to finish it off.

I've decided not to mess with the dam right now.

I'm sure you are familiar with cut stump herbicide application, and the best time to apply is right after the cut. I use a 1 qt hand sprayer with 1 part Remedy and 3 parts cooking oil to treat stumps. Garlon can also be used in place of Remedy.

While I have to use herbicides to control/eliminate exotic invasives on my property, I am always concerned about the environment, especially when I have to apply close to a stream or animals. The amount of surface area and it's close proximity to the water would be a concern for me.

Also, if you wipe out everything with herbicide, those little gullies could create a bigger problem for you -

You mention there is already a good bit of brush that is on the ground. Can you drop the large stuff and then do a controlled burn on that portion of the dam? I know it has been dry, but when there is enough moisture you can backfire the edges before you light the main area to help control the burn area too.

The again there's Murphy's Law of burning - whenever a fire is lit the wind will surely change thereafter.

Any birds nesting in that area?